Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire baseball team has received commitments from nine student-athletes, including two from Illinois high schools that played in state championship games this past season.
Coach Jami Isaacson’s 2012 Knox College baseball team qualified for the Midwest Conference Tournament for the first time in four years after finishing second in the league’s South Division with a 7-5 record. The squad’s 16 victories overall was the most since 1992.
The nine planning to join the program are Austin Bevenue (Belleville Althoff), Cody Boal (Dunn School – Los Olivos, CA), Gavin Crowell (Walter Payton Prep - Chicago, IL), Jeremy Gogoel (Hampshire), Geoffrey Hahn (United), Kyle Hammock (Bloom Trail), Blake Newberg (Rock Island Alleman), Martin Salazar (Normal Community), and Mitchell Weissenhofer (Marian Catholic).
Newberg was a member of Western Big Six Conferemce member Alleman’s 2012 Class 2A state runner-up team that fell to Normal U High 5-4 in eight innings and concluded the season with a 29-13 record. He came up big for the Pioneers in the 2A championship game by belting a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh that tied the score at 3-3 and forced extra innings.
Isaacson said Newberg was recruited to play two positions – outfield and catcher.
“Blake does everything well and he’s a good baseball player. He comes from one of the finest youth baseball programs in the country (the Quad City Hitmen) and he has played against the best in the country. Being from Alleman, he played against the best in the state of Illinois so we expect him to come in and compete right away in terms of at-bats and he’s going to get some catching in.”
The other Prairie Fire newcomer from a high school that advanced to a state title game in baseball is Weissenhofer. He played for Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, IL), which claimed the Class 3A championship with a 10-2 victory against LaSalle-Peru. Weissenhofer, who Isaacson envisions as a catcher and a pitcher, also plans to play linebacker for the Knox football team. He was a member of the Spartan football team (Class 7A), which won the 1993 state title and placed second in 1999.
“Mitchell is going to come in and compete right away for the starting catching position. We have plans to make sure that he pitches as well. He did that at Marian Catholic. He’s obviously been around great baseball being a 3A state champ and he’s played with three to four (NCAA) Division I players most of his life.”
A local recruit, Hahn intends to play baseball (outfield) and football (running back) at Knox as well. He was an All-Lincoln Trail Conference selection in both sports during his career at United. Hahn was a key member of the 2011 Red Storm baseball team that compiled a 20-4 record, the most wins in the program’s history. He was also the leading rusher for the United football team that qualified for the Class 1A playoffs and posted a 7-3 mark last fall.
Isaacson said Hahn is a competitor. “He’s going to fit in Knox’s system extremely well. He knows right now he’s got to come in and compete with probably the best all-around outfield in Knox’s history. His development at the plate will be important for him. But what he’s going to give us in the future on the bases and probably in center field is going to be exciting because he can flat out run.”
Another first-year player projected as an outfielder for the Prairie Fire is Boal. Isaacson said he’s extremely athletic.
“A three-sport athlete looking to possibly play soccer (at Knox), he can really run and will fit in nice with the loss of Dexter Brown (to graduation). His career could probably mimic Dexter’s. As he matures, I could see him at the bottom or the top of the (batting) order creating a lot of havoc on the bases.”
Three of the new players are slated to play the infield – Bevenue (corner infield), Crowell (middle infield), and Gogoel (middle infield). Crowell and Gogoel also have a chance to pitch for the Prairie Fire.
Isaacson said an upside for both Bevenue and Gogoel is they are big.
“I expect as (Bevenue) grows and develops he’ll be a middle of the (batting) order guy and I really like the potential of where he’s going to be at the plate.
“(Gogoel) has been through the fires having to produce for his team; he’s hit third, fourth, or fifth. He’s taken the ball when games are on the line. We expect him to come in and compete immediately for innings on the mound. I see him as a starting pitcher (his first-year). With some growth I can see him replacing Gabe Ayers and Dustin Armstrong in the future.”
Isaacson said Crowell did a lot as a four-year starter at Walter Payton Prep.
“He played shortstop, third base, and he pitched. Actually I don’t know if there’s a position on the diamond that Gavin hasn’t played. We’re going to put him in the middle infield early next fall and let him develop with our mature guys and catch up with the college game.”
Isaacson said Crowell has really good arm strength and the coaching staff likes where he’s going to be as a middle infielder or a third baseman down the road, and a pitcher.
A pitcher the coaching staff is looking forward to developing is Salazar. Isaacson said the tall, long hurler didn’t log a lot of innings in high school.
“Mother Nature hasn’t caught up with who Martin’s going to be,” Isaacson said. “He is going to be a big, strong, right handed pitcher and we’re excited about that. As long as Martin is patient with his body and his development, we’re going to be real excited about his velocity. The thing that he has right now is command on the mound. He throws a ton of strikes.”
Adding depth at catcher is Hammock. Isaacson describes him as a “baseball junkie” who will get bigger and stronger.
“He has a lot of growth in terms of height and weight. He’s going to be a great teammate and a guy that grows into the (catcher) position,” Isaacson said. “His body will fill in, and as much as he loves the game and as hard as he works at it, I can see him by his junior or senior year really competing and helping us win baseball games here at Knox.”
Isaacson said the new players provide Knox baseball with a balanced recruiting class.
“This class was recruited to replace the senior class, which was an awfully big recruiting class for us. We’re going to be graduating eight and to keep our numbers, and hopefully our talent pool the same, we needed a balanced class and we got that. We’re excited about keeping our numbers right where they were.”
The incoming players, while capable of competing for playing time immediately, won’t need to be rushed along because of a strong core of returning players.
“Some of the first-year players are going to be able to learn from the guys (on the team now) that have been through the battles…and some are going to be able to come in and contribute right away. That is what creates a balanced recruiting class when you can throw in some new players and they compete but you don’t have to count on.”
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