Vote: Who is the best high school pitcher in baseball in Battle Creek?
The B.O.B. is back!
B.O.B. stands for the Best Of Battle Creek. Each week throughout the spring, we are going to ask, "Who is the Best Of Battle Creek?" as we look at each position in baseball and softball among the city and area high school teams.
Nominations for each position come from the area baseball and softball coaches with a little information on each player, and then it will be up to the Enquirer readers to decide who is the B.O.B.?
MORE B.O.B: The No. 1 high school pitcher in softball in Battle Creek?
Each week we will give readers choices from the area high school baseball and softball teams and open our online poll for voting — with a winner decided by the following Tuesday.
VOTE HERE: Who is the top high school pitcher in baseball in Battle Creek area?
Or, scroll down to the bottom of the story for the online poll.
Up to bat first in baseball are the pitchers on the city and area teams.
Here are the nominations:
Malachi Goss
School: Lakeview
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: Part of a pitching staff that helped Lakeview reach the state semifinals a year ago. Lakeview is ranked in the top five in the state to start this year and Malachi Goss is the anchor of the team as a senior, coming off back-to-back All-City seasons. With good size on the mound, Goss can throw any pitch at any time in any count.
Ryan Buller
School: Harper Creek
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: One of only two seniors for Harper Creek, Ryan Buller is a key veteran on the pitching staff, leading the squad in the early going in innings pitched. With 16 strikeouts in his first 17 innings this season, Buller is looking for a big senior campaign before heading to play in college at Taylor University.
Conner Beckwith
School: Pennfield
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: Conner Beckwith is a two-year varsity pitcher and a key leader for a Pennfield team that has been young the past few seasons and now could be coming into its own. Beckwith has two early wins on the mound with 30 strikeouts in 22 innings and a sparkling 1.88 ERA.
Nolan Becker
School: Galesburg-Augusta
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: A three-time captain and two-time team MVP, Nolan Becker is a four-year varsity starter for Galesburg-Augusta. The Rams' ace has two no-hitters already this season and has 37 strikeouts in three games.
Coltin Chany
School: Marshall
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: As the No. 2 starter for Marshall last year as a junior, Coltin Chany had a 1.91 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 51 innings. The ace of the Redhawk staff this year, Chany is looking for a big senior season before going on to play next year at Delta College.
Carter Harris
School: Homer
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: Carter Harris is coming off a big junior season where he was undefeated in conference play and 9-1 overall, earning all-league and Enquirer All-Area honors. For his career, he is 15-2 and he is picking up where he left off last year, despite a torn ACL during the football season.
Daniel Matrau
School: Climax-Scotts/St. Philip co-op
Class: Senior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: A two-way standout on the mound as a pitcher and behind the plate, Daniel Matrau earned all-league honors the past two years. On the mound, he went 9-0 a year ago with 87 strikeouts in 42 innings. As a senior, Matrau has led the Climax-Scotts/St. Philip co-op team with a 3-0 start and 22 strikeouts in 12 innings, giving up just five total hits.
Conner Odette
School: Bellevue
Class: Junior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: An all-conference honorable mention selection as a freshman, Conner Odette missed last year due to a knee injury. The expectations are for a strong junior season where he is looking to be the ace of the Bellevue staff.
Landon Evans
School: Gull Lake
Class: Junior
Why he is the best pitcher in the Battle Creek area: A junior lefthander, Landon Evans had a breakout season last year as a sophomore. With an impressive 2.97 ERA early against challenging competition in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division, Evans is looking to match last year's win total.
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.
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This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Vote: Who is the best high school pitcher in baseball in Battle Creek?
