Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
One of the benefits of being a twin, of which Joe and Josh Buchalski often took advantage, was always having a partner for a game of catch. Utilization of this benefit helped the two Nouvel Catholic Central seniors evolve into two pretty good baseball players.
Both are pitchers on the Panthers’ baseball team and are having solid seasons to this point in the year.
Joe Buchalski, a hard-throwing right hander, has a 3-1 record with a 1.17 ERA, while Josh Buchalski, a pin-pointing left hander, is 1-0 with a 2.90 ERA.
The two have combined to strike out 67 opposing batters.
“We found out early that long toss is a way to throw hard,” Josh said. “Whenever we got bored, we would say, ‘lets go out and play long toss.’ That’s the good thing about having a twin; you always have someone to play long toss with.”
College coaches throughout the state took notice of how hard the twins throw, and next year Josh has signed to play for Michigan State University, while Joe will be pitching for Oakland University.
That is great news for the pair, but it’s news that also comes with some trepidation.
“We’ve been together our whole life and played on the same teams,” Joe said. “It will be different, and probably we will have to play each other. We are both excited about it, but it may be tough to get used to that.”
Josh agrees. “I haven’t decided whether us playing on different teams will be fun or scary,” he said. “It will motivate us, because if I hear about him playing good, I better be playing good. We are always motivated to show each other up. We always want to be better than each other.”
That motivation has benefited three athletic teams at Nouvel.
In the fall, Joe played quarterback and Josh wide receiver on the Panthers’ state championship football team. In the winter, each played guard on the basketball team.
Now it’s baseball season, and the twins have helped lead the team to a 9-5 record and hopes of playing well enough to make it to Battle Creek’s Bailey Park for the state finals.
“All teams believe they have a chance to win,” Josh said. “The advantage we may have is that after football, we know what it takes to win. We have experience but still have a lot of work to do.”
Joe echoes those sentiments. “We definitely have the talent to go far,” he said. “But we will have a lot of work to do. We can [go to state,] but we still have a lot of work, and it won’t be easy.”
And that’s fine with the twins, because both admit that baseball is their favorite season.
“It’s is a sport we have been able to play together since we were kids,” Joe said. “We had a baseball diamond right down the street from us, and it was always something we could do.”