2009 All Area Baseball Team: County will have a tough time replacing some its most lovable seniors

In a matter of innings and with just a few poorly located pitches and errant swings the curtain closed.

Two weekends ago marked the final high school contests for many extraordinary county stars — and they will not be forgotten, and possibly not even replaced.

This year of baseball in Hillsdale County was full of surprises, good and bad, and while no team survived past the first game of regionals there was plenty of excitement.

The Jonesville Comets revived their program under Dale Steward; Reading’s Rick Bailey took his lumps early and taught his team how to win down the stretch en route to another district championship; Camden-Frontier rose from the ashes to win an SCAA East Division crown and nearly knocked the Rangers out of the postseason; Pittsford showed life and exceptional character under the leadership of Chris Hodos, Quincy continued to be one of the most consistent programs in all the area, and Hillsdale was Hillsdale — breathtaking at times and hard to figure out at others.
What I will remember most though is not the games or the scores or the stats — hands down it’s all about the seniors who we will never have a chance to appreciate again.

For starters, Scott Lantis and Mitchell Gabriele are Hillsdale Hornets no longer. It sounds weird, it is weird and losing them is kind of like taking the explosions and guns out of action movies.

Some area residents might be tired of hearing their names and seeing their faces plastered all over the sports section, but they have earned every bit of attention they have received.

There is good reason Gabriele will be playing football and basketball at Adrian and Lantis will be suiting up as a Hillsdale College Charger.

Lantis was his usual self pitching this year, going 9-1, but if was his defense as a shortstop and leadership that trump everything else.

Gabriele’s desire to ruthlessly dominate made him the best defensive catcher in the area once again and during the postseason he was locked and loaded at the plate, as if to say the only fitting end to his career would be another state championship.

Teammate Dillon Dirth benefited from Gabriele’s great game-calling abilities, tying a school record with nine pitching victories.

He only played for Chris Adams for two years after transferring, but his progress was a treat to watch and he was easily one of the most pin-point accurate pitchers in the county.

While he could blow through opposing lineups, teammate Tyler Vandeberghe could sprint around the basepaths and his feistiness and athleticism reminded me of a young Ricky Henderson. Not bad for a middle of the order guy.

Keeping the senior theme going, the Big Eight had a darn good local trio of its own.
Jonesville’s Ben Stemen kept his temper in tact in ’09 and drove in a school-record 52 RBIs on his way to being named league MVP.

Quincy senior Brandon Stempien went 8-2 on the hill, with a no-hitter tossed in and hit .438 with 36 RBIs to boot.

Probably my favorite of all the Big Eight stars who are now graduates is a Reading Ranger though.

Ryan “Bulldog” Dillon was in essence the perfect point guard in every sport he played. He connected with Rick Bailey to the point that he was basically another coach and motivator for his teammates.

He may not have been blessed with the same raw skills as some kids around here, but he was blessed with a true understanding of how to come through in the clutch, how to treat people and how to make high school athletic fans proud.

I truly hope someone fills the cleats of these seniors because they were phenomenal to cover, and there a few juniors well on their way.

Kurtis Tyler and Jake Jividen of C-F are example 1A. Tyler throws fireballs from the mound like he’s Super Mario and Jividen has a nice mix of power and patience at the plate.

In Jonesville, John Sigler hit an astonishing .481 this season and also proved he’s more than just a knuckleballer in going 9-1.

Eric Stetler of Quincy hit .340 and won seven games as the No. 2 pitcher and Pittsford junior Seth Weber is a bit unassuming at times, but he’s a grinder on the hill and has better pop at the plate than you would expect from a guy his size.

As long as I live I’ll be interested in the paths some of these youngsters take, but based on the determination and results I saw from them on the diamond I’m sure there are plenty more proud moments on the way.

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Resilient Rangers: Reading comes back to win another district crown

[caption id="attachment_654" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rick Bailey's troops celebrate another district crown."][/caption]

Sometimes the experience of a champion beats the heart of a champion and Friday was case in point, in favor of the Reading Rangers.

After ousting Camden-Frontier 3-2 in an epic 11-inning semifinals contest, the Rangers came all the way back from a 6-1 deficit and ultimately won yet another district championship in the bottom of the seventh, in a dramatic 8-7 win over Pittsford.

Adam Anspaugh’s wild pitch in the bottom of the final inning allowed the final run to cross the plate with two outs, but it was a memorable day for Pittsford faithful nonetheless.

After relinquishing its five-run lead and seeing Reading score the go-ahead run in the sixth, on a play where the third baseman could have thrown home instead of first base, the Wildcats showed no quit.

With one out in the top of the seventh, Seth Weber sent a solo blast over the left field wall after falling behind in the count 1-and-2, to tie things up.

"This is high school sports. I coach three sports and I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it. I love the emotions and I love Pittsford and I love hanging out with these kids and doing what I do," Pittsford head coach Chris Hodos said despite coming up just short.

In the bottom of the inning, Anspaugh walked Chad Berger and Bryce Jackson, before Trevor Shaffer reached on an error with two outs.

Then lead-off man Joe Hubbard stepped to the plate and less than half a minute later Berger scored the winning run on the wild pitch, as teammates piled on at home plate.

