BASEBALL PREVIEW
Published Tuesday, April 7, 1998,
in the Pioneer Press.

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No question here: Raiders are the team to beat
MIKE FERMOYLE STAFF WRITER

Occasionally, a caller will inquire about exactly how the Pioneer Press determines its high school rankings.

It then is explained there is no ``exactly'' to it.

Rankings are educated guesses at best, based on what teams have done in the past, how many experienced players they return and whether the moon is in the seventh house, or Jupiter is on the rise.

Sometimes, parts of the the process are pretty simple, though, and picking a preseason No. 1 in baseball this spring is as easy as typing ``Cretin-Derham Hall.''

The Raiders are the defending state Class AA champions for the eighth time in 17 years. That fact alone would make them a candidate to be No. 1 even if they didn't have much returning from last year's team. But they have six regular position players back, plus three pitchers.

``They may be even better this year than they were last year,'' South St. Paul coach Donny Geng said of the Raiders.

Starting pitchers Brian Whinnery and Keith Arnold are two reasons for continued optimism at Cretin-Derham. Whinnery was 9-0 in 1997, and the left-hander concluded his junior season by pitching a one-hitter as the Raiders beat Coon Rapids 10-0 in five innings for the Class AA title.

As if Whinnery's presence weren't discouraging enough for Cretin-Derham's challengers, the right-handed Arnold is back, too, after going 8-0 with a 1.89 earned-run average.

Dean Greenwood, another right-hander, won four games, which means 21 of the Raiders' 26 victories in 28 games last year are accounted for with the pitchers who return.

Then there's the offense. Jack Hannahan, an all-state third baseman (and Gophers recruit), hit .456. First baseman Luke Vogel hit .493, with 10 homers and 44 runs batted in, and outfielder Brian Gornick had a .469 average and nine home runs.

Gornick demonstrated the extent of his power last spring when he hit a ball over the left-field fence at Cretin-Derham, across the street and over the roof of the garage on the far side. That puts him in select company. In the past 25 years, the only other players to have hit the house or the roof on the other side of Hamline Avenue were Cretin's Paul Molitor (1974), Richfield's Steve Christoff ('75), and Cretin-Derham's Steve Schneider ('86).

Behind the plate, the Raiders have Nick Birk, a very good defensive catcher who hit .400 as a junior.

``I felt our defense was excellent last year,'' Cretin-Derham coach Jim O'Neill said last week. ``We need to work to get to that point defensively again.''

The Raiders appear to be fairly close to that point already, because they allowed no runs in scrimmages against Eden Prairie and St. Thomas Academy on Saturday. Meanwhile, Cretin-Derham batters smacked six home runs.

Cretin-Derham will play its first game Monday against Roseville, then open the defense of its St. Paul City Conference championship against Johnson two days later.

As for the rest of the metro-area top 10:

2. Armstrong

The Falcons were 17-6 last year, and from that team they retain four infielders, three outfielders and four of six pitchers.

Pat O'Leary, a second-team All-America shortstop in '97, hit .519 with seven homers and 30 RBIs, and he is joined by second baseman Jordan Leopold, who missed last season with an injury but hit .346, stole 19 bases and drove in 23 runs in '96.

Ryan Ogaard has a career record of 9-1, and Chris Beseres, who averaged 1.1 strikeouts an inning while pitching relief, will move into to a starting role this year.

3. Hopkins

Minnetonka had won five consecutive Section 6AA championships until Hopkins ended that streak last year, thanks in large part to the pitching of Matt Hasz, Jacob Swartout and Dustin Rector. All three return.

Swartout was 5-1, with a 1.55 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. Hasz had 60 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 49 innings.

Jeff Erkkila, who hit .318, is back at third base, which will help to solidify the infield.

4. Eden Prairie

Erik Winegarten, a three-year starter at catcher, hit .431, and his presence behind the plate also should help the Eden Prairie pitchers.

``We have two proven starters (Brian Luhman and Chris Hartshorn) returning,'' Eagles coach Mike Halloran said. ``The big question will be the effectiveness of the rest of our pitching staff.''

5. Champlin Park

Conventional wisdom says teams that are strong up the middle will succeed, and Champlin Park is that. The Rebels, who won the Twin Cities Suburban West title last year, retain pitchers Ryan Semens and Matt Klohs, catcher Brian Sloat (.327), junior shortstop Calvin Sheer (.376) and center fielder Kyle Casey (.350), along with third baseman Mark Bross, who has hit .408 and .333 the past two springs.

6. Tartan

Nick Miller contributed eight victories to Tartan's St. Paul Suburban Conference championship. So the Titans are happy to have him back, and most of the other starters are returning, including second baseman Steve Sheffield, who hit .413; shortstop/pitcher Eric Kelly (.414) and outfielder/pitcher Dan Odegard (.478).

7. Totino-Grace

If a suitable candidate answers their want-ad for a leadoff hitter, the Eagles could be tough. Brian Hopkins is an all-state running back, but he also is an Iowa State recruit in baseball, and he will help Totino-Grace at both shortstop and center field.

Hopkins, Joe Thorvig, Tony Lund and Tim Piccharini can hit with power, and the Eagles have four reliable pitchers in Thorvig, Brian Edstrom, Tom Fernelius and Tony Eiden.

8. Minnetonka

The Skippers will miss Jason Kennedy and Rob LaRue on offense, but Ryan Klocksien will be back on the mound, after going 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA last spring (this winter, Klocksien was on Minnetonka's state championship basketball team).

9. Hastings

Juniors were the heart of the Raiders' hockey team, which lost only two games all season, and juniors Jeff Taffe (shortstop), Dan Welch (third base), Carey Tri (pitcher) and Ben Tharp (catcher) should make the baseball team difficult to beat.

But the Raiders will count heavily on two seniors: pitcher/second baseman Corey McKenzie and first baseman Dave Sherry.

10. Maple Grove

In its first year of existence, with almost no seniors on the roster, Maple Grove acquitted itself well, going 17-7 and staying in the TCS West race almost to the end.

Last year's young team now is a veteran group, led by second baseman Ryan Krutzig (.343, 18 stolen bases), catcher Kyle Olson (.411 average, .696 slugging percentage), junior first baseman Jeremy Oligmueller (.380, 24 RBIs) and junior pitcher C.J. Woodrow (7-2, 55 strikeouts).
Others receiving consideration: Apple Valley, Park (Cottage Grove), Red Wing, Coon Rapids, Bloomington Jefferson, Park Center, Forest Lake, South St. Paul, Bloomington Kennedy, Johnson, Wayzata, Rosemount, Irondale, Burnsville, St. Agnes, Holy Angels, Orono, Mahtomedi, Northfield, Brooklyn Center, Mounds View, Shakopee, Central, Hutchinson, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Blake, Minnehaha Academy, Mayer Lutheran, St. Bernard's, Minneapolis South.