Meet the 2022 The Daily Reporter Baseball Dream Team

A very crazy 2022 Spring Sports season is in our far rearview mirror as the five schools from across Branch County prepare for the coming fall season. Some student athletes are hitting the weight room or Crossfit preparing for their 2023 season, while others are packing up their belongings to head off to their next chapter in life after graduation. As those young men and women prepare for their next step in life, we here at The Daily Reporter have sat down and reviewed the entirety of the 2022 baseball season in and around Branch County in an effort to put together our annual Dream Team.

The five county teams saw a great deal of success in 2022, with one team earning an outright conference tittle with another winning their first District title since 2014 before coming just one out away from a run at the MHSAA Super Regionals. In all the 2022 baseball season was full of excitement, so before we unveil the Baseball Dream Team let us take a look back at what happened for each team during this past season.

The Coldwater Cardinals finished the 2022 season with a record of 22-12 and earned themselves the outright Interstate 8 conference championship in the process. Six players earned Interstate 8 All Conference First Team honors while another two earned Honorable Mention nods. Coldwater’s season came to a very tough end after running into a very hot Sturgis team in the district tournament. Coldwater will have to replace a ton of talent next season,  as all six I-8 First Team honorees and one Honorable Mention honoree will now leave due to graduation. The cupboard is far from bare though for legendary head coach Randy Spangler as Coldwater will look to ascend to the top of the I-8 again in 2023.

The Union City Chargers put together one of the best seasons in recent memory, winning the teams first District title since 2014 with an upset win over the fourth ranked Homer Trojans in the finale. Union City went on to battle Hudson in a two day, rain delayed, regional semifinal which saw Union City control day one before faltering on day two. Union City saw their successful season come to a heartbreaking end on a walk off hit in the bottom of the seventh in the regional semifinals but there was much to be thankful for this year for the Chargers. Two players earned Big 8 All Conference First Team honors while three more were selected to the Honorable Mention team. Those two first team selections will now move on due to graduation however a great deal of talent will return for the Chargers next season as they look to perhaps repeat their postseason success.

The Quincy Orioles played every team to the brink throughout the 2022 season, finishing the year at 16-14 overall before coming up just short in the district semifinals versus Homer. The Orioles boasted two All Conference First Team players and one Honorable Mention honor and although they graduate one of the best to ever wear the Quincy uniform, there is still a lot to look forward to in the coming seasons as Quincy returns to a wealth of well coached talent with some very talented youth in the pipeline.

The Bronson Vikings entered a bit of a rebuild in 2022, sporting only three total seniors on a very young squad. The Vikings finished the season at 8-20 overall however as the season began to wind down is when Bronson started playing their best ball. Bronson handed Big 8 conference champions Homer their only conference loss and took the eventual District Champion Chargers to extra innings in the district semifinals and nearly got the win in a tough back and forth battle. Bronson had four Big 8 All Conference selections, with one earning First Team honors and three Honorable Mention nods. Two of those All Conference honorees will now leave due to graduation but coach Matt Watkins returns a solid young nucleus that will do some damage in the coming years.

The Tekonsha Indians finished the year at 12-9 overall with a team consisting of only one senior that saw significant playing time. The Indians made a tough run in the district tournament before falling in the D4 District finals to Litchfield. Tekonsha had three players earn All SCAA honors, including one first team selection and two honorable mention honors. All three players will return to a young squad that will only grow as they enter the 2023 season.

There were a number of players from the area very deserving of a spot on The Daily Reporter Baseball Dream Team, some earning All Conference and All Regional honors, while some earned their way on to the team simply by sheer will and guts.

Some of those very deserving players will undoubtedly miss out on inclusion on this list but in order to not water things down we have decided to keep numbers to 16 honorees, with an Honorable Mention list also included. Please let me reiterate, some of these decisions were very hard as there were many deserving players taking to the diamonds all across Branch County.

So without further ado, ladies and gentleman, I am pleased to introduce the 2022 The Daily Reporter Baseball Dream Team.

Coldwater

Pitcher/OF- Nate Tappenden, Senior

OF/IF- Logan Farmer, Senior

P/IF- Joseph Closson, Senior

IF- Brynden Massey, Senior

C- Brock Thornton, Senior

OF- Cole Barker, Senior

Union City

IF/P- Wade Hoffman, Senior

IF/P- Ryan Zweng, Sophomore

OF/P- Kyle Johnson, Senior

Bronson

C/IF/P- Reagan Mayer, Senior

IF- Ashton Wells, Junior

P/IF- Nolan Ray, Senior

Quincy

IF/P- Karsen Maurer, Senior

IF/P- Brady Mescher, Junior

C- Grant Holroyd, Sophomore

Tekonsha

P/IF- Blake Griffith, Junior

Honorable Mention

Coldwater- Carter Bordner, Garrett Johns

Union City- Phoenix Elkins, Tyler Wagley, Jakob Fosmore

Bronson- Owen Kimmons, Dawson Soergel,

Quincy- Hunter Tinervia, Riley Miner, Brennen Allman

Tekonsha- Claude Wart, Wyatt Blashfield, Dylan Griffith, Isaac Henry

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Meet the 2022 The Daily Reporter Baseball Dream Team