2017 Wilton Baseball Preview - Beavers In For Another Good Season

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

WILTON — Last season was another fine baseball season for the Wilton Beavers.  A 29-win season and head coach Jake Souhrada got his 500th victory last year were a couple highlights from the season.  The Beavers 29 wins tied for the most in class 2A last season.  

The Beavers said goodbye to seniors Chaz Hartman (outfield), Zach Randolph (shortstop), Javin Drake (pitcher and infield) and Jon Henessee (catcher) after they graduated.  

Drake led Wilton in batting (.491 ave., 55 hits, 40 RBI’s) and pitching (10-1 record in 72 IP, 122 k’s, 12 bb’s, 0.29 ERA).  Randolph batted .321 with 36 hits and 20 stolen bases and he had a 90-percent fielding percent.  Henessee batted .389 with 35 hits and 19 RBI’s and threw out 12 base stealers last year from behind the plate.  Hartman batted .310 with 27 hits and 21 RBI’s.

This season, the Beavers begin the season ranked number-2 in the preseason class 2A rankings and have five returning players from their starting lineup last year.

Four of the Beavers returners will return with All-RVC All-conference honors.  Seniors Evan Reifert, Jake Lenker and Kaleb Timmsen were on the Elite team and Jared Townsend was on the South Division team at utility.

Reifert was an elite selection at pitcher.  He will attend NIACC next year to play baseball.  Reifert was 9-0 in 49 innings in nine starts.  He had an ERA of 1.29 and 92 strikeouts against 25 walks.  At the plate, he batted .450, second on the team, with 50 hits, 43 RBI’s, 24 stolen bases and 13 doubles.

Timmsen was an Elite team outfielder.  He will move into the field and catch this season.  Timmsen batted .432 in 95 at-bats with 41 hits and 26 RBI’s.  He is an outstanding fielder and had no errors last season on defense.

Lenker batted .365 with 31 hits and 19 RBI’s and Townsend batted .394 with 39 hits and 28 RBI’s.  Townsend pitched and had a record of 5-1 in 37 1/3 innings with a 1.69 ERA.  Senior Brady Barrett returns at first base.  Barrett batted  .295 in 44 at bats with 14 RBI’s.

The biggest class for the Beavers out is their sophomore class.  Nine sophomores dot the  Beavers 2017 roster this season.  When Reifert pitches, sophomores Colin McCrabb and Cory Anderson will play third base and shortstop.  Chantz Stevens, Garrett Bohnsack and Brian Stillman also figure to see time this year in the line-up or in the field.  McCrabb had 15 at-bats last year and batted .333 and had four starts and a 1-2 record in 22 innings.

Others on the varsity roster are senior Matt Paustian, juniors Nolan Leaton and Austin Pleggenkhule and sophomores Brayton Wade, Ashton Stoelk and Brock Hartley.

The Beavers will play many of the schools in the larger MAC conference in non-conference games.  Wilton will host Davenport Central, Davenport Assumption and Muscatine and travel to Davenport West and Davenport North.  The Beavers also will play Mediapolis, Wapello, Easton Valley, Mt. Vernon and Fairfield in non-conference games.