Positive reinforcement: Wiewel’s strength, poise and leadership leads to remarkable results

QUINCY — The voice Abram Wiewel hears when he steps into the batter’s box is the same one he listens to when he stands atop the pitcher’s mound.

It’s his own.

However, the message varies.

“My hitting and pitching mentalities are kind of polar opposites,” said the senior stalwart on the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team. “With my hitting, I’m trying to be as laid back as possible and not do too much. With pitching, it’s more fierce. I’m trying to execute and go after guys and not let them hunt me. I want to hunt them.”

As the numbers show, those voices are working in harmony.

Heading into the Class 2A QND Regional, where the third-seeded Raiders (18-10) face fifth-seeded Petersburg PORTA at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield, Wiewel is the ace of the staff with a 6-1 record and a 2.22 ERA. He has struck out 12 or more batters in four starts, including a 16-strikeout effort in six innings in a 10-2 victory over Brown County.

Offensively, Wiewel is making history.

He finished the regular season hitting .488 with 40 RBIs, but it’s the power numbers that have set him apart. He has 10 doubles, one triple and 12 home runs, including hitting home runs in four consecutive games in the middle of the season. He has tied what is believed to be the school record for homers in a season while becoming just the fourth Raider in the last 40 years to reach double digits.

Adam Terstriep blasted 12 home runs for QND during the 2004 season in which it finished second at the Class A state tournament. Jason Volm hit 11 home runs in 1999, and Chris Klingele smacked 10 home runs during the 1988 season.

The increased power is the byproduct of dedication and preparation.

“I tried to work really hard this offseason,” said Wiewel, who has signed to pitch for John Wood Community College next season. “I wanted to try to throw well. That’s what I’m going to college for. I found a good strength coach — he’s one of the best in the business. He set up a really good plan for me to excel in the weight room.”

That strength coach — Michael Hammerstrand — is based in Overland Park, Kan., but he spent one season as an assistant baseball coach at JWCC and three seasons as an assistant at Drury University.

Donovan Prost, the former Quincy High School and JWCC pitcher, introduced Wiewel to Hammerstrand. The influence of both Prost and Hammerstrand is evident, not only in the physicality Wiewel plays with but also his poise and fluidity on the mound.

“I started training with (Prost) my sophomore year,” Wiewel said. “He’s put a lot of time and effort into me. He did a lot of the mechanical work and getting things set up for me to succeed. Donovan is one of the best of the best.”

Beyond the mechanics, Wiewel’s coaches — including QND coach Rich Polak, who also coached Wiewel with the Complete Game baseball program — have helped him see the need to be positive, especially at the plate.

That’s where the inner voice comes in to play.

The phrase he most often mutters to himself during an at-bat is, “You can do this.”

“Really, that’s all you can tell yourself up there,” Wiewel said. “You can’t tell yourself you need to go hit a home run. You have to say, ‘I can do this. I can get on base. I can go help my team win.’ That’s what a lot of the positive self talk comes from.”

With so many underclassmen taking the field this spring for the Raiders, Wiewel has tried to guide them to be the best players possible along with being incredible teammates. That’s the lesson he learned as a sophomore role player on the 2023 team that won a school-record 36 games and finished third in the Class 2A state tournament.

“Those seniors helped me to see what the goal should be every year,” Wiewel said. “The goal should always be to play the last day of the season and play as long as you can.”

No one showed Wiewel how to be a leader more than Jake Schisler, who recenty wrapped up his sophomore season at Missouri S&T as the Miners’ No. 1 starter, helping them reach the NCAA Tournament.

“He was always a guy you could always go to and ask questions,” Wiewel said. “He showed me if you want to be a leader, you have to be willing to open yourself up and let guys see you as a role model and not be afraid to come and talk to you and have a conversation with you.

“It’s about getting better as a player and as a person.”

Wiewel has done that himself and sees a strong group of freshmen already doing that, too.

“They’re just chipping the surface of what they’re capable of doing,” Wiewel said. “Once they really gel and get into their sophomore and junior years, put on some muscle and really learn the game in and out, they’re probably going to be one of the best in the state.”

To do so, they need to follow Wiewel’s lead in one specific regard.

Listen to yourself and remind yourself to stay positive.

“I tell myself to do whatever it takes for the team,” Wiewel said. “And I tell myself, ‘You can do this.’”