New Springdale baseball coach Burger wants to ‘revive program’
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Tuesday, March 20, 2018 | 5:03 PM
Springdale alum Brett Burger is back in black and orange.
Coming off one season of wearing brown and gold as the Highlands skipper, Burger, has come back home with hopes of leading his alma mater back into the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
“(Being back at Springdale) has been a lot of fun so far,” said Burger, a 2005 Springdale grad. “It was a no-brainer when the position opened up. This is an opportunity for me to come home.”
Burger is hoping to lead Springdale to more on-field success.
Disguised in the fact that Springdale (5-10, 4-6) reached the postseason last year for the second season in a row is the Dynamos did it with a losing record and dropped four of their final six games of the regular season. The Dynamos qualified for the postseason by finishing fourth in Section 1-A.
“Nobody wants to make the playoffs under .500,” Burger said. “Our goal is to compete for the section title and, obviously, make the playoffs.
“We don't think we're a fourth-place team, and we think there's a little bit more excitement around the program this year.”
Excitement might be an understatement. The Dynamos' roster swelled from 12 players last season to 20 this year. Burger said he was really impressed with the collection talent when he started holding open-gym workouts.
The Dynamos are loaded with upperclassmen. Burger has 10 seniors and six juniors to provide the leadership and plenty of depth. Springdale also will field a junior varsity team for the first time in a long while.
Burger's pitching staff will start with a pair of seniors in ace right-hander Dylan Hargenrader and Dylan Zezza, as well as junior Issac Kern. Burger said Hargenrader, a strikeout pitcher, has all the tools and will be relied on to eat up innings. Hargenrader finished last season with a 3-2 record as a starter.
“Pitching has always been my thing, and this year I think I'm ready to go as the No. 1 of the staff,” Hargenrader said. “I'm real excited.”
Hargenrader said he enjoys the pressures that come along with being the Dynamos' ace.
“I like when my teammates lean on me like that,” Hargenrader said.
Infield play will be the key to the Dynamos' success this season.
There's competition at first base between sophomore Garrett Apuzzo and seniors Devin Wilks and Josh Harmon.
Kern will be back at second base, where he committed just one error last season.
Zezza will start at shortstop, and junior William Vokes will play third base. Senior Nick Taliani will take over behind the plate as catcher.
“We really like Vokes at third, and Harmon is in the mix somewhere, too,” Burger said. “Junior Josh Jones will get the nod at center field and move to right field when Hargenrader comes off the mound. There's a battle for the second and third outfielder positions between seniors Aligha Yungwirth, Zach Wilhelm and Harmon.
“We want to kind of revive the program here at Springdale,” Burger said. “It means a lot to me for me to be the head coach here at Springdale.”
William Whalen is a freelance writer.
Tags: Springdale
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