MUSKEGON TWP. - Reeths-Puffer does not have a junior varsity baseball team this year, and there’s a reason for that.
All of the kids who would have played JV are on the varsity roster, out of necessity. The Rockets did not have enough returning varsity players to field a regular team this year, so the young kids - seven sophomores and four freshmen – are learning on the fly.
There are bound to be bumps in the road for the youthful Rockets over the coming months, but that was hard to tell on Wednesday when they opened the season with a very easy 15-0 victory over Ottawa Hills at home.
Ottawa Hills is obviously a struggling team with some pitching and defensive issues, so it was a good opportunity for the R-P players to experience some success before the schedule gets tough, and for the coaches to move guys around and see who can do what.
R-P's Bentley Kops takes a cut at a pitch. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“Absolutely, before we get into the gut of things,” said veteran R-P head coach Butch Attig about having an easy night to begin the learning process. “You just can't simulate game situations all that well in practice. This was a good simulation, and now we just build off from it.”
One thing Attig learned on Wednesday is that he has a lot of young pitchers who can throw strikes, and that kind of depth will be needed when the O-K Green conference season rolls around.
Four underclassmen pitchers each tossed one inning against Ottawa Hills, and all were very sharp.
Sophomore Hank Mitchelson started, recorded one strikeout and got the win.
R-P's Tyler Sykes delivers a pitch. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Sophomores Paul Smith and Landon Padilla and freshman Tyler Sykes followed him, and each struck out the side in their turns on the mound.
“We have some kids who can throw strikes, and if you can do that, you can stay in games a little bit,” Attig said. “That’s the ultimate goal. I think (pitching) is going to be our strong point this year.”
The Rockets were in control from the start, scoring seven runs in the first inning, three in the third, and then five in the fourth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.
Jack Yonkman led off the first inning with a walk and advanced to third, then Ethan Frang knocked him in with an RBI single.
Brendan Guikema blasted a ball to center field and either had a triple or an in-the-park homer (there was confusion in the press box over the scoring), but Frang and Guikema both came home on the play, giving R-P a 3-0 lead.
R-P's Landon Baker rounds third base. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets added four more runs in the inning on walks and a variety of fielding and pitching mishaps by Ottawa Hills.
In the third inning, Sykes, Yonkman and Frang drew walks, one run scored on a wild pitch, then Guikema delivered a two-run single to give the Rockets a 10-0 lead.
In the fourth, Bentley Kops singled, and the Rockets were able to move around the bases on a myriad of wild pitches, scoring the runs they needed to end the game.
R-P will be more challenged on Thursday when they travel to Grand Haven for a non-conference matchup with the Buccaneers.