Rockets’ baseball team is ready to launch

Cedar Grove-Belgium High School’s baseball team reloaded this season.

The Rockets return Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) North East District Co-Player of the Year Ira Hilbelink, who was also named Big East Conference South Player of the Year, and five other all-conference players.

On the mound, Hilbelink went 7-1 with an earned-run average of 1.42, allowing batters a .143 average as a sophomore. He allowed 27 hits in 54-1/3 innings, struck out 85 and walked 22.

In Monday’s’ 10-0, five-inning season opener against visiting New Holstein, Hilbelink didn’t allow a hit through 4-2/3 innings before giving up just one. He whiffed seven, hit a batter and only threw 52 pitches, touching 90 mph on a few.

Coach Tom Race has enough pitching depth for two normal high school squads.

Behind Hilbelink are senior Carter Schmitz, juniors Austin Knapp and Griffin Knight and senior Seth Race.

Last season, Knight was named to the Big East first team as an outfielder and to the second team as pitcher. He went 6-1 on the mound with an ERA of 2.22, whiffing 53 and walking 19 in 41 innings.

Schmitz earned honorable mention at pitcher, going 4-1 with an ERA of 1.56, striking out 37 and walking 13 in 36 innings. Race, the coach’s son, was named to the second team at infield. He went 2-1 pitching with an ERA of 1.50.

Nearly every member of the team could pitch, Race said.

“I think we’re pretty good,” he said.

Whoever is on the mound will be throwing to all-conference players. Junior Connor Waters was named to the second team as an outfielder, as was Jonah Banton as catcher. The two switched off behind the plate every other game.

Waters had a .980 fielding percentage and hit .348 with 11 RBIs and 14 runs scored. He swiped 20 bases. He caught on Monday and threw out three runners.

Banton had an .985 fielding percentage and hit. 232 with 11 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

Race is still finalizing the batting order, but he said it will likely have Knight leading off, followed by Seth Race and Hilbelink.

Last season, Knight led the state in steals with 35 and broke a single-season school record. He led off the entire season and batted .333 with 24 RBIs and 25 runs scored.

Race hit .350 with 16 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

Hilbelink led the team in hitting with a .434 average, a .645 slugging percentage and four triples. He had 17 RBIs, five doubles, a home run and 23 runs scored.

A mix of Waters, Knapp, Banton and Schmitz will follow those three. Schmitz last season hit .284 with 16 RBIs and 21 runs scored.

In the field, Hilbelink, Schmitz, Knight and Seth Race “all can play at a very high level at shortstop,” Race said, with Hilbelink and Schmitz likely getting most of the time there.

Seth Race is penciled in at third base.

Knapp is at second base and made a diving catch behind first base in Monday’s season opener.

Banton or junior Josh Anzia will be at first base, with the other possibly in right field.

Waters will be in right or center when he isn’t catching.

Knight will mostly patrol center field, which he excelled at last season. Hilbelink can also play there.

Left field is being figured out. Cooper Schmidt, Griffin Posthuma or Noah Lukens, who came out for baseball as a senior, are vying for the spot.

“He’s done really good for three weeks in baseball,” Race said of Lukens.

Posthuma, he said, will be an all-conference player in time, and Anzia, a state-qualifying wrestler at 215 pounds, is “just a big kid who physically matured. Baseball’s his favorite sport and he works hard at it.”

The Rockets are coming off a 21-5 season in which they went 12-0 in the conference, repeating as league champs, and advanced to the sectional final.

Among those lost to graduation were Brayden Oelhafen, a Big East Co-Player of the Year in 2024 as a pitcher before a shoulder injury had him playing first base last season. He had a .979 fielding percentage, and he hit. 320 with 26 RBIs and 14 runs scored and was named to the Big East first team for the third straight season.

Brody Kraus, an honorable mention, also graduated. He played right field and some center, and he hit .491 with nine RBIs and 17 runs scored.

The team was talented last season but young and struggled against top pitching, Race said. Now players have more experience and they came in ready to go.

After indoor practices, Race worked on situations like bunt coverages and double steals during the first game.

“We ran one play and we got it down,” he said. “Our starting nine are very polished and very experienced. We had an incredible three weeks of practice. I was very happy with the effort.”

At the plate on Monday, Hilbelink went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Knapp had a double and two RBIs. Schmitz, Seth Race and Anzia each had a hit and an RBI. Hilbelink, Knight and Race each scored twice.

Coach Race scheduled tough nonconference games against Whitefish Bay, St. Mary’s Springs, Grafton, New Berlin Eisenhower, Kewaskum and Kettle Moraine Lutheran to challenge his squad.

“I think it’s great. I think we’re going to see a lot of teams’ best pitchers,” Race said.

Random Lake will again be the Rockets’ biggest competition for the Big East South title. Last year, the Rockets beat the Rams, 7-6 on a walkoff and 3-1.

“We’re going to battle them for the championship and they’re going to go far in the playoffs,” Race said. “They’re going to be a really good team. Coach (Mike) Donahue is a good coach. They’re going to be well prepared.”

The Rockets play at Grafton at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, host Port Washington at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 11, and host Ozaukee at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14.