"All season long we've had a number of close games that we won and this is not the most prolific hitting team we've ever had. And we lost a big bat with the injury (to Alex Eastwood) but we've battled all year, especially the last 3/5ths of the year when we've played good baseball and we battled today too," Reading head coach Rick Bailey said. "And so did Pittsford and Camden...two good high school ball games."

Bailey and his troops never seemed rattled after falling behind early, something he thinks comes from the experienced seniors and also the rough-and-tumble waters of the Big Eight that they treaded through this season.

"It's very rewarding. We've got some senior leadership that did it and our young guys just kept getting better and better," he said, noting the Rangers started two freshmen and a sophomore in the title game.

For Hodos the loss was a tough pill to swallow, but he was proud of his boys.

"(Reading is) playing well right now, they're a good hitting team and Rick does a fantastic job with them. They do things right, move runners up and are fundamentally sound," he said. "I told the seniors it's a tough way to go out. I had four seniors who played baseball for T.G. (Cook) the last three years and this year for me, and they played well, and they were upset, so what do you say to them?"

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Can't get any better than this: Wildcat boys finish regular season 20-0

[caption id="attachment_249" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Senior guard Clark Pelham gets some love from a teammate after Pittsford wrapped up a perfect regular season Friday."][/caption]

By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor

As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 7, 2009

It was a wondrous night in Pittsford, the type grandparents tell their grandchildren about 40 years later, the kind that makes a small town feel like the only place in the world for a few hours.

The Wildcat boys basketball team methodically hammered Hudson 65-43 in front of an electric crowd at home, putting the finishing touches on the first undefeated regular season in Pittsford High School history —a feat that left head coach Mike Burger nearly speechless, and something so big for the community that the team was donning brand new Wildcat shirts with a huge "20-0" on the back by 9:15 p.m.

"It's an exceptional bunch of guys and to me that's what it's about — having the rare privilege of coaching a great bunch of kids who are just extra special in my heart and I probably will never see this again in reality, and I'm going to savor it that much more," Burger said.

"I think a lot of  it had to with the amazing atmosphere we had down here. I mean, it was electric, our community came out big for our kids tonight and supported us. I think we just fed off the energy of this atmosphere."

The band was playing loud and proud for four quarters, it was standing room only in the gym and the Wildcat players rose to the occasion.

Fired up by five quick points from star Garet Lee, off of two steals by the junior forward, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 14-9 lead.

Less than two minutes later, after a Clark Pelham triple followed by a fist pump and a Corey Gamble 3-pointer it was 22-11 and the rout was on. The Wildcats had already experienced a close call earlier this week, in a three-point overtime win over Battle Creek St. Phil, and they weren't about to let the Tigers hang with them.

"I just told everyone 'This is just a regular game, play it like we play any other game' and we came out intense and it shows on the scoreboard," said Pelham, a senior guard who scored 11 points in his final home game.
Pelham said to go undefeated with this group of guys is by far the best thing that has happened to him in his athletic career, but he also realized he has a special place in history for years to come.

"With about 5:00 left in the fourth I looked at the scoreboard and said to myself, they can't come back, we just did it, we did it, 20-0," he said. "We just tied the school record for wins (in a season), we just made history — we are history."

Lee dominated all phases of the game, per usual, with 19 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and three assists, but it was junior guard Seth Weber who signified the progress the team has made over the course of one year.

As a sophomore he admits he was at times unsure, and hardly ever looked for his shot. On Friday he wanted to take the big shots, and almost every chance he had he delivered in the clutch. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 21 points to go with four assists.

"He's the leader of this team period. Everything run through Seth, he and I have a lot of important conversations and he's really grown up," Burger said. "He worked, he lifted, you can see it in his game. Sure he gets rattled and has a turnover here or there, but good players will make turnovers trying to make plays....but tonight it seemed like every time Hudson started to make a run Seth made a big basket at just the right time."

Weber credited Burger for teaching him how to settle down and just make plays, while realizing mistakes happen and you just have to play through them. And as for Friday's performance, he said it was the fruits of his labor. as well as a certain optical enhancement.

"At the beginning of the season I wasn't shooting very well and then I started working on my shot, getting more gym time and I just shot all the time, even in sixth hour at school in Advanced P.E. And I got contacts last week and the rim is humungous now," he said.

What also is humongous right now is Pittsford's confidence, after completing a regular season journey that began December 9 unblemished.

Sure they have Class C district play in Hudson starting next Wednesday and Burger said he'll probably start turning his attention to that rather soon, but even he was all about basking in the moment.

"It's just an amazing feeling, I couldn't be more proud of those guys. I mean they work so hard to get where we're at, we put them through heck everyday in practice and they just work so hard and they deserve it," he said. "We play three sports down here and we just expect our kids to play sports at Pittsford, and they do and they learn to depend on each other and it develops this camaraderie...and there's nothing better than winning with your good buddies. It's just an amazing thing, I can hardly express it at this point."

Garrett Schoonover led Hudson with 10 points and Luke Milligan pitched in with eight including a pair of 3-pointers.

The Tigers drew no closer than 16 in the second half.

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