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Rivermen hoping to compete in tough NUIC-East
The Durand-Pecatonica Rivermen picked up their first win of the 2023 baseball season with a 14-2 victory over the South Beloit Sobos.
Four-year head coach, Chad Knutti, spoke about the status of the team ahead of the season and how they will need to rely on their returning starters.
After losing six players to graduation in 2022, the Rivermen have plenty of new faces on the field in 2023.
Michael Conroy, Korbin Gann, and Will Koehler are those three returning starters. Gann and Koehler lead the way for a class of six seniors. Sam Walden, Will Howard, Michael Peterson, and Sam Frank round out this year’s group of seniors.
Knutti spoke about Gann and Koehler and what they bring to the field.
“Gann has played a little bit of infield, a little bit of outfield, and he’s pitched a bit for us. We might need to use him to pitch some non-conference stuff. Mainly, he’s a big strong kid, and he should hit pretty well.”
On Koehler, Knutti expects the senior to hold down first base for the Rivermen, once again.
“He’s got very good mobility over there at first. He picks up a lot of stuff in the dirt. So, we’ll have him back.”
Conroy, who is the youngest returning starter as a junior, is expected to do a majority of the pitching for the Rivermen.
“Conroy pitched for us last year and did a really good job. He’s probably our number one pitcher.”
Before the season began, Knutti said the team would have to “Lean on him a little bit.”
Three games in, however, it is junior, Jordan Dobran, who has taken a stand on the mound for the Rivermen. In the team’s recent win over South Beloit, Dobran tossed three shutout innings while racking up seven strikeouts. Dobran allowed just one hit and one walk on the day as just two Sobos reached base against him.
Prior to the season, Knutti listed Dobran as one of the guys he had high expectations for.
“I brought him up last year as a sophomore. He pitched for us last year because I didn’t have much for pitching last year. So I needed to bring some kids off the JV team, and he did a really nice job.” Knutti also hopes Dobran being a lefty and having outfield capabilities can help the team.
Offensively, it was a pair of juniors in Mason Peterson and Jonathan Hartline who led the way. Hartline was perfect on the day, going two for two with two runs scored, three runs batted in, and two walks.
Peterson went two for four with one run scored and three RBI. Brody Black, a sophomore, also had a nice day going two for four with two runs scored and two RBI.
Tyler Anderson, another junior, was another key newcomer that Knutti had high expectations for, ahead of the season. Anderson went two for two with two runs scored and one RBI over the Sobos. “Anderson can play multiple positions. Outfield, infield, he catches a little bit. He’s just overall quick, very smart, and knows how to play the game.”
When I spoke with Knutti, the team had hardly completed any outside practices. The Rivermen were mostly stuck with indoor work and hitting in the batting cages.
Knutti spoke about how the team handled that, and what he thinks will make the team successful in 2023.
“We have a really good attitude. So far this year, everyone has listened to what we were trying to tell them. We almost went back to the fundamental stuff. What you have to do to come forward and win, you got to start with the little things.”
Knutti says the team’s pitching should provide better depth from last year’s squad. “We have more pitching from the previous years. I’ll be able to go a little deeper. I think I have a solid four-man rotation, from what I’m seeing now. I probably have four more that can give us some innings.” Knutti said on the pitching depth.
At the end of the day, it will come down to defensive play and bringing runs in at the plate. “We need to cut down on our errors.”
Knutti shared, adding “We’ve had several errors and we’ve given ballclubs too many outs. Our three outs turn into five or six. Or, we get two outs right away and then all of the sudden they have a break out inning because we can’t field the ball.”
Offensively, Knutti says the team will have to be a lot better.
“We need better plate appearances. Way too many strikeouts last year from being too selective. A lot of guys go down looking, we can’t have that if we want to be in contention to get wins this year.”
A lot of those wins could be tough to come by in a solid NUIC-East Conference.
“I think Lena is going to be atop the league again.” Knutti said, adding “I think Pearl City and Dakota are going to be good contenders this year, also. We’re going to have our hands full, but not saying that we can’t join them if we play good, clean ball.”
The Rivermen are off to a 1-2 start after getting the win over South Beloit. Du-Pec will be back on the field on Friday, March 31, when they travel to face off with the North Boone Vikings. North Boone is off to a 2-0 start on the year.
