The Northfield High School baseball team completed its 2023 season with an impressive 16-3 record in its final 19 games of the season.
Included in this run were Section 1AAA tournament victories over Faribault, Stewartville and Winona before taking Byron to the limit with a 4-1 victory and a close 8-7 loss in the Section 1AAA championship game to finish the season.
The Raiders, which completed their 2023 season with a 19-7, 13-3 Big 9 record, are poised for continued success in 2024, as head coach Josh Spitzack’s squad will return several key performers from last year’s team.
“We have a lot of guys coming back with a lot of experience,” Spitzack said. “Some of our key offensive players who came up in big spots for us are returners and that’s always good to have those guys back who have been in those situations.”
The heart of that returning group are the Raiders four senior captains, which includes infielder Jake Geiger, pitcher Grant Hutton, outfielder Kam Kaiser and outfielder/pitcher Austin Koep.
Both Kaiser and Koep gained All-Big 9 status in 2023. A St. Cloud State baseball recruit, Koep was also selected to play in the state All-Star series last summer.
All are tested veterans who played a major role in their squad’s success last year and are a key reason why Northfield has already received a number seven ranking in this year’s Class AAA state preseason poll.
“We have a good group of guys coming back who helped us go pretty far, that group along with some of the younger guys, if we can get them going too, I think we will have a really good group,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser and Koep will anchor the Northfield outfield along with Tegan Mellgren, who also established himself as a key component in the Raider pitching rotation last year.
A talented three-sport athlete, Geiger was the squad’s starting shortstop last year and Spitzack looks to junior Seth Thompson and senior Gabe Heinritz to play expanded roles for Northfield in 2024.
Behind the plate, senior Aaron Reisetter will return after playing in a back-up role to departed starter Gabe Sawyer.
“Aaron (Reisetter) caught a third of the games last year and has some good experience and we feel really good with him back there. He’s a really good player and he saw what Gabe (Sawyer) did as a leader behind the plate and I think he will fill that for us this year,” Spitzack said.
A big question for the Raiders will be the replacement of key starters on the mound. Nolan Thompson, Tyler Hughes and Spencer Mellgren were all major parts of the NHS pitching line-up and all graduated in 2023.
“We have a lot of good pitchers but we did lose a few good arms from last year. Hopefully the juniors coming in this year can help with that,” said Hutton, who will provide the Raiders with important veteran pitching experience in 2024.
Kaiser added, “We lost a few big pitchers and I think a lot of guys will have a chance to step up. We have a few seniors who can pitch like Grant Hutton and Austin Koep and we will be looking for guys to step up for sure.”
Spitzack believes his pitching staff will be ready for the challenge and also ready to step into the spotlight provided by those openings in the pitching rotation left by the graduated players.
“We have some pitchers who didn’t have a ton of innings last year but it was more because the guys who were pitching last year were so successful,” Spitzack said. “Our guys are ready for their chance this year and ready to step up.”
The focus on this year’s team might be key seniors but the Raiders will certainly be assisted by a wealth of new talent.
“We have a lot of returning players who were juniors in last year’s class, who are going to be a big help and we have a lot of younger guys who will be able to come up and help — mostly on the pitching end,” Geiger said.
This year’s senior captain are looking forward to the challenge of the new season and want to savor their final season of Raider baseball — and enjoy their positions as team leaders.
“It means a lot to be a captain…just helping the younger guys out will be great,” Koep said.
Kaiser added, “It is definitely awesome…it’s senior year and you get a chance to play baseball with your buddies and we will have fun doing that.”
Northfield will get its season underway on April 4 with a game at Mankato West. The Raiders’ home opener is set for April 9 at 5:00 p.m. against Mankato East followed by a full slate of games in the Big 9.
The games against Mankato West and Mankato East will be good tests for the Raiders as Mankato West is ranked eighth in the Class AAA preseason poll and placed second in state in 2022, while Mankato East is ranked 10th. In Section 1AAA, Byron will be a team to watch along with Red Wing.
“Byron got us last year (in the Section final) and we would love to have a chance to play them again, and Red Wing is another team to beat in the Section,” Spitzack said.
Kaiser also talked about the team’s unfinished business after advancing to the Section 1AAA title game in 2023.
“I feel like we have something to prove. We lost a few guys from last year’s team but I think we have the potential to be as good if not better and we are looking to prove that,” Kaiser said.
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