By BUTCH HARMON
With a core of 10 seniors returning from last year’s baseball team, the outlook for Bay City Western was promising heading into this season.
As the regular season winds down, no one could have imagined just how successful the season was going to be.
With the senior class leading the way, the Warriors won 30 of their first 32 baseball games and captured the Saginaw Valley League North division title.
“This team had high expectations coming into the season,” coach Jim McDonald said. “So far we’ve exceeded those expectations.”
Five of the ten returning seniors are playing their third seasons on the varsity for McDonald. The talent level of the seniors was very high. Among the colleges that have recruited Western players are the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University.
“We had a very experienced team coming into the season and also a pretty balanced team,” McDonald said. “One strength of our team has been our pitching. We have a lot of depth in our pitching and our defense has been consistent. We are also super strong up the middle. The guys have done everything I’ve asked them to do and played the style I believe in.”
Heading up the pitching staff is senior Brett Adcock. Going into the final week of the regular season, Adcock, who is heading to the University of Michigan next fall, has compiled an 8-0 record with an 0.46 earned run average and 87 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched.
Adcock is part of a devastating one-two punch on the mound for the Warriors. He is a power lefthander with an above average fastball, and senior Connor Foley is a crafty righthander in his third year on the varsity.
“Connor is a competitor who knows how to pitch,” McDonald said. “He was our closer last year and had five saves. This year he is 4-0. We needed him to step up and be our number two pitcher this year, and he’s done an excellent job.”
The Warriors have even more than a powerful one-two punch on the mound. Senior Briton Ott is a solid arm who is in his third year on the varsity. Senior Grant Rosenbrock has provided quality innings, and Scott Badour has been the top junior pitcher.
The pitching staff is just part of Western’s strength up the middle. Senior catcher Grant Bridgewater is a three-year varsity player. He earned second-team all-state honors last season and is committed to play at Lewis University next year. Along with providing solid defense, he is also the team’s top run producer from the cleanup spot.
Senior Grant Miller, a talented middle infielder who is headed to Western Michigan University, is hitting over .500 this season. “Grant has an approach that is second to none,” McDonald said. “He understands the game and has a great swing at the plate.”
Along with being a solid starting pitcher, Foley is also a key to the Western offense. He is the team’s leadoff hitter and has scored over 40 runs this season. “Connor is always on base,” McDonald said. “He knows his role on the team and sets the tone for us offensively.”
Brendan “Bubba” Harrison and Brendan Traberski have also played key roles for the team. Harrison plays first base and Traberski is an outfielder.
“Bubba hits in the five hole and does a quality job at first base,” McDonald said. “He has been a pleasant surprise, who has really come a long way. Brendan Traberski has been playing with a lot of confidence this season and also has one of the smoothest swings around.”
With 30 wins heading into the final week of the season, the Warriors have had a lot of highlights, but no one game has really stood out so far.
“We’ve not had that one signature win,” McDonald said. “We did sweep John Glenn in a makeup doubleheader that we played on Mother’s Day. It was played in brutal conditions and we gutted out two wins against a quality team.”
McDonald also likes the way his senior-laden team approaches the game. “One of the amazing things about this team is the consistency of this group,” McDonald said. “They approach the game with a business-like approach, and you’d expect that from a senior-laden team. They are very focused.”