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PBR Michigan Division 2 Team Of The Week - East Grand Rapids

EAST GRAND RAPIDS - So what has stood out about a 13-0 start to the season for East Grand Rapids?

“There has not been just one thing,” noted Chris LaMange, head coach of PBR Michigan’s Division 2 Team of the Week. “We’ve been remarkably consistent. Our pitching has been great and our defense has been outstanding. We’re hitting at a pace well over .400 going into last Saturday.

“But the biggest thing about this team is depth on the mound and at the plate. When we’re playing guys that may not be regular starters we’re not seeing a drop off.”

Ottawa-Kent Conference champions the past two years, East Grand Rapids finished 24-13 a year ago, the end of the season coming with a 3-2 loss in the district opener to Forest Hills Central.

“We’ve got a young team with only three seniors, but this junior class has had a lot of success at the lower levels,” explained LaMange about the current campaign. “We’ve been looking forward to this year and next year for quite awhile and the team has not disappointed us.”

Winning the Hudsonville Tournament last week was a huge boost to the program.

“That was a confidence-booster for us,” pointed out LaMange, who last season picked up his 500th career coaching victory. “We beat Bay City Western 4-3, Hudsonville (for the first time in 12 years) 7-2 and (two-time defending D2 state champion Stevensville) Lakeshore 9-4 in the championship game. Those are three of the top programs in the state at the D1 and D2 levels. That’s huge for our confidence when we realize we can compete with the best teams in the state.

“It may have been the best single day since I started coaching. When we won state (in 2009) that was great, but to win three games in one day against three programs and coaches I respect like that is just a great day for us.”

One key thus far has been junior catcher Kyle Kirk, who is filling in for two-year starter John Shelton who is out with a wrestling injury.

“Kyle has stepped in done a nice job defensively and he’s hitting .380,” said LaMange, whose squad is now rated 18th in the state’s Power Rankings. “Two months ago he was not expecting to see the time he’s getting.”

Junior second baseman Robbie Stuursma is another that has shined. The three-hole hitter is batting .510 with seven doubles and one home run.

“We brought him up halfway through last year and he was the second best hitter for us,” LaMange reflected. “It’s fun to watch him. The better the pitching we face, the more he has success.”

Mark Boeve and Nolan Gardner are senior leaders for the Pioneers, Boeve a center fielder and right-handed pitcher and Gardner a shortstop.

A three-year player, Boeve is batting .475 with 16 RBIs while leading the pitching staff with a 3-0 record and 0.75 ERA.

“He was the best pitcher for us at the end of last year and he’s picked up where he left off,” LaMange said. “We can use him in a lot of different roles - closer, starter in a doubleheader he can finish game one and start game two. In center field he’s as good defensively as we’ve had here in a long time.”

Gardner, a Hope College commit, is a left-handed batting lead-off hitter and four-year starter averaging .462 with 20 runs scored.

“He does a great job of setting the table and getting on base,” LaMange said of Gardner. “There’s nothing flashy.”

Sophomore lefty Ben Whiteside has a 3-0 record on the mound while hitting .510 with 16 RBIs

As a team, East Grand Rapids is batting .400 with a 1.35 ERA.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the head coach, now in his 24th year at the helm. “Everything is going right for us but we know it will be hard to sustain this statistically. We know we’re not going to hit over .400 as a team, but as long as our pitchers are pounding the strike zone and they attack the hitters ... and if our defense is consistent, we’ll be okay. I have confidence that our defense is going to make plays. If we keep doing that and our pitchers throw strikes, we’re going to have an outstanding season.”