'Have fun and play loose': Rayder baseball snaps 10-year title drought

CHARLEVOIX — Hey, let’s hear some chatter.

You might come across baseball coaches that need to remind their team to do some talking and stay involved in the dugout, but you’re more likely to come across a snowy day in July than a silent Charlevoix dugout.

The Rayders are just having too much fun to pipe down.

“It’s been a point of emphasis to have fun and play loose,” Charlevoix coach Scott Nickel said. “You’re going to play better if you are.”

All that fun continued Saturday when the Rayders hosted their Division 3 district tournament and later hoisted a district championship trophy.

The Rayders collected a dominant day on their home field, winning a 15-0 three-inning mercy rule game over Mancelona in the district semifinal, before a 13-1 victory over Elk Rapids in the final.

Not surprising in both games, a loud dugout kept things loose and success was followed with more success and celebration.

“These kids really feed off each other and they don’t take the foot off the gas, which is great,” added Nickel. “These guys are really young. We’ve only got two seniors, so I think it’s a good way to not let the pressure get to them, is to have fun and play loose.”

There’s a whole lot of fun involved winning the kind of games that Charlevoix has and they’ve won a lot of them.

This year’s Rayder team is now the winningest in program history at 29-5-1 overall, taking the record by two games with the victories Saturday. They’ve also collected eight straight victories.

Much of that success has come behind Charlevoix starters Bryce Johnson and Owen Waha on the mound and each saw action once again.

Johnson earned the win in the opener after just two innings, then Waha collected the game two victory, though Johnson also topped the mound again in game two.

“We just came out super confident and with a lot of energy and just pitched,” said Waha. “It was awesome.”

The district title snaps a 10-year drought for the Charlevoix baseball team, with the last coming back in the spring of 2013.

For Johnson and his close-knit group of teammates, being the ones to finally snap the drought means a lot.

“You don’t understand, this is a whole different feeling, especially since we haven’t won a district in 10 years,” said Johnson, smiling from ear to ear. “This is great.”

Charlevoix had no problems with Mancelona, putting 11 runs on the board in the first inning, with Johnson and AJ Speigl combining for a three-inning no-hitter. Johnson also struck out three.

Waha then went 3 for 3 at the plate with four RBIs and Johnson drove in a pair of runs.

Against Elk Rapids, runs didn’t come in quite the same bunch, though the Rayders were never in trouble. A five-run fifth inning broke the game open after a 3-1 advantage after four.

The highlight of game two came when Speigl hustled out an infield single to third, which made him the single-season hits leader at the school. There to greet him at first base was the previous record holder, his father and Rayder assistant coach, Steve Speigl.

“I don’t even know if (AJ) knew who had the record,” said Nickel, laughing. “That doesn’t happen every day. It’s very, very cool.”

Speigl breaks mark held by Dad Charlevoix's Speigl breaks school record held by his Dad in district final

Speigl went 4 for 5 in the game with three RBIs and two runs scored, while getting to 51 total knocks in just his sophomore season.

Waha, Hunter Lemerand and Troy Nickel also each had two singles, with Waha and Lemerand driving in one run, while Patrick Sterrett doubled. Emmett Bergmann and Ryan Pearl also each drove in a run.

Waha started and went three innings, striking out six, while Johnson came in for the next four, allowing just a lone hit and struck out nine.

Next up for the Rayders is a visit from Grayling in a hosted regional semifinal at 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 7. A win in that one would then put them in a Traverse City Central hosted regional final and quarterfinal on Saturday, June 10, with either Standish-Sterling or Clare looming for the final.

“The cards are all falling into place,” added Nickel. “It’s awesome. We’ll just take it one game at a time and see what happens.”

Note: Check for more photos over the weekend from district Saturday and another story on the Rayder baseball program early next week.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: 'Have fun and play loose': Rayder baseball snaps 10-year title drought