Rebels look to make deep run with core of returners

SLAYTON — Coming off a successful 2024 campaign, the Murray County Central baseball team returns 13 players, including a core group of leaders, and is looking to build off last season’s momentum for a deep playoff run. 

“We look for them [returners] to just step right in and continue on from a year ago,” MCC head coach Paul Counter said. “Then, we have a variety of kids that we hope to fill the roles of the [four] seniors that graduated a year ago.” 

Led by its four seniors in Gavin Gillette, Hudson Schryvers, Dylan Kluis and Drew Wajer, the Rebels also brought back other statistical leaders from last season such as sophomore Krew Schneider, juniors Teague Meyer and Cayden Veldhuisen, sophomore Dugan Kluis and more. 

“Dylan Kluis has been a three-year starter for us, and he’s our leader on our pitching staff. He’s our three-hitter in our lineup, so we look for Dylan to do a lot for us,” Counter said. “Another senior is Gavin Gillette. He’s our utility guy. Plays center field. He’ll play shortstop and second base depending on who’s on the mound for us.” 

Counter also said that Wager and Schryvers will have rotating roles, with the hope to grow as the season progresses. He also said upon making it in the lineup, the duo will play outfield.  

MCC finished its 2024 season 14-6 overall, including two sets of five-game win streaks, and earned the first seed in the south division of the Section 3A tournament. Its season came to an end with a 16-5 loss to Lac qui Parle Velley in the quarterfinals to drop to the elimination bracket, where the Rebels fell short 2-0 to Adrian/Ellsworth. 

Last season, Schneider and Meyer served as the main pitchers, with Dylan and Veldhuisen as reliefs. 

Meyer and Dylan are this season’s priority pitchers, along with Velduisen as a relief, as Schneider is off the mound while he rehabs an injury. Dugan returns as the main catcher, which Counter said he does a great job in protecting the plate.  

“Krew Schneider is usually our main pitcher, but he is out with an injury. He’s only able to bat right now,” Counter said. “He’s hoping to play the field later on in the year, but he will not be seeing time on the mound this season, which is a bummer for us.” 

Schneider pitched 48 innings last season, finishing with a 6-2 record. In his 231 batters faced, he allowed 45 hits, 33 earned runs, 34 walks and threw 65 strikeouts. 

Meyer pitched 43 innings for 57 hits, 18 earned runs, nine walks and 44 strikeouts in his 199 batters faced. 

Dylan was on the mound for 25 innings, and finished the season with 20 hits, four earned runs, 11 walks and 33 strikeouts. Veldhuisen followed with 11 hits, 14 earned runs, 13 walks and 13 strikeouts in his 13 innings pitched. 

Through the first five games of this season, Meyer and Dylan are off to a strong start in their pitching. 

Meyer has led with 15 innings with a 3-0 personal record start. He’s allowed 10 hits, a pair of earned runs and has thrown two walks with 19 strikeouts. Dylan has seen 11 innings, with six hits, no earned runs, nine walks and 16 strikeouts. 

The Rebels also return a plethora of hitting talent, which has showcased early into this season’s 5-0 start, with four of the wins coming by 10 or more runs. 

“Our pitching [so far] has been very solid. Our lineup, one through nine, we’ve done a good job of getting our lead-off guys on [base],” Counter said. “It’s always a good start … We’re happy, but at the same time, we know we have a lot of stuff to work on as we get into our conference play. We all know how fast the season goes.” 

All together, MCC had a .314 batting average last season with a .418 on base percentage. Meyer, Dylan and Dugan, and Schneider were among the top batters, yet the Rebels hold a talented dugout of playmakers, most of which are back this year. 

Meyer led MCC with a .452 batting average with 33 hits, 16 RBIs and accounted for 24 runs. Dugan followed with a .383 average, 23 hits, nine RBIs and four runs. Dylan finished with a .377 average, 22 hits, 13 RBIs and 17 runs, while Schneider averaged .313 with 21 hits, eight runs and a team-high 20 RBIs and two home runs. 

Through the first five games this season, Dylan, Veldhuisen and Meyer are all averaging an above .550 batting average, while Schneider and Gabriel Tentinger have hit the team’s first two home runs. 

“Our kids love baseball, and they come and work hard every day. It makes our jobs, as coaches, a lot easier,” Counter said. “I think it benefits us. We have a lot of kids out, and we have a lot of kids returning, so I think those new kids learn from them, and hopefully we can continue our success.”