Coaching transition from Schmitz to Schmitz has been smooth for unbeaten Stewartville baseball team

May 6—STEWARTVILLE — Tyler Schmitz seemed like a natural fit to take over as the head coach of the Stewartville baseball team.

His father, Mark Schmitz, has coached baseball at Stewartville since 1994, all but six of those years as the head coach.

Tyler Schmitz, a 2012 Stewartville grad, played football, basketball and baseball for the Tigers and was the assistant baseball coach for the past seven years. When his father stepped aside as the head coach after the 2023 season, Tyler was hired as the new head coach.

"We kind of just flip-flopped roles," Tyler said. "It's great. It's not too often you get to work with your family."

Mark Schmitz is also a substitute teacher and counselor in the same building where Tyler teaches fourth grade.

"I get to work with him every day and it's pretty special," Tyler said. "My first year back (to Stewartville), my mom passed away so this bond between us is pretty special."

The Tigers have a veteran coaching staff in place. Aside from Mark Schmitz, assistant coach Al Klug has coached at Stewartville for just less than a decade.

"I think coach Ty has a great understanding of baseball," Stewartville junior Jayce Klug said. "My dad, who's been in baseball his whole life, has said he thinks coach Ty is the most knowledgeable person he's ever met in the game of baseball."

The younger Schmitz, who recently turned 30, said he is trying to use some of the same coaching philosophies that his father used, and ingrained in him.

"He's built a really good foundation over the last 30 years," Tyler said. "And I've pretty much been building off what he had (done) and added in a few of my own wrinkles of things that I've picked up. I try to consistently learn from other coaches, from videos and watching games."

The Tigers were a solid 17-7 a year ago. Despite having just four starters back, the team has reached even greater heights in 2024. In Schmitz's first season as the head coach, the Tigers take a perfect 14-0 record into tonight's game against Lake City.

Tyler Schmitz played two seasons of baseball at Rochester Community and Technical College. He was then a pitcher for two years at Concordia University, St. Paul.

He is surprised that the Tigers are unbeaten, not because they aren't a good team, but because "winning in baseball is hard," he admitted. The Tigers have faced a number of talented pitchers during Hiawatha Valley League play this season, but have found ways to win.

Stewartville has had several big comeback wins, including erasing a six-run deficit against Pine Island.

"There's tons of good arms (pitchers) and we're seeing all of them," Schmitz said. "So to think that we've won every game is kind of crazy."

The success of the Tigers has surprised Jayce Klug because of the players who graduated. But a spring trip to Florida before the season gave the team a chance to bond and get in some early work. Plus the baseball team wants to try to make its own mark on the Stewartville sports scene this school year.

The Stewartville football team went unbeaten and won a Class 3A state championship last fall while the basketball team placed fifth in the state in Class 3A for the second straight year.

The baseball team features several players who played football or basketball. Klug played both.

"I think it's just all the success we've had in all our sports this year," Klug said. "When you look at football and basketball teams, the baseball team wants to go to state just like those two."

The philosophy being taught to Stewartville baseball players is attitude, effort and perspective. The coaches also want the players to enjoy the success of others and buy into their own roles.

"It doesn't matter if you're a starter, it doesn't matter if you're a bench player, you're cheering on your teammates," Schmitz said.

Braeden Erickson has exemplified the role of the ideal bench player for the Tigers. He has yet to make a start, but he is 6-for-6 as a pinch-hitter so far this spring.

Klug said a key for Tigers has been how athletic the team is from top to bottom. And he said the players have started to take a great deal of pride in their unbeaten streak.

"We want to protect that record and go as far as possible with an undefeated record," he said.

Schimtz admits that a big part of Stewartville's success has been a solid one-through-nine lineup.

Klug has been a standout. He has thrown a no-hitter for the Tigers this season, and he also went 4-for-4 at the plate in a win against Goodhue on April 23.

Some other top players for the Tigers have been Ben Leimer, Bo Boettcher, Carter Miller and Reed Neubauer.

With the success they have been having, the Tigers have lofty goals for the postseason. But Schmitz has stressed that the team should focus on each contest and not look ahead.

"The boys have been awesome to coach and they come out to work every day," Schmitz said. "They take it seriously, they work hard and they deserve all the credit that they're receiving."