Tietz, who ended his senior year at Wabasso as the 2023 All-Journal Baseball Player of the Year, doing a whole lot of everything for the Rabbits. The right-hander was the team’s ace pitcher, posting an ERA of 0.89 and 100 strikeouts in 47 innings of work, and he was also a headache for opposing pitchers as he hit .611 at the plate.

But in his freshman year with the Vikings, Tietz spent much of the season on a wait-and-see approach. No longer was Tietz expected to hit, but he also pitched just 1/3 of an inning twice in the month of March in 2024 before going five innings in a loss to Macalester College on April 18, 2024. He then got one more shot to take the mound on May 4, 2024, pitching 1 2/3 innings in a loss at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

That saw the 5-foot- 11 pitcher finish his freshman season with just 7 1/3 innings pitched, seven strikeouts and an ERA of 20.86.

After being Wabasso’s do-it-all player in 2023, Tietz was his own biggest critic during a tough freshman year with the Vikings.

“Last year I kind of struggled with some confidence,” Tietz said. “I was kind of struggling in the spring a little bit, I had a pretty good fall and then kind of in the spring I started struggling a little bit and started getting down on myself. So that’s kind of where that self-positive talk started with my coaches, including [pitching coach Logan] Nissen.”

After talking with his coaches and putting in more work over the offseason, Tietz was ready to be more impactful for the Vikings in his sophomore year.

“I grew a lot both physically and mentally was also a big change, that was kind of one of the focuses they also put on this year along with getting in the weight room a lot more and eating the right foods and putting that extra work in,” Tietz said. “Mentally I think last year I kind of changed quite a bit. I was a little more hard on myself, but you’ve got to fill yourself with more positive thoughts because it really does play a big effect on how you play.”

This season, Tietz is one of the Vikings’ top pitchers in the rotation with a 3.86 ERA, 60 strikeouts and a 6-2 record in 53 2/3 innings pitched.

In addition to hitting the weight room to develop his body before his sophomore season, Tietz said visualization has been key in his turnaround this season.

“I kind of started this year with a lot more visualizing things before I step on the mound, even before I start stretching,” Tietz said. “Just telling myself, ‘Have confidence, your stuff’s good enough to compete.’ And just fill that zone, because obviously you don’t want to walk too many people or whatever, hits are gonna come, right? It’s baseball. So that was kind of the big mental side of it for me, just filling my head with a lot of positive self-talk.”

Tietz said his fastball has gained some velocity this season, but he’s put more thought into throwing whatever he throws with intent.

“Kind of just throwing with intent with everything,” Tietz said. “You don’t want to kind of baby things because that’s where you may get beat sometimes, that’s kind of what’s happened sometimes. But just pitching with intent through all your offspeed and fastballs and whatnot. Also, we kind of do a bunch of mechanical work through the offseason and leading up to the season and kind of just sticking with what you have and sticking with what you have and not trying to change too much midseason. That was another big harp on things for me was kind of getting mechanics and moving a little more efficiently.”

Tietz said his best pitch this year has been his changeup, which hasn’t always been the case.

“That’s kind of one of those pitches I worked on all through fall and early this spring and even throughout the summer last year because you can do pretty good stuff when you have a good changeup that plays well off your fastball and you get that good depth and right movement you’re looking for,” he said. “Everyone’s changeup’s going to move a little bit different. It’s kind of just what you want yours to look like.”

The Vikings finished their regular season of baseball with a 26-12 overall record and a 19-2 mark in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, earning a UMAC Tournament appearance for the fifth year in a row. There was no UMAC Tournament in 2020 due to the season being canceled prematurely due to COVID-19.

The Vikings’ 19 conference wins also set a program record for most in a season.

After last year’s struggles, Tietz is happy to be back on track this season and viewed as one of the team’s leaders, no matter how much added pressure there is.

“I love being able to start games on the weekend and getting into those meaningful conference games where a little more pressure can kind of be on guys,” Tietz said. “Pressure is a privilege. Not everybody gets to have that chance, so you don’t take it for granted and you embrace everything.”

NOTE: The UMAC Tournament began on May 8 after this lifestyle section was sent to print. The tournament concludes May 10, with the winner advancing to the DIII NCAA Regional Tournament. For results, visit blcvikings. com/sports/baseball/ schedule/2025.