LHS baseball opens season with two close losses, looks ahead to competitive year

The Lennox High School baseball team kicked off their 2024 season with a pair of hard-fought games. The Orioles opened their season on March 28 with a narrow 4-3 loss to Yankton. 

Lennox took an early 2-0 lead in the opening inning as Yankton scored one run in the bottom of the second. Lennox added to their total with one run in the top of the third to go up 3-1 heading into the fourth. However, in the bottom of the sixth, Yankton scored two runs to tie things up and in the bottom of the ninth they managed to score one run to steal the win from the Orioles.

Handling pitching duties for Lennox was Mason Reischl. Reischl surrendered three hits and one run over three and two-thirds innings, striking out one and walking none. Also stepping to the mound for Lennox were Sam Bambas who allowed two hits and recorded two strike-outs; Gabe Veruink who allowed two hits and recorded three strike-outs; and Logan VanHaden who allowed one hit. 

Leading the offense for the Orioles was Cole Spieler and Jackson Anacker who each had two hits in the game. Jaxson Bittner, Justin Butler, Cullen Wright and Veurink each also had a hit. 

The Orioles then hosted Dell Rapids on Monday, March 31, where they fell in another close match-up, 5-4. 

Lennox trailed 2-0 after the opening inning, but scored two runs in the bottom of the second. Dell Rapids answered back with two more runs in the top of the third. Lennox scored one run in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the bottom of the sixth to tie things up at 4-all. But in the top of the seventh, the Dell Rapids’ batter hit a single to bring in a run, giving them the eventual victory. 

Spieler took the loss on the mound for Lennox, pitching one inning, surrendering one run on one hit. He walked three batters. Anacker started the game for the Orioles, allowing three hits and four runs over three innings. He struck out three batters and walked four. Bambas also saw action on the mound, allowing one hit and striking out two batters in three innings. 

Recording hits in the game were Bittner, Talen Eich, Reischl, and Veurink. 

Despite the early setbacks, head coach Drew Sweeter is optimistic about the season ahead. Now in his eighth year leading the team, Sweeter believes the Orioles have a strong foundation to build upon.

Lennox is coming off a 2023 season in which they finished with a 10-7 record, while the JV squad posted an impressive 7-1 mark. Their postseason run ended with a first-round loss to MVPCS, but they return a solid group of experienced players eager to make a deeper run this year.

The Orioles will need to replace several key graduates, including All-State player Isaac Bambas and All-Region selection Braxton Musser, along with Tristan Butler, Ashton Bach, Dayne Moeller, Ethan Larson, and Landon Atkins. However, the team boasts a strong core of returning athletes.

Key returners include, Seniors: Jackson Anacker, Cullen Wright, Jack Aasheim, Corban Hanneman, Dane Winterboer, and Tyler Strasser; Juniors: Talen Eich, Cole Spieler, Jaxson Bittner, Mason Reischl, and Gabe Veurink; and Sophomores: Sam Bambas and Cade Aasheim.

Sweeter sees defense as the team’s greatest strength, as they bring back several experienced fielders from last year’s roster. “Our defense will be our biggest bright spot,” he said. “We return a lot of fielders from last season’s team where we had a strong fielding team a year before.”

On the mound, the Orioles face their biggest question mark. 

“Our biggest unknown for this season will be our pitching,” Sweeter noted. “We have a few pitchers with varsity experience, but we’ll need to find more arms for a deep postseason run.”

Lennox competes in a tough region featuring top teams such as Dell Rapids, Sioux Falls Christian, and West Central. Sweeter acknowledges the challenges ahead but remains confident in his squad’s potential. 

“We return a good number of varsity players from last year, and we’re looking for them to step up and be leaders this season,” he said. “We’ve also added a few players who are excited to help out the program. We’ll be competitive in a very strong region again.  All of our region opponents will be good this season so hopefully we can achieve our goal of finishing in the top four and setting us up for a state tournament run.” 

Lennox’s full varsity roster includes the following athletes: 

Seniors: Jack Aasheim, Jackson Anacker, Corban Hanneman, Tyler Strasser, Dane Winterboer, Cullen Wright; Juniors: Gabe Veurink, Alec Gates, Mason Reischl, Talen Eich, Cole Spieler, Jaxson Bittner, Preston Otte, Logan VanHaden; Sophomores: Andrew Stenaas, Sam Bambas, Cade Aasheim, Madix Oltmanns; and Freshmen: Justin Butler, Isaac Vietor, Grayden Veurink, Noah Hansen, Cole Dressen, and Gus VanHaden. 

The team hosted Sioux Falls Christian on Monday, Apr. 8 and is scheduled to be at Beresford on Wednesday, Apr. 9. 

The Orioles will be on the road again on Friday, Apr. 11 when they travel to West Central and at McCook Central/Montrose on Monday, Apr. 14.