Superior Central senior Trent Rutter delivers a throw during practice on March 25, 2024 at Superior Central High School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

EBEN JUNCTION — Senior leadership and defense will be the two points of emphasis for Superior Central baseball team coming into the 2024 baseball season.

The Cougars finished the 2023 season 7-17 and lost 11-1 to Gladstone in district championship game. The Cougars had a 6-2 victory over Newberry and a 16-3 regular season win over North Central that highlighted the season.

“We started to figure things out toward the end of the season last year,” Cougars coach Greg Mannisto said. “With all the seniors coming into this season it puts us in a position to pick up where we left off.”

The Cougars have a solid core of senior pitchers including Blake Walther, Trent Rutter, Jason Kanerva and Bradly VanDamme. Walther looks to continue wreaking havoc on the mound thanks in large part to his deceptive curveball.

“They have a hard time getting hits off him,” Mannisto said. “You stand at the plate watching a pitch that looks like a fastball then drops to the knees out of nowhere that’s hard to adjust to.”

The Cougars will look to VanDamme, Walther, Rutter and Logan Frusti to provide good hitting for the Cougars.

Seniors C.J. Adams, Travis Mills and Andrew Cain round out the seniors for the 2024 season. Juniors include Drew Begovac, Timothy McLaury, Zach Lindquist and Matthew Pokela and Blake Tanner is the lone sophomore on the varsity squad. The Cougars will also have a JV team this season as they had 10 freshman join the sport in 2024 for a whopping total of 26 kids in the program.

“The JV team will give our kids a chance to get quality time on the field,” Mannisto said. “That’s important because we may need some young guys to fill spots for tournament time or in the case of injuries.”