The North Royalton High School baseball team finished their season with a record of 12-15. While those numbers may not impress some baseball followers, you need to look beyond the record to find the real story.
At the halfway point of the season, the Bears record was 2-9. In the second half, North Royalton won 10 games and lost 6.
One of the players who sparked the Bears in the second half was back-up catcher and designated hitter senior, Luke Robinson. “In a two-week stretch in May, Luke had 12 hits, including four doubles and batted over .500,” said North Royalton baseball coach Brad Klingbeil. “It was a great way for Luke to close out his high school career.”
“In the second half, they got to know me and I learned more about them,” said Klingbeil. “In the second half, it seemed the kids played together more and began to figure some things out. As they went along, they cut down on mistakes and errors. They were able to string together a number of quality games that helped to boost their confidence,” Klingbeil added.
The first nine games of the 2016 season, North Royalton faced nine Suburban League teams. Instead of facing non-league opponents, the Bears were thrown right into the fire. Mother Nature was to blame for that as the rainy weather played havoc with the schedule. Plus, this was the first year for the Bears in the newly reconfigured Suburban League.
If you want to glance ahead to the 2017 baseball season, the team will lose seven seniors to graduation. The team could welcome back as many as 15 players to the roster, 13 current juniors and two current sophomores.
Among the juniors that were big contributors to this year’s team were first baseman Nick Farrell, shortstop T.J. Hoffman, catcher Ryan O’Malley and pitcher David Steward. “We should have four strong starters for next season, plus enough pitchers to handle Saturday and non-league games,” said Klingbeil.
One of the traditional baseball sayings is, “wait ‘til next year.” For the Bears, that saying needs to have one word added to it; “can’t wait ’til next year!”
By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer