After State Championship Win, Esko Baseball Embracing Challenges of a New Season

Esko said goodbye to eight seniors, including the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year Cale Haugen.

ESKO, Minn.- The start of a new season means a fresh start and clean slate for all teams.

Even coming off a Class AA state championship, the Esko baseball team has the same mentality. Nothing matters in the past, it’s all about moving forward.

Esko said goodbye to eight seniors, including the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year Cale Haugen. But this year’s team still has a lot of veterans on it.

Ben Haugen, who’s entering his 18th year at the helm, says the new season makes it feel like it’s year one all over again.

“New group of guys, new challenges, new things to figure out. So I’m excited about starting that process over again. I’ve always kind of worried, you know I’ve been doing this a long time and you know am I going to get tired of it. But every year I’m invigorated and I’m excited, it’s great to be around the guys. There’s a lot of buzz. I like to think that keeps me young because I just get excited about it and I think the young guys and the vibe just keeps you rolling,” said Haugen.

Esko returns plenty of pitching and offense headlined by seniors Finn Furcht and Trent Ondrus.

“I think we have more of a deeper pitching staff than we did last year. Last year, we had three main guys. This year, we have a bunch of guys who can fill in. Some funky guys, just a bunch of people that can step up if need be,” said Furcht.

“I think it’s going to take a lot of our offense and really clean baseball and just limiting mistakes. Playing the best brand of baseball forsure,” added Ondrus.

Esko begins their season on April 1st at Mesabi East.