Belleville East baseball looking to build with returning experience, star catcher

New Belleville East baseball coach Ryan Wiggs brings an infusion of youth into a mostly experienced group of baseball coaches in the Southwestern Conference.

Wiggs will be the youngest coach in the conference at age 28, but he also understands the league well having played for Belleville East and later for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

“Baseball-wise it’s the same game and a lot of these guys I’m coaching are the same kids I’ve coached before,” said Wiggs, who coached the Lancers’ underclass teams before bring promoted to replace former head coach Todd Blomberg. “I don’t think I’ve changed my approach too much.

“Our conference is so tough that you don’t get a day off. Making sure our guys are dialed in every single day is important, whether it’s at practice or during the games.”

Season outlook

The Lancers were 18-13 last season, losing to O’Fallon in the regional.

They return one of the region’s top players in senior catcher and Missouri State recruit Drew Millas, but also lost their top two pitchers to graduation in Parkland College freshman Brady Schanuel (5-3, 1.37 ERA) and Miles Brunk (3-6, 2.82 ERA).

“They started almost every conference game, so we’re still trying to figure out where we’re at,” Wiggs said.

A talented three-sport standout who also plays football and basketball, Millas is the high school version of St. Louis Cardinals all-star catcher Yadier Molina in terms of importance to his team, his pitchers and the coaching staff. He also was the News-Democrat’s Large-School Football Player of the Year as a record-breaking quarterback.

The switch-hitting Millas hit .337 as a junior with five doubles, three triples and 15 RBIs. This is his third year as a starter.

“His stats are secondary to what he means to us,” Wiggs said. “His presence is unbelievably important to us. He’s a talented hitter and is plugged into the No. 3 hole for us.

“He’s very talented at the plate, but just as important is his ability to handle our pitchers behind the plate.”

Wiggs said it’s important to have a catcher he can trust to handle the pitchers and the many split-second situations that can arise during a game.

“He has really shown me that he can think as a catcher,” Wiggs said. “He’s also really worked on becoming more of a line-drive hitter and I’ve definitely seen an improvement there.”

Pitching depth could help

Despite the heavy loss of quality innings on the mound, Wiggs said pitching should be a particular strength for the Lancers. Handling the staff will be new pitching coach Mark Brackman, a former Detroit Tigers and Gateway Grizzlies minor-league pitcher who spent the last three seasons as the pitching coach at Althoff.

Brackman replaces longtime East pitching coach Brian Geluck, who stepped down along with Blomberg. Wiggs’ father, Kevin Wiggs, returns as an assistant coach.

“Our strength for sure will be our pitchers,” Ryan Wiggs said. We’ve got six strong arms and those six are really going to be our horses.”

Seniors Alex Phillips (1-0, 2.63 ERA) and junior left-hander Cody Freppon (3-1, 3.26 ERA) figure to anchor the mound staff along with senior Jeff Caringer (1-1, 1.19 ERA). Also in the mix are junior Evan Lawrence, junior lefty Mike Lassman and sophomore lefty Ben Cruikshank.

“We’re confident in all of them.”

Not much offense returns outside of catching spot

One of the keys to the season will be creating enough offense for what looks to be a fairly solid group of pitchers.

Senior center fielder Patrick Gaul (.281, six RBIs) signed with Lindenwood-Belleville and senior outfielder Isaiah King (.196, five RBIs) was also a starter. Izaiah Hitt (.294, five RBIs) figures to fill another outfield spot.

The infield includes senior Jordan Yates at first, senior Travis Michalke (.289, five RBIs) at second, senior Jalen Jones (.286) and Phillips (.171, seven RBIs) at short and junior Austin Galloway at third.

Phillips can play both middle infield spots as well as the outfield.

“He’s got a lot of mobility in his arsenal,” Wiggs said.

Without a lot of power, the Lancers will look to manufacture runs and accent situational hitting. They dropped their season opener 6-1 to Civic Memorial and were scheduled to play Dupo on Monday.

“Top to bottom, one through nine, our guys have really bought into what we’re trying to do there,” Wiggs said. “One of the coolest things about this group, starting with the seniors, is they are the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around. It’s a constant work ethic that hopefully will translate into some wins for us.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Belleville East baseball looking to build with returning experience, star catcher."