Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Woodmore baseball team was young last year, and will be again this year, but returns eight starters in what second-year head coach Mason Beachler hopes is a breakout season.
“We were really young, and I have only two seniors this year, so we're still young,” Beachler said. “All of last season was (about) growing. It was me in my first year as a head coach, and then with as many sophomores and freshmen that we started, we faced a lot of adversity, especially with the way the season ended at Huron.”
The Wildcats finished 15-13 overall last year, including 11-7 in SBC play, before falling to Huron 15-14 in eight innings in a sectional final.
“We went and played a good team in the sectional final and battled through eight innings, and at the end of the day, we just couldn't figure out how to win, but I think that made us hungry in the offseason,” Beachler said. “We carried that loss through the offseason, and we're hungry and ready to go for this season.”
Beachler said the team is still trying to get over the hump. Last year’s team matched the 2021 squad for the most wins in the program since the 2015 team went 18-8. Despite that, the team was just 2-20 in 2023 before winning eight the following year and 15 last year, so the improvement is providing hope.
“We're really just continuing to try and get over that hump,” Beachler said. “We made great progress on that last year, but we’re continuing to grow, learn ourselves, and at the end of the day, we just want to be able to look in the mirror and say we gave it our all. We don't want to set the bar too high. We keep our goals measurable, and at the end of the day, we kind of just let our work prove what it's worth.”
Despite being in just his second year as head coach, Beachler has been with the Wildcats since 2020 as an assistant. Last year, he graduated four seniors, although just one was a starter. This year, the lone two seniors are Blane Overmyer and Michael Seeger.
After graduating the team’s ace and lone senior, Trace Murphy, Overmyer is expected to see a lot of innings on the mound, and Seeger should see some there, as well. Junior Keil Almroth is another who should see some time on the mound, as well as fellow junior Calvin Lipstraw. Four sophomores could also pitch some innings.
“We have a decent amount of guys who could see innings,” Beachler said. “We’re not deep at pitching by any means, though. We’ve got some filler arms, but they’re going to be young.”
Another junior, Cole Potridge, is expected to provide a spark in the offense.
“We’re looking for him to continue improving,” Beachler said. “He played varsity as a freshman and didn't really do a whole lot at the plate, but last year really kind of came into his own at the plate.”
A couple others to keep an eye on are sophomores Robert Seeger and Collin Perkins, who both saw time on varsity last year.
Seeger came into high school with a shoulder injury, so last year was about getting confidence back in his arm, while earning all-conference honors as an infielder.
“We’re looking to see him improve on what he did as a freshman and take the leap into his sophomore season,” Beachler said. “I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do.”
Perkins was really raw as an infielder last year, Beachler said, but he has potential.
“He was one of the ones that took that (loss to Huron) pretty hard and really put in the work in the offseason,” Beachler said. “He's one worth mentioning to keep an eye out for.”
Overall, Beachler said the team is young but ready to get after it.
“(What excites me is the) way that they gel together and their collaborative work ethic,” he said. “They all just want to be putting in work and getting better all the time, and that excites me as a coach. I can't get them out of the weight room. They're excited to go play, which makes me excited.”
