MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP - Reeths-Puffer freshman Jack Yonkman didn’t have to wait long to experience some varsity baseball pressure.
The young centerfielder came to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded, two outs and the Rockets trailing by a run.
Yonkman admits he felt some nerves in that tense situation, particularly in his first varsity game, but he didn’t let it get the best of him. He calmly waited for his pitch and laced a two-run single to give the Rockets the lead.
R-P pitcher Trent Reichert, who got the win on the mound.
That lead stood up the rest of the way for Reeths-Puffer, which opened the season with an exciting 4-3 victory over Coopersville on Monday in sunny but very cool weather.
The Rockets will try to make it two wins in a row when they host Western Michigan Christian in another non-conference game on Tuesday.
“I little bit, but I just had to remember to put the ball in play and good things happen,” said Yonkman, when asked if he was feeling some pressure. “It was pretty exciting.”
Yonkman said his parents were on hand for his first varsity game and were clearly very excited when he got his big hit.
“I could hear them the whole time,” he said.
R-P shortstop Jaxson Whitaker (middle) gets a force out at second base.
R-P Coach Butch Attig said Yonkman showed a lot of poise for his age.
“He’s up (on varsity) mainly for his defense, but the bonus is his bat,” Attig said. “His approach at the plate is very good, and he makes good adjustments for a freshman. All he had to do was put the bat on the ball, and that’s exactly what he did.”
R-P’s victory was pretty impressive for the first game of the season.
Credit went to starting pitcher Trent Reichert, who tossed four very sharp innings, allowing only three hits while striking out seven and walking one.
“Trent in my mind is our horse,” Attig said. “He’s the guy we want to hand the ball to and say, ‘Go keep us in the game.’ He started out ahead of a lot of the hitters and got the job done. I have high expectations for him, and I know he has high expectations for himself, too.”
R-P's David Wilhelm gets ready to step into a pitch.
The other pitchers were very sharp, as well. Brayden Mitchelson pitched the fifth and sixth innings, allowing only one run and two hits, while Jaxson Whitaker got the save by throwing a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
Overall Attig couldn’t have been much happier with a Game 1 played in the kind of weather that usually isn’t conducive for good baseball.
“We started two sophomores, a freshman, two seniors and the rest are juniors,” the coach said. “With limited time outside for practice, and what we achieved today, I am proud of this team. They fought and made adjustments and won this first game. I’m excited for this team. We will get where we need to be.”
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when Quinn Alderink singled, stole second and scored on a single by Kyle Schlaff.
R-P third baseman Lukas Johnson fields a grounder.
Coopersville scored twice in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead, then Yonkman’s two-run single scored Reichert and Whitaker and gave the Rockets a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the inning.
Caiden Theisen drew an RBI walk in the bottom of the fifth to put the Rockets up by two runs, then Coopersville scored in the top of the sixth to make it a one-run game again.
The Rockets iced the win in the bottom of the seventh when Whitaker struck out the first and third battlers and third baseman Lukas Johnson made a nice play on a slow grounder for the second out.
Whitaker led the R-P offense with two hits.
