SOUTH WAYNE — The Warriors face a lot of uncertainty and questions as the 2022 spring baseball season rolls around. The team went just 1-5 in the Six Rivers East a year ago, then graduated multiple players, among them all-conference player Clayton Stietz, who had an unblemished mark at first base with zero errors and a .420 batting average.

“We are continuing to rebuild and improve our skills. We hope to be competitive in all our games this season and finish in the middle of our conference,” said head coach Mike Burke.

The third-year coach predicts Barneveld and Pecatonica to once again finish in the top two spots in the Six Rivers East title race, and then it’s wide open for the rest of the league.

Back this year for Black Hawk is senior pitching ace Dempsey Schliem, who was first-team all-conference and averaged 1.6 strikeouts per inning. Also back is sophomore pitcher and second baseman Carter Baumgartner. 

“Dempsey returns a great arm to our program. One of the focuses of our pitching staff is to throw strikes and force teams to put balls in play. Our returning fielders have fielding ability and have shown they are able to make plays,” Burke said.

From there, other players will have to step into roles, like sophomore Matt Scott, who played catcher for a few innings as a freshman. 

“Matt brings an incredible baseball IQ to our team and will fill a leadership position within our program very quickly,” Burke said.

Burke said all areas need improvement, but especially in the batter’s box.

“Our bats need to improve this season. Much of our practice time will be spent early season working to improve this area and put more balls in play,” Burke said.