DENMARK – The Denmark Vikings baseball team has made a historic run over the past three seasons, winning three second-straight division titles.
There are a lot of changes this year – lots of modern faces on the diamond and two modern head coaches on the bench. That’s right, two head coaches.
“It’s a long story and we have such high expectations every year,” senior pitcher and first baseman Grant Schroeder said. “Nothing has changed. We just have to keep working and it all starts here.
A lot has changed since they won their third trophy in a row last year. Legendary head coach Bill Miller has left the program after three decades with the Vikings.
“It was surprising,” senior pitcher and quarterback Jaycob Dittmer said. “He’s been here so long that it was different when he wasn’t the main name in Denmark.”
How big are Miller’s shoes to fill? We have 2 new head coaches.
“It’s kind of weird, but I just think of them as coaches,” Schroeder said. “Everything is the same in my head.”
One of them is Łukasz Krashnewski, a long-time assistant.
“Luke does all the pitching,” said sophomore head coach Chris DeLarwelle. “I think that’s been the case for the last 15 years. I stay away from it as much as I can.”
DeLarwelle is there to help hitters.
“What we’re missing on our team is hitting, and he’s right here to help us hit,” Dittmer said.
DeLarwelle brings extensive hitting experience, having played for the minor league Minnesota Twins.
“I remember going to spring training and Tony Oliwa helping me,” he said. “For those older people who know about it, especially those who like twins, having a Hall of Famer helping you, it’s pretty cool.”
The two head coaches have a familiar face to help, and Bill Miller is still around to help.
“It’s pretty nice,” senior catcher Ebyn LaForest said. “It’s quite nice. He’s definitely in a little better mood.”
“He knows every inch of the field you can imagine,” DeLarwelle said. “The education part, the rules, having him around is extremely important and I learn from him all the time.”
Despite the high level that the program has set for itself, this season they just put their heads down and get to work…
“I hope these kids get better and better every day. If we can improve our pitching, defense and hopefully improve our hitting, we should be in good shape,” DeLarwelle said.
The Vikings begin their season at Fox Valley Lutheran on Tuesday, April 2.
