Suttons Bay baseball is ready to get back on the mound in 2024 as the Norsemen will be supporting a team with another year of experience and looking to compete against the best in the Northwest Conference.
“I’m very excited about getting rolling this season … We are going to be a little deeper than we were last year,” Suttons Bay coach Doug Periard said. “Then going into this year out we have much more experience even though they are still youngsters and they’d be young overall, they got a year of baseball development to start with.”
Suttons Bay will be led by seniors Lucas Gordon, Tyler Porter, Joe Howard, Jacob Welch, and Jabin Aguilar.
Gordon holds the Norsemen’s leading batting average every year since he was a freshman.
“We’re going to have to work together as a team, but I think we’re all starting to gel together, so I think all the kinks will work itself out and it’ll be good,” Gordon said. “It’s good for everyone to get their work everywhere on the field. It just helps with the flow of everything because everyone’s got to be a pitcher, everyone’s gotta be able to fit in where they need to be, where they need to fit in.”
Gordon will lead defensively from the shortstop position while being an ace on the mound and batting anywhere in the lineup.
Gordon is a three-year starter for Suttons Bay. He went 4-3 with 40 innings pitched and a 2.0 ERA in 2023. Gordon led the Norsemen with 27 hits and eight RBIs on the season with a .351 batting average.
The Norsemen 2023 season ended in a district semifinal loss to Frankfort as the Suttons Bay finished the season 9-19-1.
“I’m looking at us to be much more competitive than we were last year,” Periard said.
Porter has been all four years throughout his high school career and will be counted on as an anchor at first base along with playing outfield and pitching. Aguilar will be patroling the outfield this season after showing flashes during his junior year.
“I’m excited to play this season. I feel like we got a young team … We’re definitely going to need to fill some roles in pitching, but I’m really excited,” Porter said.
Porter knows why it’s important to be able to play multiple positions on a baseball team, especially for a small town team.
“Honestly, when you come from a small town like this, there’s not a lot of kids that want to play baseball. It’s important to learn multiple positions so you can be an element for your team and be there to fill in spots when they can’t be filled,” Porter said.
Suttons Bay juniors include AJ Agosa, Damien Chippewa, Nick McCormick, Jackson Loucks, Graham Martin, and Anthony Oskaboose.
Loucks is expected to fill up the plate as he has been playing at least three different positions over the past three seasons.
Sophomores include Gavin Schichtel, Zacharia Raphael, and Jesus Alcala.
A healthy crop of freshmen will be battling for playing time including Shane O’Boyle, Alex McCormick, Ethan Sams, Isaac Walton, Ty Brenner, and Adrain Banda.
The Norsemen are excited by the development of the bullpen as the 2024 season kicks off, according to coach Periard.
Numbers are up for Suttons Bay baseball with 20 athletes playing on varsity and junior varsity teams.
Coaching will be a team effort as Steve Loucks, Mike Gordon, and Caleb Grant will be helping with the coaching duties.
The Norsemen kick-off the season next week.
