By BUTCH HARMON
When it comes to Division 4 baseball, few teams in the state can match the success of the Beal City Aggies.
For four of the last five years, the Aggies have reached the final four in the state tournament. Last year, Beal City reached the state championship game, where it dropped a 3-2 decision in eight innings to University Liggett School. The Aggies turned in a 35-3 overall record last spring.
While they lost some key players off that team, like first-team all-state pick Ryan Marshal, Corey Yuncker, and Joe Rau, the team has a number of key players back. Senior Ty Rollin is a returning first-team all-state player. He is joined by a number of other key seniors, including Kevin Bleise, Kurt Gross, Nick Hoogerhyde, Hayden Huber, Carson Salisbury, Ryan Tilmann, and Nick Ward. Junior Luke Farrell and sophomores Tucker Gross and Chase Rollin are also playing key roles this year.
“We have good team chemistry this year,” said coach Brad Antcliff. “The key for us is to slow the game down and play it one pitch at a time.”
Success is nothing new for the this year’s senior class, as they have played in three state championship games, two in football and one in baseball.