Matthew Feldmann isn’t going to overpower you.
He isn’t going to keep you guessing with a large repertoire of pitches.
He isn’t going to put up numbers that catch the eye of scouts.
Instead, his modus operandi has simply been hitting his spots and keeping the St. Catherine’s High School baseball team in games. It could even be suggested that he saved the Angels’ season.
With Feldmann holding up in the role of an ace after Derek Heffel developed arm issues, the Angels have pulled off a massive salvage job. After entering the postseason with a three-game losing streak that dropped its record to 9-15, St. Catherine’s has miraculously advanced to the WIAA State Tournament, which opens Tuesday at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.
The Angels open Wednesday with a 1 p.m. Division 3 semifinal against defending champion Oconto (16-6), which returns most of its starters. The winner plays either Mondovi (19-3) or Wisconsin Heights (21-4) Thursday at noon for the championship.
But without Feldmann, it’s likely the Angels’ equipment would have long ago been packed away for the season.
The junior right-hander has pitched 59 innings — nearly 27 more than anyone else on the team — and has posted a 5-4 record with a 4.15 earned run average. He’s not Heffel, who went 5-0 with an 0.48 earned run average last year and had 17 strikeouts against Racine Lutheran-Prairie this season. But he’s been good enough.
“He’s been our most consistent pitcher all year,” senior first baseman Jimmy Carrington said. “He doesn’t walk people and that’s the biggest thing for a high school pitcher. He has a nice curveball and he’s able to keep them off balance.”
Feldmann was admittedly nervous when he was thrust into the role of No. 1 pitcher when Heffel first started experiencing arm issues after a game against Burlington April 26. But as his innings increased, so did his confidence.
“It’s not a big deal anymore,” said Feldmann, whose twin brother, Daniel, is a reserve catcher for the Angels. “It’s kind of become routine for me. I still get a little nervous — especially with games the magnitude of what we’ve had the past couple of games — but I manage it. It’s not that big of a shocker anymore.”
Ask senior catcher Josh Milder and he’ll tell you he’s working with someone who is throwing with far more authority than earlier this season.
“He became more confident in his pitching ability and he started throwing more strikes consistently,” Milder said. “He’s just been doing great.”
Heffel, who came back to save both games in the sectional tournament, remains an intriguing question mark. First-year coach Matt Blakeley said Heffel will start against Oconto, “if he tells me he can go.”
If Heffel, who is 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA in 29º innings. can pitch against Oconto, that would save Feldmann for a potential championship game assignment. But if Heffel doesn’t feel healthy enough, Feldmann would likely start against Oconto, leaving Blakeley to, “just piece everything together,” with his other pitchers if the Angels advance.
On paper, it would appear St. Catherine’s faces long odds considering it graduated seven players who earned All-Racine County recognition from a 19-3 team while Oconto returns most of its players and shut out its last three postseason opponents.
But St. Catherine’s still has plenty of talent with Milder (.413, 18 RBIs), Carrington (.454. 15 RBIs), Heffel (.376, 13 RBIs), designated hitter Luke Olley (.346, 21 RBIs), shortstop K.J. Banse (.300, 13 RBIs), center fielder Caleb Gillis (.300, 13 RBIs) and left fielder Aaron Shauer (.270, 10 RBIs).
Furthermore, these guys are playing with a swagger after coming on so impressively in the postseason. While their record is, by far, the poorest in the four-team Division 3 field, they see themselves as equal to anyone.
“I knew at the beginning of the year that we weren’t going to have the same team chemistry that last year’s team had,” Feldmann said. “I think at the end of the regular season, it kind of settled in that the loser goes home and we all came together and played the best that we’ve played all year.”
But their job isn’t quite finished.
“We went in at 9-15 and look where we are,” said Milder, a first-year starter. “We want to keep going. We want to win it all.”
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