College baseball: Boyceville's Retz making instant impact in Division I with St. Thomas

May 3—Walker Retz helped lead the Boyceville baseball team to a state championship as a senior last spring, and has already proven a valuable addition to the Division I St. Thomas Tommies during his freshman season.

The right-handed pitcher currently boasts one of the lowest ERAs on the team, a feat Boyceville baseball coach Michael Roemhild said he might not have anticipated while working with Retz while he was a freshman or sophomore.

"I would say he had the ability to play college baseball, but DI was off in the distance," Roemhild said. "He made huge gains mentally and physically his junior and senior years. COVID took away us being able to see him play his junior year. He made up for it his senior year leading us to a state championship. The way he pitched, hit, and led our team I knew he could play for any team in the nation and hold his own."

Heading into Tuesday's doubleheader at UW-Milwaukee, Retz has the best ERA among St. Thomas starters by a wide margin at 1.73. He's struck out 34 batters across 26 innings in his freshman campaign. His 0.81 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is by far the best on the Tommies' pitching staff. He sports a 1-1 record in five starts.

Retz was a first-team all-state pitcher as a senior at Boyceville and was last year's Leader-Telegram All-Area player of the year.

"Talking with Walker as he matured it was obvious he had goals set," Roemhild said. "He wanted to play college baseball and he wanted to play DI college baseball. He worked his butt off during the season and even more in the offseason to prepare to play at the next level. I am very proud of him and we are always watching to see how he does."

Retz said he carried a lot of the energy from his high school career and state tournament appearance into college.

"I would say I bring that energy I played the state tournament with me every day that I show up to practice," Retz said. "I'm just trying to stay consistent with everything."

Roemhild said the program was lucky to have had Retz to watch and learn from during his high school career.

"It brings another level of excitement to our program," Roemhild said. "Not many people in the area can say that they have had someone from their program go on and be successful at the next level."

Retz disclosed he finds a high level of organization helpful in managing his academic and athletic obligations. He said the biggest difference between playing in high school and college is, "the pressure part, and the level we play at on a day-to-day basis is much higher." He expressed gratitude for the trust of St. Thomas coaches Chris O'Lean and Neal Kunik have placed in him as a player.

He also listed Creighton as one of the biggest challenges he's faced in his freshman season. He pitched seven strong innings against the Blue Jays on March 4, holding them to three runs on five hits while striking out eight.

Retz is studying exercise science and business of health, with the goal of becoming a chiropractor.