LA CROSSE — La Crosse Loggers field manager Josh Frye was short-handed as he guided his team through its first practice at a sun-splashed Copeland Park on Saturday.
Frye had a pitching coach to help out, and he put part of the roster through its paces with a couple of catchers in the bullpen off the left-field line. Frye concentrated on batting practice as player after player — some familiar faces but most of them new — took his turn in the cage.
“It feels good to be back here in La Crosse,” Frye said after the Loggers concluded two hours of basic throwing, swinging and fielding as they gathered on a baseball field together for the first time. “It’s exciting, and I think we have a great season ahead.”
Frye’s third season in charge — he played in La Crosse more than a decade ago and was an assistant coach before taking over the dugout in 2023 — is chance to build on the experience of advancing to but losing the Northwoods League championship game to the Kalamazoo Growlers 8-7 last summer.
Two of the familiar faces on the field Saturday were Central High School graduate Dylan Lapic and Bangor grad Ashton Michek.
Lapic is back for his fourth season as a Logger, and Michek is on board for his third. Both are pitchers who will help teammates with the adjustment process to the Coulee Region.
The summer, of course, will be filled with baseball. The team opens the season at Rochester on Monday — the home opener is against Rochester at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday — and has three scheduled off days in addition to a three-day All-Star break until the regular season ends Aug. 9.
“It’s very helpful to have them here for their experience in the league, but also being locals,” said Frye, who relied on Central grad Bobby Juan for local advice when he played. “They can help the guys in the community and to explore La Crosse.
“These guys are going to be here united with each other for a long summer, and we have some guys to know the hidden gems of La Crosse and can explain that to the guys.”
Lapic, a 6-foot-3 left-hander, didn’t pitch competitively in the spring but instead worked on his game while attending Kentucky Wesleyan. He pitched in 12 games last summer — all in relief — and struggled with control in walking 25 over innings.
Lapic spent his first collegiate season at Milwaukee Area Technical College before heading to Tennessee-Martin the next two.
“It’s been about developing,” Lapic said of his spring workouts. “Fall didn’t really go the way I wanted it to, and I realized I wasn’t going to get many innings in the spring. I wanted to work in the spring to be ready for the summer, and I’m glad to be back.”
Lapic spent hours working on mechanics and the pursuit of consistency and hopes to be able to demonstrate that progress as a reliable bullpen arm for the Loggers.
Michek, a 6-3, 210-pound left-hander, said he has come a long way since leading the Cardinals to a WIAA Division 4 state runner-up finish in 2022. Michek struck out 10 over five innings in a semifinal win over Marshfield Columbus that year.
“I don’t recognize myself from back then,” Michek said with a smile. “I was just a little stick who was throwing 82 (miles per hour) or whatever.”
Michek said he showed up at Augustana (S.D.) weighing somewhere in the neighborhood of 165 pounds, so strength was a focus. That has continued and helped increase his velocity significantly.
There has been some contact with professional scouts and coaches as his fastball sits at 89 and touches 91 or 92 at times. He’d like to increase those numbers another mile or two and said consistency and that added velocity are his goals for the summer.
Michek was 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA over 20 innings last summer. He struck out 23, walked 10 and allowed 10 hits while starting three of the four games he pitched. He is 17-6 with a 3.47 ERA and 207 strikeouts against 71 walks over 189 innings for Augustana.
They both hope to play meaningful roles as the Loggers try to get over the hump in their path to the top of the Northwoods League.
“It feels like we’ve been so close,” Lapic said. “My second year, we were walked off in the semis, and last year we were walked of in the championship.
“I feel like this is our year for sure.”
