By John Raffel
Clare baseball coach Dave Gould finished his seventh season with the program which finished at 20-11-2.
“We had a good season and could have easily finished around 25-6,” Gould said. “We lost some games that we should not have lost. We did not hit the ball like we thought we could and struggled on the mound as well. I think we will all look back at the year and think that we should have done better.
“Our expectations were to go farther than we did last year. Obviously, we fell short of that goal.
We had a couple young players step up and play well this year. Blake Sian (sophomore) did well in right fielderand also became one of our top pitchers. He had a great game in districts, striking out 10 and only giving up one hit in 6 ⅓ innings. Blake was honorable mention in conference and earned All-District for pitching.”
Gould added: “Dane Alexander also helps us out this year. His role as a utility player, playing catcher, outfield was greatly appreciated. He played well and earned All District honors for Utility player. Ryan Louch had a very good year, earning All conference, All District, All Region and will most likely be All State infielder. He hit .473 on the year and stole 33 bases. Jayden Arthur did a great job behind the plate and earned All conference and All District honors for catching.
“I think losing games to Gladwin, Shepherd and Beaverton hurt us a great deal. We did not hit the ball like we should have and walked too many batters. We were better than that and wish we could have those games back. Obviously, losing to Standish in Districts was disappointing as well. It was 1-0 and we had bases loaded twice and had other runners on throughout the game as well and couldn’t hit them in. We had plenty of chances to put runs on the board but didn’t get it done. We had played them well earlier and wanted to keep the game close, which we did.”
Clare will be losing eight seniors: Ryan Louch, Jyaden Arthur, Chase Randall, Porter Harsh, Matt Mast, Tustyn Yarger Lincoln Older, and Cole Drake,
Key returners are Dane Alexander,, Parker Smith, Andrew Moreno and Brody Allen
“We have some big shoes to fill with Louch, Arthur and Randall graduating but we should be pretty solid. Our pitching staff looks hopeful and we should be abbl to field a good defensive team,” Gould said.
