Twins gunning for a big summer

The boys of summer are back. With the weather heating up, the Home Talent League is ready for another season of amateur baseball in Southern Wisconsin. Perennial power Sauk Prairie opens the new Sunday League season — which includes 42 teams this year — hosting Middleton at Chuck Hall Memorial Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans of the Twins, though, will notice one big change this season. With Richland Center dropping out of the league, that left 11 teams in the Northern Section, which includes perennial power Sauk Prairie.  That forced the Northern Section officials to abandon the previous format of two divisions — Eastern and Western Divisions — and form one league this season. “With Richland Center folding the day before our league meeting, moving to one division was about the only option without moving teams to different Sections,” Sauk Prairie Twins player/manager Lucas Koenig said. “We were ready to approve the schedule for the new season, so we had to scramble and make some changes.” For the first time, Northern Sections teams will play each other at least once in Sunday League play. The two remaining opponents to complete the 12-game regular season schedule were then randomly selected. Sauk Prairie will play Wisconsin Dells and Reedsburg twice.  Also, for the first time, the Twins will play a Sunday League doubleheader against Wisconsin Dells on June 20 beginning at noon. “At first, we were going to play a double weekend series on a Saturday and a Sunday back-to-back,” Lucas Koenig said. “But then we thought, ‘hey, let’s make this a doubleheader, that would be fun.’ It takes up only one day of our weekend, so families would be happy about it.  “I don’t think I’ve ever played a Home Talent League doubleheader. It will be different and hopefully fun. We’ll see if we can do something to make it different and fun, maybe a ‘Youth Day.’ Maybe a home run derby between games would be interesting. We’ll see.” Sauk Prairie also opens Thursday Night League play at Wisconsin Dells on May 16 at 7 p.m. Once again, the Twins are expected to compete for a Sunday League title and to qualify for the HTL Final Four and overall championship. A year ago, combined with the Twins’ Thursday Night League team, the program finished the season with a 23-6 overall record.   Verona, a perennial league power that plays in the Western Section, is the two-time defending HTL champion. But over the past three seasons, the Twins have the most regular season wins of any Home Talent League team. Their last appearance in the Final Four was in 2021. It will be business as usual for Sauk Prairie this season, though, with the Twins poised for another great campaign. “We have a pretty strong lineup of guys who have been playing a long time,” said Lucas Koenig, who is also the team’s starting catcher. “There is a lot of excitement on the team, and a realization that we might not have that many more years together. So, we’re hoping that we can really enjoy it.” Sauk Prairie finished 12-1 in Sunday League play in 2023, winning the Western Division title and earning the No. 1 seed in the Northern Section playoffs. The Twins’ top seed led to three home playoff games, which included victories over Cross Plains and Reedsburg before falling to Waunakee with a trip to the Final Four on the line.   However, Sauk Prairie lost to Waunakee for the second straight year in the playoffs, so the Twins will be looking for some revenge this season. Sauk Prairie’s offense was one of the most prolific in all of Home Talent League baseball in 2023 and is expected to pack a punch again this season.   