By Bill Mullaly

The Hudson High School baseball team was celebrating last June after winning the class C district crown at Sand Creek. This year the Tigers will be trying to defend that district title with a very young and somewhat inexperienced team, especially on its pitching staff. Fourth-year Hudson head coach Jeremy Beal is as optimistic as ever these days as the season opener approaches next Wednesday, April 4 at Dexter in a twin bill to start the 2007 season. The Tigers are hoping to use the old adage of "addition by subtraction" as one of the team's top returning players decided to pursue other interests this spring and Matt Aguirre in all likelihood will not be with the team this season. Aguirre is fine pitcher with the most innings of anyone expected to return but he won't be on the hill this spring. Beal doesn't dwell on who isn't there but his focus is on the players that have stayed with the team and are ready to go on opening day. After going 15-24 in 2006 against one of the toughest schedules for a class C team in the state the Tigers have beefed up the schedule even more this year but that is the way Beal likes it. "Yes, we will be young and inexperienced but the boys have good attitudes and they are working hard in practice," said Beal, who is also the school's assistant athletic director. "We don't have much experience returning on the mound but we have some kids that can pitch. The pitchers have not thrown a lot of varsity innings but we do have a solid defense behind them. It will be important that we play good defense with our pitching being so young."

Beal will have a roster of a dozen players or perhaps a baker's dozen this season as the Tigers do battle in the always-tough LCAA.                    

                                   The Tiger Baseballers

The pitching will kind of be by committee with lots of throwers and plenty of young arms. The veteran will be junior Nick Hart as he threw the most innings in 2006 of anyone that returns. He has the usual fastball and curveball mix, while not real experienced at the varsity level it is Hart who has the most time on the hill of all the pitchers on this year's team. Junior Jeremy Busscher will also pitch and he was on the junior varsity team last spring. Sophomore Josh Shepard had some limited time with the varsity last year and he will also pitch some. Another sophomore hurler will be Alex Middleton who threw some on the JV team in 2006. Luke Milligan is the third sophomore pitcher who is expected to see some innings of work. Then there are two freshmen that can also pitch and they will see some time on the varsity team. Chris Aguirre has been a little league legend for years but now he will get some time on the big team, while fellow classmate Mitchell Webb will also throw on the varsity team. "Our pitching is not a strength but I don't see it as a weakness either," Beal said. "I just want the pitchers to gain confidence and get better as the season progresses."

The catcher will be senior returnee Drew Kingsley and Beal looks highly upon Kingsley for his experience and leadership. "I want to see him hit better this year but his defense is very good and he works so hard. He is perhaps the best catcher I've had to work with since I've been the coach here," said Beal. It looks like Taylor Milligan will be the backup for Kingsley. The first baseman will be sophomore Kyle Benschoter and he had a good rookie season last year hitting just over .300 and he appears early on to have more pop in his bat this season according to Beal.

The person at second base could be L. Milligan as he has the edge on the starting spot but others will also play at second at times and they might be freshman Nathan Smith or Middleton. The third baseman will be Aguirre when he is not pitching and Hart will also play some third base when not on the mound. Shortstop is another one of those positions that will depend on who is pitching. Beal will play L. Milligan some at shortstop along with Hart or Middleton or perhaps Smith. The older Aguirre, who has chosen not to play, was a fixture at shortstop the last two years when he wasn't pitching. "Our infield is young but they can get the job done as they have good gloves," said Beal, who worries about their arm strength and their range. "I think that this infield will be fine but they are perhaps a year away from being real good." Two other potential infielders will be Busscher and Shepard when they don't pitch.

Middleton who can play both the corner spots of right and left field will lead the outfield. He brings a solid glove and a strong arm to the outfield. If Middleton is in left field it will be T. Milligan in right field and he also has a good glove with a lot of upside that he brings to the team. The centerfielder could very well be Webb who has a lot of natural talent like speed and quickness and Beal expects him to run down some potential looking hits. Beal is looking for juniors Andrew Osborne and Taylor Smith to fit into the varsity team at times, while also helping the JV team when needed. "Both kids are solid players who will do whatever they can to help the team," said Beal.

                               Season Outlook

The Tigers will try hard to stay in the upper half of the seven-team LCAA conference but that could be a daunting task for such a young team. Blissfield and Clinton are the favorites to win the league title with Erie Mason also expected to be dangerous. A lot of these young Tigers were on the team last year when they won at Blissfield so they know they can win. Hart is the team's leading hitter back with a  .325 average but the others will also have to pick up the pace to help the offense. L. Milligan will hit leadoff but after that the lineup is far from set. The strength of the team is its positive attitude and the work ethic of the boys notes Beal who is looking forward to the upcoming season. "We have a tough schedule but if we can survive it we will be ready for the districts again," said Beal, who has the team hosting the early bird C R Motors Invite on Saturday, April 14. "We will play every Saturday except for prom so the boys will be put to the test and thrown into the fire early and often."

Phil Dunn will be Beal's right hand man as his top assistant on the varsity but veteran baseball minds Wayne Perry and Brad Milligan will be helping Beal as well. Andrew Kline, a former standout player from six years ago, who played at Spring Arbor, will coach the junior varsity team. Helping Kline will be Brock Rychener and Drew Godfrey. Two other veteran experienced senior players in Josh Butts and Caylan Pickford also most likely won't be with the team but the season will go on without them just the same.
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