Baseball: Wolverines aim for another winning season

WADENA — The Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines baseball roster features a good balance of talent this season as they aim for a winning record after finishing 9-9 overall last spring.

“We should be solid offensively and defensively,” said W-DC head coach Kyle Dykhoff, whose team was scheduled to open the season hosting Pillager on Tuesday, April 1. “Pitching and two-strike hitting will be the key to our success.”

The Wolverines do have six letterwinners to build around, including seniors Connor Dutke, Cooper Ness, Carson Davis, Kobe Snyder; and juniors Jaydyn Kenney and Ben Kreklau.

“We have a number of freshmen through juniors who will also contribute,” Dykhoff said. “Many will be called upon to play multiple positions as lineups shuffle depending on the pitcher we face each game.”

Last season, W-DC was seeded ninth in the subsection and lost to No. 8 Staples-Motley 6-3 in the opening round of the Section 6-2A playoffs. The Cardinals then upset the subsection's top seed Holdingford, but lost to Albany in the subsection final. Foley then defeated Albany for the section title.

The Wolverines also finished with a 9-5 record in the Park Region Conference. They were 9-8 during the regular season, marking the ninth straight year with a winning record.

Also last year, Dykhof earned his 200th career coaching win. He is now 205-127 in 17 seasons. Assistant coaches are Kevin Tumberg, Zachary Martin and Jake Dykhoff.

April

1 - Pillager at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

4 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Parkers Prairie 4:30 p.m.

8 - Sebeka at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

11 - Menahga at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

14 - Osakis at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

15 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Pillager 4:30 p.m.

17 - Parkers Prairie at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

21 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Pierz 4:30 p.m.

22 - Wadena-Deer Creek at New York Mills 4:30 p.m.

24 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Ottertail Central 4:30 p.m.

28 - Staples-Motley at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

29 - Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

May

2 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Pine River-Backus 4:30 p.m.

6 - Ottertail Central at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.

8 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Sebeka 4:30 p.m.

9 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Menahga 4:30 p.m.

13 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale 4:30 p.m.

15 - Wadena-Deer Creek at Albany 4:30 p.m.

16 - New York Mills at Wadena-Deer Creek 8 p.m.

19 - St. Cloud Cathedral at Wadena-Deer Creek 4:30 p.m.