Photo courtesy of BLC Athletics Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 2024 grad Brandon Schmitz is currently playing his first season of baseball with the Bethany Lutheran Vikings in Mankato. He has a 4.67 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of work.

MANKATO — After finishing his senior season of baseball at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s High School last year as an All-Conference and All-Journal pitcher, Brandon Schmitz took the mound again in the summer with the Sleepy Eye Legion Post 7 baseball team, concluding that season as a DII legion state champion for the second year in a row.

Now, Schmitz has continued to see success at the next level with the Bethany Lutheran Vikings and has fit in well so far during his freshman season of college baseball.

Schmitz, who posted an 8-1 record with a 1.27 ERA last season with the St. Mary’s Knights, concluded his 2024 baseball season by shutting out Eden Valley-Watkins in the first round of the DII state legion tournament in Bird Island.

Currently, the 6-foot-1 right-hander has a 4.67 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings of work with the Vikings. Schmitz said that seeing all the competition coming into his first year pitching with BLC, he still thought he had a shot to get in and pitch right away his first year and make an impact.

“I kind of just worked my butt off during the fall and over winter,” Schmitz said. “Just kind of hit the weight room and stuff like that. It’s been a great experience so far. I saw the competition around me and said if I work hard, I know I could get a chance to play, and that’s kind of just what I’ve done.”

Schmitz’s first action on the season came at home in a relief appearance against Buena Vista. He allowed one hit, no walks and no runs in one inning of work.

“It was definitely different, the fact that it was my first college game,” Schmitz said. “The heart was pumping running out from the bullpen to the mound. Just being out on the mound, I could tell my stuff was better, I was throwing harder just from all the adrenaline and stuff like that. And even now, that still doesn’t go away. That’s kind of carried on throughout the year.”

Then came Schmitz’s first strikeout, which happened during his 3 1/3 innings of relief against Concordia University on March 5 in Tucson, Arizona, during an early-season trip.

“I believe it was a 2-2 count with runners on first and second and I’m pretty sure it was a fastball away, just got a strikeout looking,” Schmitz said. “That was definitely a memorable moment for me.”

Schmitz finished that game allowing five hits and two walks for one earned run while striking out four.

Schmitz’s first college start came on March 25 against Gustavus Adolphus College, a midweek game that saw him pitch two innings and allow two hits and a walk for two earned runs. He took a loss that game but bounced back out the bullpen in his next appearance on April 5, where he earned his first college win on the mound in four innings of one-hit ball. He struck out three in the 15-5 win.

As he’s learning more about his new teammates throughout the season, Schmitz said he’s gotten along well with two teammates specifically due to high school tie-ins, one being Jackson Huiras, a 2022 Sleepy Eye grad, and Adryen Tietz, a 2023 Wabasso grad.

“Obviously having Jackson Huiras here, he’s from Sleepy Eye, too, that helps a lot,” Schmitz said. “He’s kind of showed me the ropes around this fall when we got here. Adryen Tietz, too, as well from Wabasso. We knew each other from high school baseball, obviously, and we kind of just bonded right away and we’ve kind of helped each other ever since, been close friends. We’re living together next year actually.”

Schmitz said he’s developed his curveball and mechanics more at BLC working with Vikings pitching coach Logan Nissen.

The Vikings, who are 20-12 overall and 13-2 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, are looking to make it three years in a row winning the UMAC and get back to the NCAA Regional Tournament, where they made it in 2023.

“We definitely think we can win the conference this year, so back to back to back and win the conference three years in a row,” Schmitz said. “But our goal is to win a Regional this year. We got to the Regionals two years ago and we’re kind of just looking to get back there and win it this time.”

The Vikings next travel to the University of Minnesota Morris to start a three-game UMAC series with the Cougars at 3 p.m. Friday. The series concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

After this weekend’s series, the Vikings welcome the University of Wisconsin-Superior for a three-game UMAC series beginning with a single game on May 2 and concluding with a doubleheader on May 3. One more nonconference home game with Macalester College at 6 p.m. on May 5 concludes BLC’s regular season.

The Vikings are currently first in the UMAC, ahead of Northwestern (12-3), Crown (11-4) and Morris (11-4). UW-Superior is 10-5 in the UMAC. The top four teams in the conference qualify for the UMAC Tournament, which begins May 8.