Lansing baseball begins sectional title defense

The weather is starting to warm up, which can only mean one thing: baseball season is finally here. For one local team, the expectations are as high as ever.

Lansing baseball is the reigning Section IV Class C champion after taking down Elmira-Notre Dame in extra innings last June to win its first title since 2018. After a heartbreaking loss to Trumansburg in the prior season’s final, head coach Brett Hotchkiss said that tough experience only made the Bobcats better and propelled them to get over the hump.

 “I think it definitely pushed them, and it was really important for them to be back in that opportunity,” Hotchkiss said. “We put ourselves in a very similar situation late in that game, giving up the lead.The difference was we were able to kind of hold it together in that last inning to give ourselves a chance to push it two extras. Knowing the determination they had to complete the task that they couldn’t the year before, it was definitely not only a motivator for them but a goal that they had set for themselves. It was really nice when you set a goal in front of a team, and they set one for themselves, to be able to see it actualized. The work and time that they put in throughout the course of the year does make a difference, and perseverance does pay off.”

One of the key returners for the Bobcats is Zack Sperger, who will be playing Division I baseball at UMass-Lowell next year. Sperger excels on both sides of the ball, and his versatility was on display in last season’s sectional final as the starting pitcher and going 2-2 at the plate with an RBI, two runs scored, and three walks. Hotchkiss explained what makes Sperger such an exceptional two-way player.

“His attention to detail and trying to maximize every single opportunity he has is really what sets him apart from a lot of our guys,” Hotchkiss said. “He’s a little bit of an echelon above in some ways in terms of how he’s been able to prepare and how he’s been able to focus, I think he surrounds himself with a lot of good people that are able to be pretty critical of him. He’s somebody that takes feedback and he’s able to implement it. Over the course of the years, he really has developed a pretty good self-awareness and self-resolve based upon all the work and the time that he’s put in.”

While the Bobcats are without a strong group of seven seniors from last year’s team, there’s still plenty of talent that will step up. The sophomore trio of Ryan Pettograsso-Houk, Jaxson Mayo, and Avery Wells got significant playing time as freshman and will naturally be moved up the batting order.

“I think the biggest part for them is being able to handle those challenges,” Hotchkiss said. “They’re gonna see tougher pitching efforts against them. They’ve all played enough travel and enough baseball to know the situations that they’re going to be in to be middle-of-the-order guys. I think the big thing for them as well is being able to take on some of the leadership roles and some of the responsibilities, given that they’re a few of the guys that have been there and done that at this point. I’m really looking forward to them stepping up not only their production on the field, but [also] their accountability as players and their accountability to their peers, as well.”

Another big challenge for Lansing this season is the move up to Class B. Luckily for the Bobcats, they’re used to facing Class B opponents during the regular season, such as Whitney Point (in their own division) and Waverly. Despite the move up in classes, Lansing’s preparation remains the same.

“I think you got to treat it as business as usual,” Hotchkiss said. “You’re only as good as you are, so I think [you got to] focus as much as you can on yourselves. When we get to sectionals, we will probably see more stacked opponents and opponents that we don’t really crossover with a ton… The landscape is fairly competitive. You have Waverly who is a Class B runner-up to a very competitive Oneonta team who brings back a lot of kids. Waverly will bring back a lot, as well, so I’m sure that game will be pretty telling for us in terms of where we stand and making this transition to Class B.”

The Bobcats open up the campaign on Mar. 29 against Union Springs at home, but then comes a massive three-game series against a now-fellow Class B opponent: Dryden. The Lions beat out Lansing for the IAC North Large Division title last year, making this rivalry a must-watch on the diamond.