Supplement to the Manistee News Advocate | April 2019
6
BEAR LAKE BASEBALL
Pictured (from left to right) in the front row: Nate Sanderson, Ethan Groll, Quentin Ruiz, Fabian Aguilar, Tate Aultman and Bryce Harless. Back row: Morgan Blattner, Colin Sanderson, Andre Brown, coach John Prokes, Levi Ledford, Jake Griffis and Tai Babinec.
BEAR LAKE Varsity Baseball
Date ..........Opponent........................................ H-A .....Time
April 11.....Marion ............................................. H .......4 p.m. April 15 .....Mason County Eastern .................... A ....... 4 p.m.
April 18 ....Mesick............................................. H .......4 p.m. April 20 ....Traverse City West ........................ H .....10 a.m. April 22 .....Walkerville ....................................... A ....... 4 p.m.
April 25 ....Benzie Central................................ H . 4:30 p.m. April 27 .....Brethren Tournament ....................... A ..... 10 a.m.
April 29 ....Pentwater ....................................... H .......4 p.m.
May 2........Brethren.......................................... H .......4 p.m. May 6 ........Manistee Catholic Central ............... A ....... 4 p.m.
May 16......Grand Traverse Academy ............. H . 4:30 p.m. May 17 ......Big Rapids Crossroads .................... A ........ 4 p.m
May 20......Baldwin ........................................... H .......4 p.m. May 22 ......Hart .................................................. A .. 4:15 p.m.
May 23......St. Mary........................................... H 4:30 p.m..
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Varsity baseball program restored at Bear Lake
BY KYLE KOTECKI Sports Writer
BEAR LAKE — Bear Lake baseball coach John Prokes is no stranger to getting a program off the ground. Prokes also coaches Bear Lake's football team — a team that never existed until two seasons ago. Now, he has his sights set on putting Laker baseball back on the map. "Unlike with football, Bear Lake has had a tradition of baseball in the past," Prokes said. "It hasn't over the last 12 years, but prior to that they put up some pretty good teams. So, instead of starting a new tradition like with football, we're trying to restore the old one." Prokes has taught at Bear Lake since 2008 and this will be the first varsity baseball team
Bear Lake has had during his tenure. As more and more athletes expressed a desire to play baseball, steps were taken to get the ball rolling on fielding a team. Bear Lake had a junior varsity team last year. Now, with a season of competitive baseball under their belts, the Lakers are ready to compete at the varsity level. "It's kind of like the football team all over again," Prokes said. "We have enough athletes and kids in the school who are interested in playing. The interest was kind of rekindled last year. We took a poll of the kids and we had enough kids that were interested in high school. When we actually had time to say, 'Sign up for baseball if you want to play,' we had 19 kids play last year.
Craig Harless, DDS 7659 Lake St, Bear Lake, MI Phone: 231.864.1061
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"This year, we have all the same guys returning from last year, plus a couple new guys," he continued. "So we decided that this is something that can kind of continue." Prokes will look to a trio of upperclassmen to set the tone for Bear Lake on the diamond. "We've got Colin Sanderson," Prokes said. "He'll be a big contributor. Andre Brown, he was a sophomore for us last year, and he hadn't played for a few years. He picked up the game last year, but did real well for us. I expect him to contribute. "... We had a transfer that came back to our school — Levi Ledford," Prokes continued. "He's our only senior on the team. He's going to be a solid
See BEAR LAKE Page 24
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