Glad to Bring Baseball Back to Gladstone

May 9, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Blake Ballard looked out at the snow covering Gladstone last month and figured it would never melt. When he and his teammates finally played in their first tournament of the season April 20, the temperature couldn’t have broken 30 degrees.

It’s the annual plight of a high school baseball player. And Ballard and teammates are glad to enjoy it for the first time – as members of Gladstone’s first high school baseball team since 1959.

The Braves made their re-debut last month thanks to a full community effort that included deft advising from the eventual coach, creative thinking by the administration and school board and enthusiastic fundraising by parents and supporters – none of which is lost on a group of athletes who are off to a 10-3 start heading into Thursday’s doubleheader against Escanaba.

“Once we figured out it was going to happen, we were excited. Kids started practicing a lot,” said Ballard, one of the team’s two seniors. “It’s going to be pretty sweet later on. Whoever didn’t (play) will regret it.”

Gladstone has roughly 5,000 residents, and baseball has remained a staple of the community over the last half century – just not as the high school level.

Children grow up playing in the local little league and on travel teams, and then graduate to American Legion ball when they are older. But for any number of reasons – including weather-related difficulties in scheduling, low interest or lack of facilities – only 19 Upper Peninsula MHSAA high schools offer baseball. 

At Gladstone, boys instead played and can continue to choose from track and field, golf and tennis during the spring. Ballard, for example, was a golfer before getting his chance on the diamond this year. 

A football and basketball player too, he often was asked why his school didn't play baseball – and really had no idea how to answer.

Community members had campaigned for baseball in the past, said athletic director Matt Houle. He’s worked at Gladstone for more than 30 years, and has seen four or five strong pushes over the last decade alone.  

But those efforts faced two challenges. The first was funding – all programs at Gladstone previously were funded by the school, but baseball if added would have to raise its own money. And the school also wanted to make sure to continue complying with Title IX, which meant finding more opportunities for female students as well if a baseball team was added for the boys. (Gladstone already has a softball program, and it’s one of the state’s best of the last decade with two MHSAA titles and a runner-up finish last season in Division 3.)

Enter former Escanaba baseball coach Don Lauscher.

He and two others keyed a similar effort that led to Escanaba High School creating a baseball program in 2002, and he also assisted Marquette when it added baseball four seasons ago. He had coached Gladstone Legion teams in 2005 and 2006 and Escanaba's varsity to a 130-27 record from 2007-11, but wasn't looking to become coach of a new program – he just hoped to lend his knowledge on getting it started.

Rallying the community was the easy part. And to keep with Title IX, Gladstone added self-funded co-ed swimming and bowling programs.

Supporters convinced the school board they could fund the program – and already have the team two years ahead on its expected financial obligations thanks to special events but also additional donations from local foundations and independently by other members of the community.

“Our community has always been supportive of our athletic teams. And being a town looked upon as a strong baseball/softball program, it was inevitable it would happen,” Houle said.

“People kept coming up and saying, ‘Congratulations Coach. We’re really behind you,’” Lauscher said of a recent breakfast fundraiser. “It’s amazing.”

The community is getting its money’s worth.

Ironically, an uncle of Lauscher's wife played on that 1959 Gladstone team. That didn't play into his taking over as coach, but he had other reasons. 

Perhaps most of all, Lauscher missed teaching the game. He's coached it at just about every youth level and attended clinics as far away as Georgia and Louisiana, and enjoys passing on what he's learned. And life events fell into play to allow the opportunity to be assisted by his son Kurt and nephew B.J.; both played at Grand Rapids Community College and Kurt also pitched at Central Michigan University.

Again, because of the summer programs, Lauscher didn’t start completely from scratch. A core group including Ballard, juniors Christian Groleau, Christian Tackman, Sam Pouliot and sophomore Justin Jurek gave the Braves a quality pitching staff and some high school-comparable experience. Still, the team didn't have a catcher when practice began and fundamentals have been the focus as the coaches bring everyone up to speed. 

As a whole, the 14-player roster has caught on quickly.

“Seeing the things these kids didn't know to where they are now, I’m very surprised where they are now,” Don Lauscher said.

The team plays at its local Legion field, which has lights and is only about a quarter-mile from the school. The Braves hosted their first “Parents Night” last week and truly are inclusive of the full student body with Lucas LaCosse joining Ballard as the seniors, followed by five juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

Gladstone’s other spring sports haven’t lost out much, if at all. The track and field team has 41 athletes and the golf team has 16; the tennis team is down to 11, but graduated a large senior class last season.

More Upper Peninsula schools are talking about adding baseball and softball, Houle said; Hancock softball played its first games ever Wednesday. Schools looking to get a program together would be wise to follow Gladstone’s road map.

“There is so much enthusiasm for it right now,” Houle said. “Just being at the diamond around kids I know so well, to see in their faces the excitement ... I’m very honored. There’s a great sense of pride among these kids.”

