Preseason Power 25: No. 9 Burlington

March 16, 2017

The Wisconsin high school season kicks off on March 28, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on March 20, getting their rosters set and finalizing their lineups.

Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we will be rolling out team previews of high school teams all across the state and across all classifications, eventually launching our Preseason Power 25.

We have been sending out our annual Preseason Questionnaire to coaches all across the state and as the responses flood in we will bring you a snapshot of what to expect along with top players and keys to success for that particular team. If you don’t see your team’s season preview make sure your head coach fills out his Preseason Questionnaire.

Team: Burlington
Preseason Rank: 9
2016 Record: 25-5
Conference: Southern Lakes
WIAA Division: 1
Head Coach: Scott Staude
Playoff Run: DI State Champions
2016 Final Rank: 1

TOP PLAYERS

Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
Jacob Lindemann	WI	Burlington	2017	1B/RHP	Wichita State
Zach Campbell	WI	Burlington	2017	OF/LHP	Wisocnsin-Whitewater
Aaron Sturdevant	WI	Burlington	2017	C
Dale Damon	WI	Burlington	2017	INF
Grant Tully	WI	Burlington	2017	OF
Derek Koenen	WI	Burlington	2018	RHP
Derek Morrow	WI	Burlington	2017	OF

X-FACTOR

OF/LHP Zach Campbell and RHP Derek Koenen. Dampbell batted .440 last season for the state champions and went 1-2 on the mound with a 2.29 ERA. Koenen only saw 14 innings on the mound last year and has made strides this offseason. They will both be called on this year to eat up innings with the injury to star pitcher Jacob Lindemann.

STAT RAT

3: The number of wins the Demons return from the 2016 squad. With the graduation of Aaron Mutter, Houston Cowan, and the injury to Lindemann the Demons will have a lot to make up on the mound in 2017.

OUTLOOK

Last year the Demons pulled off a seventh inning comeback in the state championship game last year to beat Arrowhead. This year was shaping up to be another deep playoff run, but an injury to ace Jacob Lindemann has put some question marks on the 2017 season. Lindemann posted a 10-1 record with a miniscule 0.81 ERA and also hit .292 seeing most of his time at first base. This year Zach Campbell and Derek Koenen will see an increased workload in 2017 and will be key to the Demons success. Dale Damon (.477) Aaron Sturdevant (.426) and Zach Campbell (.440) are the teams returning hitters. The Demons will have a lot of new faces and an unproven pitching staff for 2017, but after winning the title last season its hard to bet against them.