MONROE — The 5-14 Cheesemakers relied heavily on ace Henry Brukwicki a season ago. The 2022 graduate pitched a majority of Monroe’s innings and received Honorable Mention All-Conference accolades. 

Head coach Eric Losenegger is confident, though, that pitching will still be his team’s strength.

“I like our outlook on the mound this year,” Losenegger said. “We lost Henry Brukwicki, who was a staff ace for the past three years, but we will have a lot of guys that can throw strikes.”

Henry’s younger brother, George, is one of seven on the pitching staff. When he isn’t on the mound, George will play first, where he earned First-Team All-Conference honors a season ago. Offensively, he hit .429 at the plate.

Drew Indergand, Keatin Sweeney, Braden Rupnow, Keegan Dahmen, Ethan Rosenstiel and Payton Salyer will also eat up some innings. Rupnow allowed zero earned runs in relief, while Dahmen went 1-1 in 17 innings as a sophomore a year ago.

In addition to pitching, Losenegger believes experience and leadership will be another area of strength. Monroe’s roster boasts seven seniors and seven juniors, with previous All-Conference selections in George Brukwicki and Tucker Markham.

“We return a strong group of seniors with lot of experience,” Losenegger said. “Our goals and expectations will be to come out and compete each and every day.”

Markham, who plays both infield and outfield, hit at a .375 clip, while Sweeney, who plays the hot corner, hit .277. As the back-up catcher to Honorable Mention All-Conference selection Trevor Schmitt, Nicholas Welty hit .333.

Despite a core of upperclassmen, Losenegger sees underclassmen Ashton Hale, Cole Meighan and Landon Stelter making varsity contributions.

Defense will be an area of improvement, though, with the graduation of Honorable Mention All-Conference selections Charlies Briggs at shortstop and Schmitt at catcher.

“We need to fill a lot of key spots defensively,” Losenegger said. “How well we field the ball and throw the ball will determine a lot of games for us.”

Monroe will face stiff competition from Edgewood, Oregon and Sauk Prairie, which finished as the top three teams in conference last year.

“Edgewood returns a lot of kids from a sectional semifinalist team and are very well coached,” Losenegger said. “Oregon is also very well coached and always plays good baseball. Sauk Prairie returns a strong nucleus, too.”