Lucas Koenig said the Twins have reasons for optimism in 2024 led by the return of Northern Section Most Valuable Player Mike Jordahl. In his first season as the Twins’ starting first baseman, Jordahl hit .400 with seven home runs to pace Sauk Prairie. The Twins also return six other players who batted over .300 a year ago, including shortstop Alex Mayer (.396), second baseman Quinn Baier (.379), catcher Lucas Koenig (.353), infielder/pitcher Joah Carlson (.341), third baseman/pitcher Sam Koenig (.339), and outfielder Benjamin Lenerz (.339). Veteran outfielder and mainstay Chucky Schara is also expected back for another season. Sauk Prairie’s pitching staff will be led by Sam Koenig, Connor Leister, Leo Joyce, and Adam Ballweg, along with Noah Frey, who emerged as a reliable arm in his first full season with the Twins.   Other dates to circle on your calendar include June 1, when Sauk Prairie will host a Youth camp, and Aug. 2, when the Twins host a Home Talent All-Star game featuring players from the Western and Northern Sections.   Following the 12-game regular season, the top eight teams in the Northern Section will qualify for the league playoffs, which begin Sunday, July 28. The Northern Section championship game is set for Sunday, Aug. 11. The Final Four round-robin championship round is scheduled to be held from Aug. 18 through Sept. 1, weather permitting. While the HTL season used to begin in late April and early May and last into late September, post-COVID changes have led to a later start and earlier finish to the season. “Each season there is discussion about the length of the season,” Lucas Koenig said. “Starting after Mother’s Day makes things a little easier on our umps, who umpire high school baseball as they are wrapping up that busy time of the season.   “Also, many teams like the later start and earlier finish to allow players from college to get back and high school players a better opportunity to play.”       May 19 Wisconsin Dells at Ashton, 1 p.m. Middleton at Sauk Prairie, 1 p.m. Waunakee at Black Earth, 1 p.m. Cross Plains at Reedsburg, 1 p.m.   May 24 Plain at Black Earth 7:30 p.m.   May 25 Middleton at Waunakee, 1 p.m. Wisconsin Dells at Cross Plains, 3 p.m.   May 26 Wisconsin Dells at Mazomanie, 1 p.m. Sauk Prairie at Ashton, 1 p.m. Middleton at Cazenovia, 1 p.m. Cross Plains at Waunakee, 1 p.m.   May 27 Cazenovia at Ashton, 1 p.m. Black Earth at Mazomanie, 1 p.m. Sauk Prairie at Reedsburg, 1 p.m.   June 2 Plain at Cross Plains, 1 p.m. Sauk Prairie at Cazenovia, 1 p.m. Reedsburg at Middleton, 1 p.m. Black Earth at Wisconsin Dells, 1 p.m. Mazomanie at Ashton, 1 p.m.   June 7 Ashton at Reedsburg, 7 p.m. Middleton at Black Earth, 7:30 p.m.   June 8 Cross Plains at Cazenovia, 1 p.m. Mazomanie at Waunakee, 1 p.m. Plain at Wisconsin Dells, 1 p.m.   June 9 Ashton at Plain, 1 p.m. Cazenovia at Black Earth, 1 p.m. Cross Plains at Sauk Prairie, 1 p.m. Wisconsin Dells at Waunakee, 1 p.m. Reedsburg at Mazomanie, 1 p.m.   June 14 Mazomanie at Black Earth, 7:30 p.m.   June 16 Waunakee at Middleton, 1 p.m. Reedsburg at Sauk Prairie, 1 p.m. Cross Plains at Ashton, 1 p.m. Plain at Cazenovia, 1 p.m.   June 22 Black Earth at Reedsburg, 6 p.m.   June 23 Ashton at Middleton, 1 p.m. Waunakee at Mazomanie, 1 p.m. Cazenovia at Cross Plains, 1 p.m. Wisconsin Dells at Plain, 1 p.m.   June 28 Cazenovia at Plain, 6 p.m.   June 30 Wisconsin Dells at Sauk Prairie (DH), noon/2:30 p.m. Ashton at Cross Plains, 1 p.m. Mazomanie at Middleton, 1 p.m. Reedsburg at Waunakee, 1 p.m.   July 4 Cazenovia at Wisconsin Dells, 12:30 p.m. Ashton at Waunakee, 1 p.m. Sauk Prairie at Mazomanie, 4 p.m. Plain at Reedsburg, 4 p.m.   July 6 Black Earth at Middleton, 1 p.m.   July 7 Black Earth at Sauk Prairie, 1 p.m. Mazomanie at Cazenovia, 1 p.m. Middleton at Cross Plains, 1 p.m. Waunakee at Plain, 1 p.m. Reedsburg at Wisconsin Dells, 1 p.m.   July 12 Mazomanie at Plain, 7 p.m. Ashton at Black Earth, 7:30 p.m.   July 14 Cazenovia at Reedsburg, 1 p.m. Cross Plains at Mazomanie, 1 p.m. Plain at Middleton, 1 p.m. Waunakee at Sauk Prairie, 1 p.m.   July 19 Middleton at Wisconsin Dells, 7:30 p.m.   July 21 Black Earth at Cross Plains, 1 p.m. Reedsburg at Ashton, 1 p.m. Sauk Prairie at Plain, 1 p.m. Waunakee at Cazenovia, 1 p.m.