Under head coach, Matt Slaba, and assisted by coach, Samson Metzger, the 2024 Legion baseball team kicked off their season on May 31st against Mount Vernon/ Plankinton/Corsica-Stickney. The team is about halfway through their season and has high hopes to make it to the Legion State Baseball Tournament at the end of July.

This season is Coach Slaba’s second year coaching the Legion baseball team. Slaba wanted to coach because Wagner had been without a Legion team for the past several years. If players from Wagner wanted to play past teeners, then they had to drive to other towns in order to play. Slaba knew there was interest in Wagner, so he decided to take the reins and get the team going.

In order for a team to be able to play in the American Legion Baseball program a team must be sponsored by an American Legion post. The baseball team is sponsored by the Wagner American Legion and Wagner VFW. To qualify to play Legion baseball one must be in the age range of 13 years to 19 years of age as of December 31st.

The team members that have graduated high school are Theodore Slaba (pitcher and first base), Matt Link (pitcher and short stop), and Colby Krcil (outfield). This year’s senior team members (who have graduated but have not started college yet) are Carter Cournoyer (pitcher and first base), Joey Cournoyer (catcher, third base, pitcher), Tyler Tjeerdsma (outfield), Carlin Hopkins (outfield and pitcher) and Christian Doom (third base). Junior team members include Hunter Loeffler (catcher and second base), Landon Mudder (outfield, third base), Jaydon Driesen (outfield), Malakai Segura (third base, catcher and pitcher), Brady Cournoyer (pitcher and second base), Frank Soukup (pitcher, outfield), and Preston McFayden (outfield, second base and pitcher). Finally, the lone freshman team member is Javian Pesicka (pitcher, shortstop and second base).

Last year’s season ended with a win-loss record of 8-9 and a regional tournament record of 1-2. This year the goal for the season is to make it to the state tournament. Wagner is in a five-team region with Tabor, Mt. Vernon/ Plankinton/Corsica-Stickney, Scotland-Freeman-Menno, and Parkston. It will be a challenging road ahead of the team in region play. Coach Slaba said, “If we are playing our best baseball, however, I believe that we can compete with anyone”. That being said, Tabor and Parkston will be tough games for Wagner this year as they have a lot of depth in the pitching department.

Coach Slaba knows that to be a good baseball team all the players need to help each other out. Every player on the team gets to bat, and in order to be successful runs will need to be scored. In Coach Slaba’s opinion, pitching is the most important aspect for the team and of the game. Without good pitching, the team will only be able to go so far. Matt Link, Carter Cournoyer, Theodore Slaba, Joey Cournoyer, Frank Soukup and Javian Pesicka will be the main pitchers for the team this season. Other players will likely be presented with the opportunity to pitch at some point as well.

Coach Slaba first and foremost enjoys the game of baseball therefore there are many aspects that he looks forward to this season. Working with the kids on his team is always fun and makes coaching that much more enjoyable. He enjoys being able to give them the opportunity to get out and play the game in order to hopefully learn different aspects of it along the way. He hopes to instill upon them life-long appreciation for the game.

Coaches Slaba and Metzger and the entire Wagner Legion baseball team are very grateful to the Wagner American Legion Post 11 and VFW Post 7319 organizations that sponsor the team in order for them to play. Without their backing, having a Legion baseball team would not be possible. They are wonderful organizations that have always been helpful and supportive to both the team and coaches. They would also like to thank parents and community members that come out to the games to support the team. They would love to see more people in the community come out to their games and cheer them on.

Best of luck in the rest of your season!