J-L, St. Mary's baseball players among MHSBCA D4 All-State selections
As spring comes to a close and Northern Michigan transitions into the summer months, the final high school sports of the 2021-22 school year have all but wrapped.
The Gaylord area baseball teams had up and down seasons, but two saw postseason success; Gaylord St. Mary’s team won yet another district championship, while Johannesburg-Lewiston advanced to the state quarterfinals after winning both a district and regional championship.
Now, individuals from these teams are continuing to see their successes honored as postseason awards continue to roll out. The Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association announced the 2022 All-State teams on Monday, June 20, and stars from both JoBurg and St. Mary’s were honored on the Division 4 teams.
Three-sport star and Johannesburg-Lewiston’s Male Athlete of the Year, Preston Marlatt, headlined the area players as a first-team honoree as an infielder, while his teammate junior Colin Basinski and St. Mary’s Gavin Bebble were both on the second-team list.
Marlatt was a big part of the Cardinals' run to the D4 state quarterfinals. He was the team’s top hitter throughout the season, finishing the season as the team leader in multiple categories; batting average (.408), on-base percentage (.545), slugging percentage (.757), doubles (14) and home runs (6).
Despite being plagued with issues with his throwing arm since his freshman season, Marlatt has always been one of the team's top pitchers, and the 2022 season was no different with the senior logging a 6-2 record with a earned run average of 3.00 over 35 innings of work.
“I couldn’t use him as much as I wanted to on the mound,” said J-L head coach Cody Proctor said, reflecting on Marlatt’s final season in the program. “He is probably one of the best pitchers in Northern Michigan when healthy.”
Marlatt is set to continue his football career at Alma College after leading the Cardinals’ team at quarterback and defensive back.
Meanwhile, junior catcher Colin Basinski was given second-team honors after his showing during the spring. Basinski was right behind Marlatt in most of the major hitting categories, finishing the season with a batting average of .405, an OBP of .460 and a slugging percentage of .550 while leading the team with 36 RBI.
According to Proctor, however, Basinski’s biggest jump was the one he made as a defender behind the dish.
"The dude just works," Proctor said. "I call him a self-made catcher all the time. Last year, to start the year, I don't know if he was even an average catcher. But every time you turned around, you weren't looking or didn't need him, he was by himself working."
That work, according to Proctor, allowed his team to take an extra step and allowed Basinski to be recognized as one of the state’s elite catchers.
Gaylord St. Mary’s infielder Gavin Bebble was the final area honoree on the second-team list after a stellar junior season at the plate and on the mound.
Bebble was the team’s most consistent hitter, leading the team in BA (.446), OBP (.667), SLG % (.622 and hits (33), while also playing a key role as a pitcher with an ERA of 3.35 over 37.2 innings.
This marks back-to-back first-team selections for Marlatt and the first All-State honors for both Basinski and Bebble.
Here is the full MHSBCA D4 All-State list of honorees
First Team
Pitcher
Zane Gregg, Whitmore Lake, Junior
Connor Silka, Gabriel Richard, Senior
Branden Martin, Beal City, Senior
Connor Wallace, Inland Lakes, Soph.
Brett Mayer, Rudyard, Senior
Infielder
Alex Didio, Whitmore Lake, Junior
Nick Verduzco, Kalamazoo Hackett, Junior
Marty Hannon Royal Oak Shrine, Senior
Jack Legree, Oakland Christian, Senior
Kaiden Andrews, Beal City, Senior
Shane Cook, Portland St Pats, Senior
Preston Marlatt, Jo-Berg, Senior
First Base
Landon Fisher, Decatur, Junior
Brayden Haynes, Beal City, Senior
Outfield
Brenden Collins, Kalamazoo Hackett, Senior
Trent Rice, Cardinal Mooney, Junior
Kyle Sweeney, Ubly, Senior
Hunter Miles, Beal City, Senior
Alex Cruzan, White Cloud, Junior
Catcher
Adam Stefanovski, Whitmore Lake, Senior
Andrew Confer, Decatur, Senior
Gus Simon, Royal Oak Shrine, Senior
Utility
Josh Wilson, Beal City, Soph.
Second Team
Pitcher
JJ Manion, Kalamazoo Christian, Junior
Brandon Bruno, Decatur, Junior
Owen Pullis, Royal Oak Shrine, Senior
Wyatt Mosley, Dansville, Fresh.
Brayden Simon, Portland St Pat., Fresh.
Infielder
Mason Mueller, Britton Deerfield, Senior
Parker Smith, Decatur, Senior
Sam Liggett, West Michigan Christian, Senior
AJ Jones, Hillman Junior
Gavin Bebble, Gaylord St. Mary, Junior
Dillon Cook, Rogers City, Senior
Cam Peterson, Rudyard, Soph.
First Base
EJ Suggitt, Rudyard, Senior
Evan Fairbanks, Rogers City, Junior
Outfield
Nico Johnson, Britton Deerfield, Senior
Joey Lavigne, Plymouth Christian, Senior
Wade Wilson, Beal City, Senior
Connor Ciolek, Glen Lake, Senior
Tate Besteman, Rudyard, Senior
Catcher
Colin Basinski, Jo-Berg, Junior
Noah Etnyre, Plymouth Christian, Junior
Chase Pung, Fowler, Senior
Utility
Blake Lutzky, Cardinal Mooney, Junior
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: J-L, St. Mary's baseball players among MHSBCA D4 All-State selections
