Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 3 Appleton North

March 27, 2015

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

The Wisconsin high school season kicks off on March 31, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on March 23, getting their rosters set and finalizing their lineups.

Throughout the month of March we will be counting down our Preseason Power 25 Team Rankings leading up to the No. 1 team right before opening day.

CLICK HERE for complete Preseason Power 25.

No. 3 Appleton North

2014 Record: 23-4
WIAA Classification: 1
Conference: Fox Valley Association
Head Coach: David Eagan
2014 Playoff Run: Regional Champions

TOP PLAYERS

Alex Henwood, SS, 2015 (Nebraska)
Connor Wollersheim, LHP, 2015 (Kent State)
Tyce Wheeler, C, 2015
Jack Harvath, LHP, 2015
Kody Fiorito, RHP, 2015
Taylor Borchers, RHP/INF, 2016 (Gonzaga)

X-FACTOR

The Lightning are getting a huge shot in arm with adding senior LHP Connor Wollersheim to the mix. Wollersheim transferred to Appleton North after his sophomore year at Neenah and simultaneously had to miss his junior year due to transfer rules and having Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow. We’ve seen Wollersheim post-surgery this summer and he looks to be back to form and even then some. His fastball comfortably sits at 85-86 mph with the ability to reach 88 mph. Plug Wollersheim into a rotation that already returns first team all-conference LHP Jack Horvath (8-1, 3.05), Kody Fiorito (4-0, 5.15) and hard throwing Gonzaga commit Taylor Borchers who also reaches the upper 80’s and you have a very potent pitching rotation that gives North a winning chance every time they take the field.

OUTLOOK

Appleton North looks to be loaded again with talent in 2015. The Lightning went on a terror to start the 2014 season going 13-0 and saw themselves atop our Power 25 Rankings in week three. They were knocked out of the playoffs by West De Pere in the sectional semifinals where they ran in to one of the top arms in the state, Brendan Meissner. This year North has depth in front line pitching to combat that type of arm. Connor Wollersheim, Taylor Borchers and Jack Horvath all have the stuff to be dominant arms for the Lightning from start to finish. North will also have some junior arms new to the varsity staff that could be surprise contributors. Look for juniors RHP Mitchell Eady and LHP Joshua Gonzalez to step up for Coach Eagan at some point this spring. North also returns their top infielder in Nebraska commit Alex Henwood. Henwood is one of the slickest shortstops in the state and will mostly likely get the lineup started for Coach Eagan. The Lightning return a good portion of their offense starting with Henwood and including, Borchers, Tyce Wheeler, Fiorito and Chase Kreul. Also look for junior Evan Bohman to bring his bat to the table in 2015, Bohman has a quick powerful stroke that could add some punch to the middle of the lineup. North will have a good combination of senior leadership and underclass talent that could be a deadly combination for opponents in 2015. They have one of the toughest sectionals to get out of but their front line arms should make the difference this year.

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Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 3 Appleton North

No. 3 Appleton North

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