Sand Creek baseball gets off to hot start
SAND CREEK — A preseason trip to Myrtle Beach helped get Sand Creek off to a great start to the baseball season.
The spring trip – which head coach Wayne Perry tries to do at least every other year - was the impetus behind the Aggies winning their first nine games of the 2024 season.
“I’ll take a 9-0 start anytime,” Perry said, “especially after winning 12 games all of last season.”
Since Perry took over the program, the trip to Myrtle Beach has been a staple for the program. It not only helps with team bonding, but it allows the players to get some work in better weather than Michigan has to offer at the end of March.
“Going to Myrtle Beach always helps,” Perry said. “That gives us a little bit of a head start. We took 19 kids down there for a week and got some good work in. It helps.”
Perry thought he had a field lined up to practice for three days in Myrtle Beach but when it fell through, he found another team from Michigan nearby the Aggies could partner with and get time on a field.
On the way back to Michigan, the team stopped in Portsmouth, Ohio, across the West Virginia-Ohio state line to play Portsmouth West in a doubleheader. The Aggies won 4-2 and 9-3. Parker Bowles and Ivan Wilkinson threw the first game with Jacob Schamberger and Andon Sutherland pitching the second. Jordan Illenden and Carson Preston led the offense.
“It was 71 degrees in Portsmouth,” Perry said. “It was the nicest day we had on our trip weather wise.”
After returning to Michigan, Sand Creek won the Union City Tournament, beating Union City 11-7 and Constantine 12-5. Reid Hulett was the winner on the mound in the finals.
Having so many pitchers has been nice this season.
“We don’t have a shutdown kid,” Perry said. “We’ve used Ivan as the closer lately. He’s 2-0 with a save. Shamberger is 2-0. We’re throwing strikes. We’re comfortable with five or six guys. We’ll see where we are at when we get in the thick of the league schedule.”
Offensively the Aggies already are in mid-season form.
Wilkinson is hitting above .600 and slugged a grand slam this past weekend. Schamberger and Preston have had hot bats as well.
“Offensively we have scored a ton of runs,” Perry said. “We’re averaging 12 runs a game. We’ve been in double digits for the last seven games. We are putting the ball in play and scoring runs.”
Perry said it’s too early to tell how good the Aggies can be and knows they face a tough schedule, especially in May.
“We have the Adrian Tournament May 18, we have Whiteford May 22 and Blissfield May 23,” he said. “It’s early. The start is nice. We’ll see how we are after Saturday.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Sand Creek baseball gets out to strong start to 2024 season
