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PBR Michigan Division 4 Team Of The Week - Petersburg-Summerfield

PETERSBURG - After equaling the furthest a Petersburg-Summerfield baseball team has ever gone in the postseason with a trip to regionals a year ago, fifth-year head coach Travis Pant is looking for more in 2019.

An 11-1 record is a good start for the Bulldogs, which are the Michigan Prep Baseball Report Division 4 Team of the Week.

“We have high expectations,” admitted Pant, who has all nine starters back from last season’s 21-12 squad. “The kids set a goal to win the state championship. That makes me want to push them harder.

“At tryouts, the kids that make the team set a goal. How big the goal is determines what we do. If the goal is to win a state championship, we’ll be here seven days a week to get after it.”

Practices at 6 a.m. were added to the beginning of the season.

“We picked it up a notch,” Pant admitted.

And the response?

“It’s been great,” Pant said. “I told my three captains we want a more player-led team holding each other accountable and talking to each other. These juniors and seniors ... most have started for three or four years. They know what to expect and they’re taking the sophomores under their wings. It’s a more player-led team with a lot more vocal leadership.”

Pitching and defense have been the keys to early success according to Pant.

“We knew coming in we had good pitching and we’ve always hung our hat on defense recently,” noted Pant, whose team’s only loss was by a 5-0 score, but in the other 11 games the Bulldogs have given up just four total runs.

“Our pitchers throw strikes, and that keeps our defense in the game. We’ve only had five errors in 12 games (.982 fielding percentage) and only issued 12 walks. When your pitchers are throwing strikes, it’s easier to pick up the ball.”

Junior Derek Clark, a first-team all-state selection a year ago, is the ace of the staff. The left-hander, “who throws mid-80s with good secondary pitches” according to Pant, has given up six hits and two walks in 23.2 innings with a 0.00 ERA. A center fielder when not pitching, Clark is hitting .417 with 18 stolen bases out of the leadoff spot in the order.

Junior shortstop Brendan DeFoe is the catalyst of the team in the eyes of Pant. A third-year starter who was second-team all-state a year ago, DeFoe is batting .340 while not committing an error in the field.

Senior RHP/first baseman Mark Keller is a big stick for Summerfield with a .410 average, eight doubles and two home runs.

A pair of sophomores are also playing important roles. Brock Olmstead is the catcher and number two pitcher while Ethan Eyler is a utility player seeing time at third and in the outfield. Olmstead, whose consecutive scoreless inning streak on the mound is at 17, has permitted one earned run in 20 innings, with 27 strikeouts and five walks. The five-hole hitter is also batting .310. Eyler, the left-handed hitting clean-up batter, is averaging .370 with a dozen stolen bases.

“The camaraderie of everybody one through 15 has been outstanding,” Pant said. “They’re engaged in everything. You can put a guy in the game and he knows the situational stuff. Everybody in the dugout is one big happy family. When a guy is not playing a ton and he gets in, the others are going wild. We’re just having a ton of fun right now.

“The kids are enjoying watching us climb the polls and we have good community backing. The kids are taking it all in.”

The challenges do not get easier ahead with Clinton, a 13-2 D-3 team, up on Wednesday before facing Morenci Thursday and Flat Rock in a doubleheader to close out the week.