Duluth East baseball coach Chris Siljendahl has two words to describe his team’s 13-1 record this season after the Greyhounds went 9-11 just one year ago in his first year as head coach.

“Senior leadership.”

Just by looking at Duluth East’s batting lineup, that veteran presence becomes apparent: the first three batters -- seniors Joey Zwak, Nathaniel Benson and Willem Aldrich -- are team’s three captains.

The success of the senior group was no surprise for Siljendahl, as they all had previous varsity playing time. But it's been the breakout of the Greyhound’s junior class, which had no significant varsity experience heading into the season, that's really taken Duluth East to new heights.

“We knew our season was going to go with how our juniors translated to the varsity level,” Siljendahl said.

From pitcher Sam Laakso, who leads the team in innings pitched (28.1), wins (4), and earned run average (0.99), to Jack Rashid and Blake Bergquist, who each had two hits in the Greyhounds’ 10-7 win over Denfeld Tuesday afternoon, Duluth East’s juniors have made an impact.

No matter their class, almost every Greyhounds player has shown they can handle a bat. Against Denfeld, eight different batters had hits, contributing to an overall team batting average of .320.

Part of what makes his team such a force at the plate is athleticism, which Siljendahl partially attributes to having a number of two and three-sport athletes.

“I love it when our guys play multiple sports,” Siljendahl said. “They’re more involved in school, academics are usually better but also just their overall athleticism.”

Zwak, also a captain, is one of those players. A standout on the Duluth East basketball team, Zwak was named to the 2016 All-Area team by the Duluth News Tribune after leading the team in scoring (18.1), assists (3.1) and steals (2.1).

“It transfers over,” Zwak said of his basketball skills helping him on the baseball diamond. “All the running and footwork kind of helps your quickness.”

Zwak leads off for the Greyhounds and is tied for the team lead in hits with 16, but he is quick to acknowledge the depth of his team’s offense.

“(Jack) Payette’s actually our team leader in average and he bats last,” Zwak said. “So he’s just as strong as everyone else. Anybody could bat lead off and anyone could bat ninth.”

Although Zwak was a standout basketball player, his heart lies with baseball. He has committed to St. Scholastica, where he will play middle infield this fall.

Siljendahl, who knows the St. Scholastica coaching staff well, didn’t have to make any special pitch for Zwak to be recruited by the Saints.

“I’ve known the Scholastica coaches for 15 years now,” Siljendahl said. “I’ve played against them, played with them, and they didn’t really need to ask me anything (about Zwak). Everything I said they already knew. He leads by example and is also a vocal leader.”

Brody Russell of Denfeld pitched 7 innings, allowing 10 runs in the Hunter's 10-7 lost to rival Duluth East at Wade Stadium. (Photo By Matthew Moses)

First Report

Shortstop Joey Zwak recorded three hits and two RBI as Duluth East defeated Duluth Denfeld 10-7 at Wade Stadium on Tuesday.

Trailing 1-0 after three innings, the Greyhounds (13-1) exploded for eight runs off of eight hits and two errors in the top of the fourth.

The scoring outburst gave Duluth East an 8-1 lead and was reminiscent of last week’s matchup with the Hunters, when the Greyhounds scored 14 unanswered runs en route to a 15-5 win in six innings.

But Duluth Denfeld (7-6) refused to give up, posting six runs in the bottom half of the fourth and also threatened to score in the game’s late innings.

Adam Shykes chased Duluth East starting pitcher John Chmielewski from the mound in the fourth inning after hitting a ground-rule double to right field with the bases loaded.

Shykes and Tanner Richey led the Hunters with three hits each.

Greyhounds pitcher Casey Aplin came on in relief and let two inherited runners score but settled in to pick up the save after allowing just one run over 3 2/3 innings of work.

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