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Sports

Replacing Starting Staff Job One for Wheaton North Baseball

However, the Falcons will go into summer league play--and the 2012 spring season--with plenty of offense.

The just-graduated seniors on Wheaton North’s baseball team experienced a plethora of success during their varsity careers.

Their class was part of a Falcons’ squad that won the DuPage Valley Conference title three of the past four seasons, including 2011. They also made a memorable run during the 2010 postseason that included winning a sectional title for only the second time in school history and advancing to the Class 4A supersectionals.

Wheaton North sported a while going 16-5 in the DVC this year.

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“This group is going to be sorely missed,” said Wheaton North coach Dan Schoessling. “They accomplished a lot during their time here. Winning a conference title is a major accomplishment. We had a good conference season last year (2010), too, but we had the eventual state champion (Naperville Central) in our conference.

“They’re really good people and are going to be successful in the future.”

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Versatile Jeff Schalk, who played first base and catcher and even pitched this past season, leaves Wheaton North as its all-time leader in home runs and RBIs.

The left-handed hitting Schalk, a three-year starter and three-time all-DVC pick, is taking his talents to the University of Alabama-Birmingham. (The Blazers were 29-28 this past season.)

“He’s one of the best athletes that have come through our baseball program, that’s for sure,” Schoessling said. “He can play a number of different positions. He runs well and throws well. He’s very dedicated and committed, and I know he’s looking forward to taking his game to the next level.”

Starting second baseman Reece Butler, who led the Falcons football team to the playoffs in 2010 and 2011, will suit up for the Wheaton College football team this fall. However, the team’s top two starting pitchers, Eric Scandora and Craig Berberich, plan to play college baseball at Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan, respectively.

Graduation just about cleaned out the entire rotation. In addition to Scandora, Berberich and Schalk, the Falcons say goodbye to Andrew Mamlic.

Junior Ed Norris and sophomore Tom Colletti each saw some innings this spring and likely will be Wheaton North’s top pitchers going into next season.

After that?

“It’s sort of up in the air,” Schoessling said.

Schoessling will begin evaluating his pitchers when summer league play starts on Monday.

“We’ve got a core group that’s coming back in terms of positions, but certainly on the mound is going to be important,” he said. “We’ll use the summer to find out who’s going to be fitting into the rotation. It’s not going to be easy to replace the guys we’re losing.”

Schalk and Butler’s bats will be missed in the lineup, but the Falcons have plenty of offensive firepower returning next season.

Jake Schieber, the 2011 team MVP, is coming off a .329, eight home runs and 30 RBI season. Schieber led the team in the latter two categories.

“We’re counting on him to do a lot next year,” Schoessling said.

Norris (shortstop), Ryan Jordan (catcher), Micah Penn (first base), Kevin Fahy (DH, second base) and Coleton Hrgich either started or saw a regular amount of action in 2011. All of the above are juniors.

Sophomore Ryan Kent was the Falcons’ leadoff hitter, and classmate John Peltz started at third.

“Jake and Kevin and Micah, those are some guys that have the potential to drive in runs and hit for a high average,” Schoessling said. “We’ll definitely count on those guys to carry us next year.”

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