Mar. 24, 2008
Duluth Budgeteer News

High school baseball has hit the Northland
By Matt Suoja and Alex Mehlin

With the temperature rising, the anticipation for another high school baseball season is in the air.

Despite going 4-16 last season, Denfeld Hunters head coach Dan DuPay sees a lot of potential with his team.

“Seeing the team come together, at times, to play flawless baseball (was one of the highlights from last season),” he said. “The team played very well against Virginia, and I could tell that the light bulb switched on over their heads and they finally got it.”

Helping lead the way on this year’s team will be senior first baseman Brad Skurich, junior pitcher and infielder Nick Moran, senior pitcher and third baseman Zach Johnson, sophomore outfielder Josh Benson, senior pitcher and outfielder Ben Hayes and senior pitcher and infielder Peter Andreiko.

They will try to make up for the loss of players like Ian Jensen, Anthony Bautista, Alex Bushey and Derek Anderson.

“We are young; however, there are some pleasant surprises each year when a player steps up big for their teammates,” DuPay said. “These are the moments we want to expect and accept as a normal occurrence each and every game. At some point, every player is put into a position to rise to the challenge. We want to establish a mindset that the players meet those challenges and give themselves a chance at memories that will last them a lifetime.”