Messenger photo by Britt Kudla The St. Edmond baseball team’s returning letterwinners are (left to right): Jake Szalat, Sam Dougall, Brant Reiling and Nick O’Brien. Not pictured: Cole Allison.

The St. Edmond baseball team will be turning a new page this summer.

Six seniors have departed from last season, including regulars Colin Flattery, Reid Johnson, Robert Flattery, Michael Sharkey and Jason Setterdahl.

Combined, those six accounted for 102 hits, 37 steals and 28 extra-base hits, along with 13 wins on the mound and 144 strikeouts.

So, to say veteran head coach Joe Shanks will be seeing many new faces around the diamond would be an understatement.

The Gaels posted a record of 18-13 last year, suffering a gut-wrenching 5-4 loss in 11 innings to West Sioux in a substate final. It marked the second straight year that St. Edmond lost one game from state on a walkoff home run.

“We had a lot of anchors in that senior class,” said Shanks, who won his 500th game last season. “They really were good competitors who had a great edge to the way they played.”

Those six senior starters aren’t the only ones missing from the roster. Logan Fear, who started 29 games a year ago, will not be able to play after undergoing shoulder surgery, while a handful of others are also gone.

But the cupboard is not completely bare. Cole Allison, a 22-game starter as a junior, is back, along with Brant Reiling, Sam Dougall, Nick O’Brien and Jake Szalat.

“This is just a group of kids that want to play baseball,” Shanks said. “They are fun to work with, and come to the ballpark wanting to get better every single day.

“With so many unknowns, we have the chance to let them go out, play, and see what they are really good at. Many of them had success at the junior varsity level, but varsity pitching is much different and we’ll have to adjust.”

The Gaels also picked up Connor Allison, Cole’s senior twin brother, and have a handful of freshmen and eighth-graders looking to make an impact.

Cole Allison is the top hitter back, as the senior batted .288 with six steals, 14 RBI and 16 runs scored in 23 games. Reiling scored 12 runs last year, while Dougall had 12 hits and five RBI.

Once finished with soccer, both Allison brothers will be in the outfield along with O’Brien, who Shanks says “has as good an arm as we’ve had out there.”

“Cole and Connor have been splitting time with soccer and baseball, but they are hard-nosed kids who love the game,” Shanks said. “We were able to get Connor to come back out (after not playing last year) — he is a welcome addition.”

Dougall and Reiling are competing for the shortstop job, with Dougall also expected to play at second base. Jackson Kochendorfer, a sophomore, is the first baseman, while Nick Bennett, Gage Johnson and eighth-grader Cael Kolacia can all help provide depth.

“We’ve got kids that are willing to learn and grow into a position,” Shanks said. “I don’t think the lineup we put out there on Tuesday will be anything like what we have in two, four or six weeks, but we’ll compete and play hard.”

Szalat is the top pitcher returning after going 3-2 in six starts a year ago. The junior recorded 23 strikeouts in 37 inning and had an earned run average of 2.08.

“Jake is a smart player,” Shanks said. “He’ll give you everything you ask and always works extremely hard.”

Jack McEvoy, a sophomore, slides in at catcher for Szalat, who will see time at third base when he isn’t on the mound.

Reiling and O’Brien also saw time on the mound, throwing a combined 17-plus innings with 10 strikeouts. Kochendorfer, Dougall and Kolacia round out the pitching staff.

St. Edmond opens its season Tuesday night vs. Southeast Valley at Rogers Park. The Gaels begin North Central Conference action on Wednesday, May 31 at Humboldt.

Clear Lake remains the preseason favorite in the NCC with Algona also pushing for the title.

“The thing I’ve always like is our kids are fighters,” Shanks said. “We might not have as much talent as Clear Lake or Algona, but we’ll give them everything we can.”

Shanks is assisted by Mike Szalat and CJ Tracy.

ST. EDMOND BASEBALL

Roster

Seniors

Cole Allison, Connor Allison, Brant Reiling, Nick O’Brien, Sam Dougall.

Juniors

Brandon Earls, Evan Schmitz, Jake Szalat.

Sophomores

Chris Baker, Gage Johnson, Nick Bennett, Jack McEvoy, Jackson Kochendorfer.

Freshmen

Connor Bocken, Noah Carlson, Jed Tracy.

Eighth-graders

Thornton Aljets, Sean Flattery, Grant Heldorfer, Cael Kolacia, Peyton Scott, Devon Wirtz.

Schedule

(All games at 7:30 p.m unless otherwise noted)

May 23 — Southeast Valley; 25 — at Manson NW; 29 — host Patterson Field Tournament, 10 a.m. (Newell-Fonda, West Marshall, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura); 31 — at Humboldt.

June 2 — Iowa Falls-Alden; 3 — at CYO in Carroll (vs. Remsen St. Mary’s in Glidden, noon); 5 — at Algona; 7 — Clear Lake; 9 — Clarion-Goldfield/Dows; 10 — at Dowling Tournament (vs. Iowa City Regina, 1:30 p.m.; vs. Mason City Newman, 5 p.m.); 12 — Webster City; 13 — at North Union; 14 — at Hampton-Dumont; 15 — Eagle Grove; 19 — Humboldt; 20 — Pocahontas Area; 21 — at Iowa Falls-Alden; 22 — Roland-Story, 5:30 p.m.; 23 — at Clarion-Goldfield/Dows; 26 — Algona; 28 — at Clear Lake; 29 — at Bishop Garrigan; 30 — at Webster City.

July 3 — Hampton-Dumont.