The Spring Hill Chargers are having exactly the opposite kind of season than they had in 2013.
They just hope 2014 concludes the way last season did, with a state tournament berth.
The Chargers have the best record in the Stearns County League, are ranked third in the state in Class C, and look like one of the best bets to eventually emerge from Region 15C, which this year is in Elrosa.
They can close out the regular season with a 12-1 record with a win at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at New Munich. Then, the journey back to the state tournament begins. This year's festivities are in Jordan and Belle Plaine.
"Things are going quite well," Spring Hill manager Randy Schoenberg said in his understated way.
The reasons for their success aren't hard to fathom. A glance at the Stearns County League website is full of statistics that spell it out.
They lead the league with a .323 batting average, a .413 on-base percentage and a .489 slugging percentage. That's an OPS (on-base and slugging percentages combined) of .902. And that's really, really good for a slugger, much less an entire team.
Second baseman Eric Terres leads the way with a .513 average. Six starters hit .317 or better.
But it's more than that.
The Chargers also lead the league with a 2.14 ERA. Elrosa (2.30), Richmond (2.41) and St. Martin (2.50) are all close and, not surprisingly, among the league leaders in their respective North and South Divisions.
Spring Hill is second in WHIP (walks and hits allowed divided by innings pitched) with a 1.20. Richmond (1.17) is a hair better. St. Martin (1.23) and Elrosa (1.26) are right there.
With few opponents on base and with the excellent offense, all that adds up to a team having an excellent summer.
"I think it's just that we're hitting the ball, throwing strikes and playing defense," Schoenberg said. "It's those three things. ...
"As long as you play defense and throw strikes, it's hard to score a lot of runs with wood bats."
Unlike most of the league, where almost every tiny town has a dominant ace (the teams that don't struggle), Spring Hill spreads out its pitching.
There are four main starters. Cody Eichers leads the way with 23 innings pitched. Chris Spanier, Corey Schoenberg and Louie Opatz, back after missing last year while he finished up his schooling in Oregon, also are capable and relied upon.
"The weird thing, we just rotate guys," Randy Schoenberg said.
It's working, obviously.
Around the horn, the Chargers are using a defensive alignment that usually looks like this: Nathan Terres (.375) at catcher, Spanier at first, Eric Terres at second, Jamie Terres (.367) at short and Eric Schoenberg at third.
In the outfield, it has been [Cory Schoenberg] (.429), Shawn Schoenberg (.455) and [Eichers] (.317).
And, this is Stearns County and the sign as you enter Spring Hill says population 80. So, of course, there are a lot of relatives. Most of the team went to Melrose High School.
The three Terres boys are brothers. Randy Schoenberg is the father of Eric, Corey, Shawn and Austin Schoenberg, who all play.
The team's lone loss is 4-1 to Richmond. Royals ace Ben Schroeder shut the Chargers down.
"You've got to give him credit," Randy Schoenberg said. "He was hitting his spots that day, no doubt."
Otherwise, Spring Hill has won six in a row and has been the top team in the league. It's a far cry from last summer, when the Chargers had a 5-8 regular season. They played well in the playoffs, however, and earned a state-tournament berth, the third in team history (2007 and '11 are the other two).
At state, they lost to the Jordan Brewers, a state power, 3-2 in 13 innings. It was a great game and the kind that gets you noticed by state pollsters.
It's probably one reason why Spring Hill is ranked third in the state.
"That, I'm not so sure about," Randy Schoenberg said carefully.
The fun part is the Chargers get to prove whether they belong that high starting next week.
(St. Cloud Times)