Football season in review: Interview with Senior Kyle Yuncker

Beal City finished the season 7-4 and all of their losses came from teams with at least 8 wins on the season. The Aggies' season ended in the second round of the playoffs with a loss to Muskegon Catholic Central, who went on to win the Division 8 State Title. I had the opportunity to speak with senior athlete Kyle Yuncker about Beal City's 2016 football season:

Q: What were your expectations for the team heading into your season?

A: "I had a good feeling with the group because of the way the seniors and the juniors get along. I've always had a lot of fun playing with the class below me and I knew that the season was going to be a good one."

Q: Would you consider your season a success?

A: “Yes, I would say it was a success. We played our hearts out every game and learned to persevere. We learned many valuable lessons throughout the season and we all meshed really well.”

Q: How do you think you did personally? Did you meet your own expectations?

A:"Personally, I just wanted to bond with everyone and play as a unit this year which we have struggled doing the past couple years. I surpassed what I thought I could do as an individual being honorable mention all-state, so that was pretty cool. But overall I thought I met my goals as being a better teammate."

Kyle is planning on attending CMU next year! Good luck Kyle and Fire Up Chips!

Daniel Beckwith Interview

I had the great opportunity to interview the Boys Varsity Track and Field coach Dan Beckwith about the season this year and his experience coaching the team. He has stated that they have gotten strong contributions from several leaders on the team.  I asked coach Beckwith what it was like to coach the team this year.

"We have had great professionalism from our guys this year. They work hard and push each other. As a coach, that is a dream scenario."

The Aggies have had a successful season thus far, and coach Beckwith attributes that to their leadership and accountability.

"It is rare when you have a team with multiple leaders, in any situation. Even though this is a sport where you're running by yourself in most given events, everyone works together as a team and holds each other accountable. The vocal leaders really get everyone fired up and everyone else feeds off of them."

The Aggies will try to continue their success this Friday at the Clare Invitational. Good luck to coach Beckwith and the rest of the Aggies Track and Field team!

Beal City Track and Field Set to Attend Clare Invitational

The Beal City Aggies Track and Field team have been selected to compete in the annual Clare Invitational. The meet will be held Friday April 28 at the Brookwood Athletic Facility in Clare, MI. The Aggies are entering the meet on a good note, coming off strong showings against Evart and in the Blue and Gold invitational in Ithaca. They are led by runners including Brendan Shaner, Caitlyn Matthews, Jason Clark, and Kayla Bierschbach. Come out to support the Aggies on Friday starting at 3:00 p.m!

Nothing like a School Rivalry

It’s rivalry day for both boy’s baseball and girls’ softball as they travel to Sacred Heart Academy for double headers.  Earlier this week on Tuesday, April 25, both baseball and softball took an hour-long trip up the road to McBain.  Today, April 27, Beal City looks to come out on top in all four games.  Boys’ baseball is looking to capture two non-conference game wins over Sacred Heart who have had a little more success with the bats compared to Beal City.  Currently, Sacred Heart Academy’s boys’ baseball team is averaging three runs a game compared to Beal City’s 1.3 runs per game.  Beal City has a strong pitching group though that is looking to keep both hits and runs at a minimum for the Irishmen.  On the girls’ side, Beal City looks to pull off a win over Sacred Heart Academy in a non-conference match-up between the two teams.  With a young team, Beal City is still trying to get their legs under them for the season.  They are hoping with two wins against Sacred Heart Academy today that it puts them in the right direction for forward progress.  With Sacred Heart Academy being a huge rival for the Aggies, walking away with four wins for the day from the Irishmen’s territory would be monumental!  Both baseball and softball games start at 4:00pm, so make sure to head out and catch the games.  We wish both teams the best of luck!

By: Valerie Johnson

Mid-season Interview with Thomas McCann

Recently, I spoke with senior pitcher and shortstop Thomas McCann about the Beal City varsity boys baseball team and how they're doing midway through the season. McCann is a four year varsity baseball player and captain of this years 3-7 Aggie squad, but he believes their record doesn't tell the whole story.

"People can say what they want about our record, but we've gained a lot of momentum recently. We're on a three game winning streak and playing some really good baseball right now." 

So far, the Aggies have played some very tough competition, which McCann believes will help them during the post season. "We've played Bay City Central, Fowler, and one of the top ranked Division 1 schools in Saginaw Heritage. They all were good teams and I think that'll help prepare us for the playoffs." 

(Senior Thomas McCann Pitches)

After Tuesdays sweep of McBain High School, the Aggies will look to take two more against rival Sacred Heart High School on Thursday. "Tuesday we hit the ball really well against McBain. We also ran the bases really well and didn't have any errors. It was definitely our best baseball of the season and hopefully we can do the same Thursday."

The Aggies are happy they will get another shot at the Irish of Sacred Heart after two games they felt they really deserved to win last year. As for the playoffs, McCann likes his team's chances. 

"Our teams grown so much during the season that we've really started to reach our full potential and hopefully we'll keep building off it and make a great run in the playoffs."

As for McCann, he's received some attention from college coaches from divisions 1-3, but he's unsure where he'll play next season.

The Aggies have a chance to sweep two games tomorrow and ride a five game winning streak into next weeks games against Manton High School. 

We want to wish the Aggies good luck tomorrow and throughout the rest of the season! Go Aggies!

Baseball Dominates McBain in Game 1

On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, the Beal City junior varsity baseball team was in action against McBain High School. The Aggies were in control throughout all of game one and gave the Ramblers all they could handle.

Aggie pitcher Ty Schafer took the mound against the Rambles and started the game with a quick 1-2-3 inning. The Aggies would then hit through the lineup in the bottom of the first. They brought home two runs after two passed balls allowed the Aggies to score. Beal City would take a 2-0 lead into the second inning.

In the second inning, Beal City would bring in five more runs to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Walks and smart base running by the Aggies kept the inning alive and allowed them to take a strangle hold on game one.

However, the Ramblers would fight back in the top of the fourth. An RBI triple would bring in two runs, but that would be all the damage McBain would do on the day. The final score would end up being 7-2 Beal City.

For the Aggies, Schafer went 7 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, and eight strikeouts. He mowed down hitters all day and had a very good outing.

The junior varsity baseball team will follow Tuesdays win with a trip to Alma, Wednesday April 25th. The doubleheader will begin at 4:00 and we hope to see Aggie nation out there supporting!

Baseball and Softball to Start the Week

Boys’ baseball and girls’ softball take on McBain High School today (April 25) at 4:30pm.  Both varsity squads head to McBain while Beal City gets to host both junior varsity games at home.  The baseball and softball teams are coming off of multiple games from this past weekend’s tournament.   Before the weekend games, the week day game on Thursday, April 20 had been cancelled.  With a secured win today, it would allow both teams to continue on a role towards wins this coming Thursday, April 27.  We want to wish both the junior varsity and varsity teams the best of luck in their games this week.  #GoAggies

By: Valerie Johnson