A Sneak Peak at the 2011 Wayzata Baseball Team

Last season: 11-10

Conference record: 6-6 (tied for second in Classic Lake Conference)

Section 6AAA results: Defeated Bloomington Kennedy 7-1, lost to Robbinsdale Armstrong 3-0.

In three years under coach Bobby DeWitt, Wayzata High School’s baseball team has won a conference championship, finished second in the conference twice and played in two section finals. As the 2011 season opener nears, the Trojans hope they can continue that winning trend.

Pitching, defense and consistently executing fundamentals will be keys for the Trojans as they prepare for competition in the new Lake Conference, which now includes perennial power Eden Prairie.

Key returners:

Wayzata returns three pitchers that will get the bulk of the innings this year. Seniors Paul Voelker and Nate Heisick will be reliable starters, DeWitt said, while junior Ryan Poppitz will be a catcher and closer.

The Trojans also return senior Maris Blanchard, who was one of the team’s leading sluggers last season. DeWitt said the rest of the team lacks varsity experience but has the potential to play solid baseball.

“We may be fairly inexperienced, but I don’t know if that’s always a bad thing,” DeWitt said. “If a kid can play, he can play.”

Key losses:

Catcher Zack Trygstad was an All-Conference selection a year ago while batting .478 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. Dylan Kent was an All-Conference pitcher as a junior and senior. Both now play for the University of North Dakota.

Conference outlook:

DeWitt said the Classic Lake Conference was always wide open, and Wayzata was always in the thick of the conference title hunt in his first three seasons. But this year will be a new challenge, as Robbinsdale Armstrong was switched out for Eden Prairie to form the new Lake Conference. The Eagles are the defending state champions—going 26-1 last year—and have gone to state in three of the past four seasons.

“We’ll work on mentally preparing for them, hopefully playing our game,” DeWitt said. “It’s really nice because in baseball you don’t really play against the other team. You do what you do, and hopefully you catch some breaks here and there.”

Section outlook:

Section 6AAA play will be wide open again, and Wayzata hopes to make a state run. The Trojans have been in the section finals two out of the past three years and need to get past Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Bloomington Jefferson, St. Louis Park and Robbinsdale Armstrong to reach state.

“It’s about playing your best at the right time,” DeWitt said. “You just keep building until May.”