The Bishop Garrigan baseball team has set the bar high in recent seasons, as 2024 marked the second consecutive Top of Iowa West conference title and 20 win season for the Golden Bears. Now, in 2025, the Golden Bears will look to reload once again, and use a combination of returners and new faces to continue the tradition.
Daniel Meis emerged as an ace pitcher for the Golden Bears in 2024, posting an ERA of 2.01 in 69.2 innings pitched. Meis struck out 100 batters, one of just three returners in class 1A to reach that mark. Meis has worked this offseason on refining his offerings on the mound.
Bishop Garrigan Head Coach Rob Meister sees a lot of characteristics that make Meis one of the best pitchers in the area, and wants to see him take the next step by cutting down on walks this season after issuing 41 free passes last season.
Meis ended the season with an 8-2 record, while opposing batters hit just .167 against the Golden Bear righty. After losing Drew Lappe and Justin Bauer, a pair of sub-2.00 ERA pitchers, to graduation, players such as Brady Galligan, Carter Schwab, Tate Foertsch, and Nick Leerar will likely be first in line to soak up innings behind Meis.
Galligan pitched the fourth most innings on the staff last season, recording 20.2 innings pitched, recording a 2.59 ERA, while striking out 20 batters and walking 6. Schwab and Foertsch both appeared in four games on the mound last season. Foertsch talked about working more in the strike zone this season.
When Foertsch isn’t on the mound, he is expected to be a centerpiece of the batting order and the Golden Bear defense at the catcher position. Foertsch took over as the starting catcher last season as a sophomore following the graduation of state super team honoree Garrett Heying. The current Bishop Garrigan junior made it a smooth transition, becoming one of the most productive hitters in the lineup with a .371 average, a team-leading 13 doubles, 1 home run, and 26 runs batted in. Foertsch was equally impressive defensively, throwing out 13 potential base-stealers, while guiding a Bishop Garrigan pitching staff that compiled a 2.38 team ERA.
Foertsch referenced the trust the Golden Bears have in each other as a key factor to their success.
The Bishop Garrigan batting order was once again very productive in 2024, but does enter 2025 with some key spots to be filled. One of the big answers the Golden Bears are looking for is to the question of who will serve as the table setters at the top of the lineup. Bauer filled the leadoff role last season with a .526 batting average and 40 stolen bases prior to his graduation. As the Golden Bears look at lineup construction for this season, Meister is focused on competitive at bats and cutting down on strikeouts from last season.
The Golden Bears recorded a team batting average of .310 last season, but saw their strikeout total increase from 151 to 224 from 2023 to 2024. Bishop Garrigan will look to have plenty of runners on base ahead of Carter Schwab, who made his presence known in the middle of the batting order with a .422 average and 29 runs batted in last season, walking 25 times compared to 10 strikeouts.
Leerar, Meis, and Galligan area all among the returners who received everyday at bats last season and will look to take a step forward this season. Meis feels the buy-in amongst the players is a reason for optimism.
Galligan feels the contributions for Bishop Garrigan will come from all over the roster.
A word mentioned a lot by Meister heading into the season is “consistency” something Bishop Garrigan will try to find as the evaluate the results from the early season games.
The season begins for the Golden Bears on Friday, May 23rd with the crosstown showdown at Algona. The game can be heard on KLGZ 98.5 FM/AM 1600 and seen on the Algona Radio YouTube stream. Following the crosstown game, Bishop Garrigan begins Top of Iowa West play on May 27th with a home opener doubleheader against Belmond-Klemme.
