Bears relying on solid pitching, All-Ohioan Sisco

Gibsonburg baseball has had seven straight winning seasons, and prospects are looking good for 15th-year coach Kyle Rase to add an eighth season. Rase’s all-time record is 209-148.
        Since he has been coach, the Golden Bears have won one league championship, two district titles, one regional title and one state championship — and the odd thing is, when his team won the Division IV state championship in 2005, they were first team in Ohio to do so with a losing record, then playing in the Suburban Lakes League.
        Last year, the Golden Bears were 11-9 overall and 7-6 in the final year of the Toledo Area Athletic Conference. This year, they are playing their first season in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division and in contention at 10-3 overall and 5-2 in the league.
        No matter what league Gibsonburg plays in — the old SLL, the TAAC and now the SBC, Rase says his team has the same goals. Besides, these River Division opponents are nothing new to Rase and his squad.
        “Our goal every year is to be competitive in the league,” said Rase, who got his 200th career win last year. “This is our first year in the SBC River Division, however, we (had already) played most of the teams in non-league play.” 
        League wins have been over Tiffin Calvert, 12-2, New Riegel, 4-1, Sandusky St. Mary’s, 10-8, Fremont St. Joseph, 9-4, and Lakota with a 2-0 conference setback to Old Fort and 13-7 loss to Calvert.
        Non-league wins came against Waite, 2-1, Maumee Valley, 11-1, Woodward, 24-1, and an 8-3 and 20-8 doubleheader sweep over Monroeville. The Golden Bears were beaten by non-league opponent North Baltimore, 7-6, in the season opener.
        Nine lettermen returned for Rase and they bring with them nine of 11 pitching wins from last year. On offense, Rase says, “We have lost a lot of offensive production from last year,” but he has a handful to top hitters returning.
        They include senior pitcher Fred Sisco, senior pitcher/utility player Tyler Pelish, junior pitcher/shortstop Austin Biddle and junior catcher Brandon Kolkemeyer.
        Sisco, who Rase says “has a lot of experience” coming into the season, was first team All-TAAC and honorable mention All-Ohio last year after batting .476. On the mound, he had a 3.38 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 29 innings. He has signed to pitch for Campbell University.
        This year, Sisco is leading the pitching staff with a 3-1 record and a 1.93 ERA.  He has struck out 57 batters in 29 innings pitched.  He has signed to play at Campbell University, an NCAA Division I school in North Carolina. Sophomore Cole Witte is 3-1 on the mound.
        Pelish, who was honorable mention All-TAAC and can play multiple positions, batted. 377 with 14 RBIs, Kolkemeyer hit .290 with 14 RBIs and Biddle was 4-1 with a 3.45 ERA pitching last year.
        This year, Pelish is batting .395 and leading the Golden Bears in RBIs with 12. Biddle is second in RBIs with 11 and is leading the team in runs scored (15) and stolen bases (9). Senior Gabe Mendoza is batting .479, and Pelish and Mendoza each have 15 hits this season.
        Other seniors returning this season include Nathan Tornow, and Luke Morgan. Top juniors include Nate Reyes, Michael Delventhal, Gabe Mendoza and Jarrett Spoores. Also contributing is freshman Tyler Henderson.