Land O'Lakes West season begins Sunday

By CHUCK DELSMAN

Posted: April 27, 2011 1:26 p.m.

With a little cooperation from Mother Nature, the Land O' Lakes Western Division amateur baseball league will open play for the 2011 season this Sunday. But based on the weather she's supplied us with the last three weeks, fans shouldn't hold their breath.
A full slate of six games are on tap for Sunday with each game beginning at 1 p.m. in the popular wooden-bat league, entering its 90th year.
Games on Sunday will find Pewaukee playing at North Lake, Merton at the Brookfield Blue Sox, Brookfield Bulldogs at Menomonee Falls, Lannon at West Bend, Sussex at Hartland and Oconomowoc at Monches.
Last year West Bend not only won the Western Division title but went on to win the LOL Grand Championship. It marked the third time in the last four years that a team from the LOL West won the Grand Championship. Lannon won the overall title in 2009, and Oconomowoc accomplished the same feat in 2007.
The league had one of its most competitive seasons last summer. West Bend won the regular season crown with a 14-4 record. Right behind were Oconomowoc and the two Brookfield teams with 13-5 marks. The final two playoff spots went to Sussex and Pewaukee, who tied with 11-7 records. The first round of the playoffs this year will begin on Saturday, Aug. 13.
"I've been playing in the league for a lot of years and the Western Division gets more competitive each season," said Oconomowoc player-manager Jeff Rhoads. "No team can take anything for granted. The good teams seem to stay that way and several of the other teams like Monches are improving all the time. The goal for every team is to just make the playoffs. Once you get there, then anything can happen."
Paul Vanden Heuvel is in his 10th year as the commissioner of the league. All of the managers from one year ago also will be back.
Rhoads, after finishing second in the individual batting race the previous three years, finally won the hit crown last year by batting .486. Others in the top five were Kris Franzen of the Brookfield Bulldogs at .469, Jimy Landwehr of Monches at .464, Luke Nelson of Oconomowoc at .455 and Dean Haase of Lannon at .433. Tim Mertins, playing for Hartland in 2009, won the batting crown that year. Mertins now plays in Pewaukee.

Team by team

An encapsulated look at the Land O'Lakes Western Division.

Pewaukee

Manager: Mike Wichser
Last year: 11-7
Returnees: John Sarcia, Kurt Sarcia, Nick Wichser, Mike Grabarczyk, Rob Brockel, Greg Harder, Eric Schmitz and Tom Zimmerman
Of note: Two players from Hartland, Drew Volkmann and Ben Walljasper, will join the Muskies this season, and both are expected to pitch. Pitching depth looks good this season with Brockel and Schmitz also back.

Merton

Manager: Joe Johnson
Last year: 4-14
Returnees: Johnson, Sam Mulkey, Phil Guiffre, Scott Mathias, Chris Price, Kaiton Yawney and Jake Meyer
Of note: Once again, the key to success will be pitching consistency. Despite winning just four games last year, the Amvets were a vastly improved team, losing a handful of close games to the top teams in the league. Several new races should help the pitching staff.

Monches

Manager: Pat Smith
Last year: 7-11
Returnees: Andy Smith, Cory Millikin, Jimy Landwehr, Brian Crook, Blake Hunt, Bryan Kieffer, Steve Schultz, Nick Brengosz and Jordan Opalewski.
Of note: The Irish are knocking on the playoff door and this could be the season they make it. The team is young and hungry for success. Pitching is solid. Monches needs to be a better hitting team from the start of the season to the finish.

Hartland

Manager: Chad Dibb
Last year: 3-15
Returnees: Chad Dibb, Troy Dibb, Dan Larsen, Marcus Greiber, Jake Dibb and Craig Henschel.
Of note: Hartland lost its two best pitchers, Drew Volkmann and Ben Walljasper, to Pewaukee. Finding pitching to keep them competitive will be critical to its success.

North Lake

Manager: Chris Cornell
Last year: 2-16
Returnees: Derek Prust, Ben Hanson, Brad Lenling, Steve Lopez, Matt Lopez, Mike Barczak, Chris Dent, Drew Taylor
Of note: Pitching is always the No. 1 concern for the Lakers and that will be the case again. Matt Stankowski, one of the most consistent players for North Lake the last five seasons, will only play a few games early in the season.

Oconomowoc

Manager: Jeff Rhoads

Last year: 13-5

Returnees: Jeff Rhoads, Steve Rhoads, Luke Nelson, Derek Nelson, Mike Bolson, Bob Bolson, Justin Mortensen, Andrew Bauer, Mike Mitchell, Josh Fenzl and Chris Fischer.

Of note: The roster seems to never change, but the Five O’s are always major contenders. Pitching should be solid this year with Mortensen, Bauer and Fischer all solid starters. Cooney is the winningest team in the league the last 10 years.

Brookfield Blue Sox

Manager: Jeff Lemmermann

Last year: 13-5

Returnees: John Arnold, Pat Tobiasz, Paul Archambault, Lemmermann, Jim Pease and Jay Wojcinski.

Of note: The Blue Sox had their best season ever last year since joining the Western Division. The team is loaded with veterans and has good pitching with Arnold and Lemmermann.

West Bend

Manager: Erik Kraemer

Last year: 14-4

Returnees: Eric Kraemer, Adam Rohlinger, Billy Bynum, Mike Mueller, Dan Mueller and Bryant Bullock

Of note: The biggest news for West Bend is the loss of standout pitcher Andy Hetebruerg, who will not play this summer. Hetebrueg pitched a no-hitter for West Bend last year and was one of the top pitchers in the league. He also was a strong hitter. Pitching will be crucial if West Bend hopes to repeat.

Menomonee Falls

Manager: Curt Weiskirch

Last year: 8-10

Returnees: Curt Weiskirch, Dan Green, Jason Mayer, Jeff Lueck, Chris Weissman, Don August and Rick Krajewski.

Of note: Former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Don August is back, and that means a lot to the Falls. Hitting is always solid for the Falls, but the team needs improved defense.

Sussex

Manager: Cory Gasper

Last year: 11-7

Returnees: Nick Ghelfi, Vic Erato, Cory Gasper, Seth Kroenke, Bryan Laabs, Nick Heppe, Jim Kais, Tim Saskowski, Darin Leveraus, Buck Konkol, Todd Johnson and Scott Carberry.

Of note: Sussex will add one more pitcher in Travis Thompson and that could give them three solid starting pitchers. The every week lineup rates with the best in the league and offense shouldn’t be a problem.

Lannon

Manager: Bruce Mayer

Last year: 9-9

Brookfield Bulldogs

Manager: Jason Booth

Last year: 13-5

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