After the team's first four dates were canceled, Ballard threw the first game of Gladstone High's modern history.

“It was weird. (But) everyone liked it," he said. "It seemed like a big difference, playing for our school now."

PHOTOS: (Top) Christian Tackman (10) prepares to throw to first base while shortstop Blake Ballard follows behind during a game this spring. (Middle) Gladstone catcher Justin Jurek looks toward the dugout for a signal. (Photos courtesy of Lori Jurek). 

Reigning D1 Champ Posts Record Result

June 14, 2014

By Andy Sneddon
Special for Second Half

EAST LANSING – Same school, same uniforms.

But an almost entirely different cast.

And a piece of MHSAA baseball history.

Sophomore right-hander Jason Clark pitched seven masterful innings Saturday as Bay City Western topped Grosse Pointe South, 6-2, to win the Division 1 championship at McLane Baseball Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.

The Warriors (38-7) became the first team in the 43-year history of the MHSAA Tournament to repeat as the champion in the largest division (Division 1 or Class A).

“It was a storybook season, and it had a storybook ending,” Western coach Tim McDonald said. “I’m not going to pretend that we were the most talented team in the state or that we were maybe even close to it. But that was a flawless performance (in the Final) from one-through-nine.

“You dream of coming out and playing like that in a big game, but you never know with high school kids.”

Unless, perhaps, those kids happen to play baseball and wear the brown and gold of Bay City Western.

The Warriors returned just two starters from last year’s team and started four sophomores in Saturday’s Final.

One of those 10th-graders was Clark, who took a perfect game into the fifth inning, then allowed three straight hits that produced both South runs to cut Western’s lead to 6-2.

“I’ve been doing that all year,” said Clark, the Warriors’ leadoff hitter who finished with three hits and scored two runs. “If I have a bad inning, I stay focused and try to speed up my momentum and it usually helps me. It’s just, stay focused, and not let myself get sidetracked by the hits.”

Those three hits – singles by Ronald Williams and James Fishback sandwiched around a Brett Bigham triple – were the only base runners South had on the day.

And after that hiccup, Clark retired the final nine Blue Devils batters he faced, finishing the game with five strikeouts. The Warriors played error-free defense behind him.

“Jason Clark is just a pup. He’s 15 years old; he was on a Pony League field this time last year,” McDonald said. “I think the seniors and some of the veterans were good about keeping him calm; (there was a) lot of positive energy. That was an unbelievable big-game performance.”

The same, frankly, could be said about all the Warriors.

“We’ve played our best in the biggest games this year,” McDonald said. “I don’t think they felt pressure because of last year, I just think there’s pressure because it’s a one-and-done tournament. If you slip up, you can get knocked off, and these guys never ever even flinched. They deserve it. There’s more talented teams, but you can’t play any better than they did.

“For seven tournament games that was as good a display of baseball that you’re going to see, in every facet of the game.”

Senior Justin Gorr drilled a two-run double in the first inning to put the Warriors up, 2-0, and Hunter David delivered a two-out double to score Gorr and make it 3-0.

As it turned out, that’s all Clark would need, though Western provided plenty of insurance with 11 hits including a two-RBI single from Seth Freed.

Freed and catcher Carson Eby are Western’s lone returning starters from last season.

“It’s a whole new team, whole new look, new pitchers,” Gorr said. “We didn’t have any returning pitchers from last year.

“Last year everyone expected us to win the state championship. This year everyone was looking down on us thinking we couldn’t do it. And to know that all the haters were out there and to win a state championship is an amazing feeling.”

And a different one, McDonald said.

“I treasured last year’s championship for a long time, and every time I see the guys from last year there’s a bond that’ll never be broken,” he said. “Now this year’s group gets to enjoy that. I’m never ever going to say one was better than the other – they’re different, but (winning is) so hard to do. You’ve got to have breaks and a little bit of luck and do all the things that championship teams do, and we did it.”

South (27-18) was seeking its first MHSAA title since 2001.

The Blue Devils started the season 1-5 and were 7-12 at one point. They finished 7-8 (third place) in their league, the Macomb Area Conference Red, but got hot at the right time and upset top-ranked Sterling Heights Stevenson in a Quarterfinal game.

“We came such a long way,” said Dan Griesbaum, who finished his 31st season as South’s coach. “I’m so proud of this team. To do what they did from the beginning to the end of the season; they just kept getting better and better and better. We lost to a very good team today. They deserved it, they played better than we did today, and that’s what the state tournament is all about.

“For us to get here and get this far and do what we did is amazing, very satisfying.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Bay City Western players celebrate their MHSAA Division 1 championship at McLane Stadium. (Middle) The Warriors' Scott Badour and Grosse Pointe South catcher Roland Williams watch Badour's drive; he had one hit in four at-bats.