Baseball

GRIFFITH, Ind. – The Generals hold their first team practice today, five days ahead of their opening matchup against the Corn Dogs Tuesday night. Griffith has one of the larger rosters in the Northern League, as it’s comprised of 37 players. Some players will be wrapping up their college seasons in the next week, but a majority of the following will be dressed in Lake County next week:

Catchers (4)

Aaron Orzech - St. Xavier University

Billy Somers - Sauk Valley Community College

Kyler Lapp - Ohio Northern University

Jesse Rhoda - Trine University

Infielders (4)

Jackson McFarland - St. Xavier University

Ronnie Nowak - MidAmerican Nazarene University

Billy Miller - Moraine Valley Community College

Jordan Landkrohn - Bethel University

Outfielders (5)

Bryce Vorwald - Spoon River College

Tyler Sherman - Concordia University Chicago

Diego Lopez - Olivet Nazarene University

Nic Altobelli - St. Xavier University

Billy Jones - Purdue University Northwest

Utility Players (7)

Nick Rensberger - Concordia University Chicago

*Dylan Mayer - Manhattan College

Lucas Winburn - Kaskaskia Junior College

Nick Fies - St. Xavier University

Max Waszkiewicz - St. Xavier University

Alex Contreras - Ancilla College

Mark Ross - Lake Erie College

Pitchers (17)

*Evan Nieter - McHenry County Community College

*Alex White - University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

*Rodney Lester - St. Xavier University

*Josh Bennema - College of DuPage

*Armando Martinez - Manchester University

Tommy Walsh - Sauk Valley Community College

Josh Ortiz - Purdue University Northwest

David Deimling - Concordia University Chicago

Ryan Polly - Ohio Northern University

Osvaldo Ballesteros Jr. - St. Xavier University

Eliot Higgins - Concordia University Chicago

Kaden Kuzmi - Ohio Northern University

Kevin Schroer - uncommitted

Caleb Deel - Lake Erie College

Jimmy Fairley - St. Xavier University

Haron Abuelhija - Illinois Tech

Sava Dupor - University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

(* denotes left-handed pitcher)

The driving force behind the Generals comes in the form of the Saint Xavier University Cougars. On top of eight players on the roster, Griffith is led by head coach Peter Romsek and assistant coach Ryan Jemar, both on the staff at Saint Xavier. Other schools coming in numbers to Griffith include four more Cougars from Concordia University Chicago and three Polar Bears from Ohio Northern University.

Coach Romsek highlighted some potential “standout players” he saw at a quick glance. For starters, infielder Ronnie Nowak’s MidAmerican Nazarene University Pioneers are the 10 seed at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. Their first game is Friday morning against the seven-seed Taylor Trojans.

What may be the most intriguing storyline entering the season for the Generals is the “legit two-way” potential of Dylan Mayer. Romsek spoke highly of the lefty that has some “big-time juice” at the plate. Mayer batted .455 and drove in 21 runs in 22 games in his senior high school season. Another potential two-way player on the roster is Lucas Winburn, who is committed to Kaskaskia Junior College in Illinois. 

One of Romsek’s Cougars, catcher Aaron Orzech, is coming off a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Award after batting .348 and driving in 18 runs in 36 games. Infielder Billy Miller also had a stellar sophomore season with the Moraine Valley Community College Cyclones, batting .341 and hitting five homers and 14 RBI in 26 games.

Coach Romsek says that he will encourage his guys to “play freely” as the season starts. He wants them to “be who they are as players and play their game without restriction.” Romsek believes that this crop of players has a solid balance of speed and power that can create a dynamic offense. On the defensive side, Romsek stated that there is a lot of “quality depth” on the mound and that the pitching rotation will “take shape throughout the first few weeks of summer.” He believes that the Griffith depth will be a strength over the course of a long summer.