File photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Brecken Heiling dives for third base during the Section 2A Championship game against New Ulm Cathedral on June 6 at ISG Field in Mankato.

SPRINGFIELD — For most of the Springfield Tigers baseball team, this Thursday will be a new experience as it opens play in the Class A State Baseball Tournament in St. Cloud.

For one senior in particular, things have come a long way since his state baseball debut with the Tigers in 2021.

That senior is ace right-hander Jakob Nachreiner, who pitched in the 2021 state tournament. That 2021 appearance, a state semifinals game against top-seeded Hayfield, may be something the righty wants to forget in some ways, however, as he pitched three innings and allowed nine earned runs in a 16-0 five-inning loss. Hayfield went on to win the Class A state title that year against New York Mills.

But Jakob Nachreiner’s come a long way since his freshman campaign and has been a key player in more ways than one during his final year with the Tigers.

“He’s been going up the cities for some velocity training and he’s done some stuff in the winter to make himself better and he’s been in the weight room on his own trying to get better,” Tigers head coach Brandon Wilhelmi said of Jakob Nachreiner. “And again, he’s just a competitor. And you’ve got to give credit to his dad, too, for pushing him as a pitcher. Jason’s been our pitching coach for almost 15 years now and he does an amazing job with those guys. But Jakob’s a baseball kid. He loves baseball, he understands baseball and it’s just one of those things that’s in his blood and he wants to be the best.”

The team’s other senior, catcher Danny Rogotzke, was the team’s backup catcher in 2021 and will unfortunately be unable to suit up for this year’s state tournament due to injury.

Jakob Nachreiner (9-1) is now posting an ERA of .76 and leading the team in strikeouts with 116 in 64 2/3 innings. He has allowed 30 hits and 21 walks. At the plate, he’s hitting .371 with seven doubles, four triples and 22 RBIs.

New York Mills, not unfamiliar with state baseball with nine state appearances, was given the fifth seed and will be the fourth-seeded Tigers opponent at 6 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the state tournament at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.

“We’ve heard that they’re a solid baseball team up and down,” Wilhelmi said of NYM. “They’re well-coached, they do the little things right, they don’t hurt themselves, they put the ball in play, they don’t strike out a whole lot. Overall, they have real good team speed, defensively they’re solid, we just know it’s going to be a tough matchup whoever we play.

“That’s, right now, a little bit what we know about them. Sounds like we’re going to see some right-handers and it sounds like it’s not going to be anything that maybe we haven’t already seen in the playoffs and our conference. Just excited for the opportunity and obviously this first game is the game that matters first and we’re just going to get after them.”

NYM is led by senior pitcher/infielder DaShaun Robinson. Robinson carries a .394 batting average, eight doubles and 21 RBIs into the state tournament. In 52 1/3 innings on the mound, Robinson has an 8-2 record, a 1.20 ERA and 68 strikeouts while allowing 49 hits and 13 walks.

Junior Isaac Kawlewski has started six games on the mound for NYM and carries an 8-2 record into state play. He has pitched 37 2/3 innings and has allowed 47 hits and 11 walks for a 3.72 ERA while striking out 41.

Senior outfielder Teagan Lausten is hitting .380 for NYM also, while junior infielder Braxton Ehnert is hitting .333.

While Jakob Nachreiner is a clear leader for his team this season, the Tigers haven’t gotten to this point without several young players stepping up into bigger roles this year. One sophomore in particular that has made himself known is outfielder Brecken Heiling, who leads the team in batting average with a .424 batting average. Aiden Moriarty, a freshman infielder and pitcher, is hitting .391 and is tied with Jakob Nachreiner’s junior brother Kade Nachreiner for most RBIs on the team with 26. Junior catcher Jackson Ludewig is hitting .355 with 20 RBIs on the year for Springfield, while junior first baseman/pitcher Noah Neperman is hitting .329 with 21 RBIs.

Kade Nachreiner is another go-to pitcher for the Tigers with 37 innings pitched and a 5-1 record. He has a 1.70 ERA and 31 strikeouts while allowing 30 hits and three walks.

Neperman (6-0) rounds out the strong rotation with 32 innings of work, allowing 18 hits and 13 walks for a .44 ERA while striking out 44.

“It’s been absolutely a team effort and we wouldn’t be here without guys stepping up and stepping into roles and winning competitions and battles and all those things,” Wilhelmi said. “We’ve relied on young guys to play infield spots, play outfield spots, pitch a little bit. You look at this team from last year, we graduated six guys last year that all played. So, we had some unknowns coming into this year, but give credit to those kids. They want it, they know how to compete, they compete in other sports as well and I think that you put them in a role where they can have success and they ran with it.”

Springfield will be making its 13th appearance in the state baseball tournament. The Tigers won the Class A state title in 2016 and will look to hold their second state title when this year’s tournament concludes.

While the road to another state title may be challenging to navigate, Wilhelmi believes the strong Section 2A and Tomahawk Conference the Tigers played in to get to this point was helpful.

“I think you look at our section our conference even before that, every team gives you their best,” Wilhelmi said. “You know that there’s not just going to be an easy win, easy game, and everyone wants to get to the state tournament and we have some quality teams in our section and conference and kids that really understand baseball and can play. So, I think each of those games is a battle that you compete at and just try to make sure that at the end of the season you’re playing your best baseball.”

And remembering what brought the Tigers to the dance will perhaps be the team’s biggest key.

“The biggest thing for us is to just remember how we got here,” Wilhelmi said. “We have an extremely tough conference, extremely tough section to get out of, and now that we’re up here, obviously we’re going to see a lot of good teams as well with the state tournament, but we can’t try to do too much. We’ve got to stay within ourselves, we just need to make sure we don’t forget who we are and just make the routine plays routine. We talk all season about — pitch by pitch, just worry about one pitch at a time, don’t worry about the outcome, it’ll take care of itself if we do everything else correct.”