Despite impending flurries, this week marked the official return to practice for Minnesota prep baseball teams. For Esko, they’re focused on building off last year’s state championship, carrying a 26-1 season, despite losing Gatorade player of the year Cale Haugen.

“Cale and Tyler last year, they’re led by example, and I think that me and the other seniors will just fill in their spots, lead by example, not really preach a bunch, but just do it and people will follow,” said senior pitcher and outfielder Finn Furcht.

“We do have a lot of seniors that have a lot of experience. We have some juniors that have a lot of experience. Those two classes together we always kind of knew were going to be solid,” said head coach Ben Haugen.

Along with the leadership Esko feels they have, the iron sharpens iron mentality with position battles around the diamond is what’s keeping them ready for the season.

“We got a lot of depth,” said Isaak Sertich, a senior third baseman. “I mean, we had depth last year, but again, I think we got even maybe even more depth this year because everyone in the off season takes it seriously and we’re ready to do damage again.”

“Yeah, we’re very experienced,” said Dylan Marciulionis. “I think the most important thing is we’re very competitive. We’re all fighting to be the best we are, and that really makes the team better.”

Their season opener is scheduled for Monday, April 1st at Mesabi East. Their home opener is set for April 4th against Duluth Marshall.