Cheboygan area players thrilled to be joining revived ACC baseball program

ALPENA – Northern Michigan has a college baseball team once again.

On Monday afternoon, Alpena Community College held its on-campus commitment day for its baseball program, which has been revived after being away for decades.

Playing a big part in the return of ACC baseball has been new head coach Rob Enslen, a Middleville native who was a four-year player at Oakland University.

Bringing college baseball back up north has been on the mind of Enslen for a long time.

Thankfully, it all became a reality not too long ago.

“I reached out to Cindy DeRocher, who’s the (ACC athletic director), about a year ago, about starting a college baseball program, because when I first moved up here, the question I asked myself is, ‘Why is there not a college baseball program in the northern Lower Peninsula?’” said Enslen. “I saw that Alpena had a softball team so I reached out to Cindy out of the blue, and we talked for about an hour or two just about baseball and how excited I would be to start a program there, and it was probably a year later that I saw they had a posting that they were starting a baseball team, and Cindy reached out to me and told me to go through the interview process, basically, and so I did my due diligence there, got the job, and now I’m starting a program and thankful for it.”

Enslen certainly has familiarity with baseball in the north, especially after helping out as an assistant coach for the Inland Lakes Bulldogs the previous two seasons.

Now, he’ll get a chance to make ACC a quality program.

“The reason I wanted to start this program is because once I started coaching in the Petoskey and Indian River area, I realized there’s a lot of talent up here that gets overlooked,” Enslen said. “I figured if we started a college baseball program, I can really hone in on the talent here in Northern Michigan and go from there, so I think it’s really awesome for the players just to be able to play at the next level and play at a high level. We’ll be traveling all over playing against great competition, and I think it’s going to be really eye-opening for them, and it’s going to be a great experience for the program.”

With the return of ACC baseball comes an opportunity for several former high school standouts – both from Northern Michigan and beyond – to continue their careers.

Not too long ago, recent Cheboygan High School baseball standout and graduate Kaleb Blaskowski thought his career at the competitive level was pretty much over.

Now, the All-Straits Area Conference first team outfielder will resume his career with a coach he admires, and players he’s familiar with, such as former Cheboygan teammate and recent graduate Tyler Balazovic, who was also an All-SAC first team performer. Balazovic also joined ACC on Monday.

“I’m just super excited, man,” said Blaskowski. “At first, I was sort of unsure if I’d be able to go anywhere, then this opportunity popped up. Coach Robby (Enslen) got a hold of Coach (Kevin) Baller, and Coach Baller called Tyler (Balazovic), and things kind of fell into place. We’re excited to keep playing. Coach Robby helped coach at Indian River (Inland Lakes) this past spring, and he was just a super nice guy. He’s a super down-to-earth dude, and it just makes it even better that it’s sort of close to home, and that I have quite a few people going there to play with me that I’m pretty close with.”

Blaskowski and Balazovic aren’t the only area talents who will be playing at ACC, either.

Recent Inland Lakes graduate and All-Ski Valley Conference first teamer Mason Blumke, along with Beau Vizina, a former star for the Bulldogs who graduated in 2021, are among the others who have joined the ACC program.

For Blumke, he can’t wait to get things rolling.

“I've always wanted to play college baseball – and this all just kind of came together,” said Blumke. “Especially going down there with two of my buddies, my good buddies, it’s going to be a lot of fun. One of the big parts, too, is I was nervous to be going to play college baseball, but now that I’m able to go with a couple of my buddies, it’s going to be a lot more fun. It kind of breaks the nerves a little bit.”

Blumke added the revival of the ACC program is a big boost for baseball in the north.

“It’s going to be huge for kids that want to stay somewhat local and be able to keep playing baseball while doing some college, and then using that to transfer to a four-year (college),” Blumke said. “It’s a great opportunity and it’s going to help out a lot of people.”

Another notable player becoming a Lumberjack on Monday included former Onaway star pitcher and 2021 graduate Spencer Nash.

With many on the ACC squad being from Northern Michigan, Enslen said his players having that feeling of being overlooked will fuel them as the program starts fresh.

“Obviously I’m connected with some of the schools in Northern Michigan, trying to make my connections and build my network, but at the end of the day, I want the best talent in Northern Michigan to come to Alpena Community College, because I want to create that culture where these kids feel like they may have been overlooked up to this point, and that could create a chip on their shoulder, and if that’s what they’re feeling, I feel like they’re going to be a great fit for our program and a great fit for our culture,” Enslen said.

The Lumberjacks will now prepare for their upcoming fall season, which begins on Monday, Aug. 29, before opening their spring campaign in 2023. They will compete in the Michigan Community College North Division. Next spring will mark the first competitive season for the program since 1971.

“At first, taking over the program in June, I was hoping we could just find enough guys to play, and I couldn’t believe the amount of support and interest there was to play at this level, and I was hoping that was going to be the case,” Enslen said. “Without the support of the community, it would’ve been a challenge. Some people in the Alpena community – Don (MacMaster), the (ACC) president, Cindy DeRocher, the athletic director, Mike Kollien, the Director of Admissions, and Kelly Lewis, who also works at the athletics office and registrar's office – they’ve been a huge support. I’m just letting you know that the school has backed us 100 percent, and the community is behind us, and I think it’s an exciting time in Alpena. I’m just happy to be a part of it.

“We have a full schedule for the upcoming spring, we’ll play some fall scrimmages, as well, and at the end of the day, yeah, we’re putting together a new baseball program, but my goal is to win right away and compete at the highest level, and I think we have the talent and right group of guys to do so.”

Enslen's players also have high expectations, as well.

“We talked to Coach Robby (Enslen) and starting up as a first-year (program), there’s not too many expectations because it’s hard getting a season rolling, just starting, but we have high expectations, we’re out here to win, have fun and compete,” Blumke said. “We want to make a name for ourselves.”

After years of facing Blumke and Vizina at the high school level, Blaskowski looks forward to joining forces with those two, as well as several other talented players.

Together, they want to put Northern Michigan on the college baseball map.

“It’s going to be fun,” Blaskowski said. “Back in I think 2018, 2019, my dad coached a senior league team and we went down to Grand Rapids and played, and me, Tyler (Balazovic), Mason (Blumke), Beau (Vizina), we were all on that team, so it’ll be super cool to play with those guys again. I’ve been playing against them my whole life, so I think it’ll be super exciting to be on the same team as them.”

ACC Baseball Roster: Corey Victor (Troy); Mason Blumke (Inland Lakes); Matt Thompson (Alpena); Jacob Bush (Boyne City); Sam Reynolds (Traverse City West); Nathan Valdivia (Montrose); Justin Abel (Warren G. Harding, Ohio); Tyler Balazovic (Cheboygan); Kaleb Blaskowski (Cheboygan); Carsen VanBuskirk (Clare); Luke Mervyn (Whittemore-Prescott); Gage Kangas (Hale); Dylan Bergeon (Sault Ste. Marie); Jake Griffis (Bear Lake); Wyatt Crawford (Mason County Central); Nathan Hresko (Traverse City Christian); Dillon Cook (Rogers City); Alex Cadarette (Alpena); Brandon Maddox (Hale); Luke Tucker (Alpena); Beau Vizina (Inland Lakes); Aaron Guitar (Utica); Eric Rogers (Armada); Spencer Nash (Onaway/St Clair CC); Thomas Taylor (Kearsley); Rece Schlukebir (Hart); Nik Tulgestka (Rogers City); Brayden Moore (Airport); Everett Zann (Alpena); Caleb Lipponen (Brimley)

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Area players excited to join revived Alpena CC baseball program