Lansing baseball aims for states again under new coach

Last season, the Lansing baseball team was within touching distance of ultimate glory. The Bobcats were four outs away from their second-ever state title, but they ended up falling to Depew in the Class B championship game. This time around, they’re hungrier than ever to make it back to Binghamton.

This time around, the Bobcats are led by a new head coach who is more than familiar with the program. Tyler Mattoon is a 2010 graduate of Lansing and takes over from fellow Lansing alum Brett Hotchkiss. After spending the past seven years as an assistant coach at Wells College, he decided to return to his old stomping grounds.

“Coming back to my high school is always a good thing,” Mattoon said. “I’ve worked with these guys before. I’ve worked with a lot of them with Total Baseball. I’ve seen them play. I’ve talked to Coach Hotchkiss about them, and I’m excited. I know they got to a really good spot. They brought the community together, but I think I can get more out of them, so that was kind of the reason why I wanted to take this position.”

Mattoon also praised junior Jaxson Mayo for helping him adjust to his new role.

“He’s really taken on the role of telling me what works for the team and what works for the players and just being that communication to me about what he’s seeing and what he thinks could help this team,” Mattoon said. “Because I am stepping into a new role, I don’t want to change too much. The program doesn’t need an overhaul, so just having that kind of person like Jaxson—who tells me what worked for him last year—is the biggest thing.”

The Bobcats return all but five players from last season’s team and just one starter from the state championship. Along with a few newcomers, they are all united on getting back to the final and taking care of unfinished business.

“The first question I asked all of them is what their goal is for this season, and every single one of them said to get back to the state tournament,” Mattoon said. “That’s what I keep trying to push them through. I told them [that] I’m a guy that’s going to force them to be uncomfortable during practice so when it comes to games, it’s a normal day at the field. They’re all striving to get better… every single one of them has the same goal. They’re pushing each other in the weight room and in practice every day.”

The lone starter they lost is a significant one. While star ace Zack Sperger has graduated, the Bobcats still have plenty of depth in their rotation. Mayo and Henrik Axelson—who were the next two pitchers in the pecking order—are back on the mound, as are Ryan Pettograsso and Logan Mayo. Cooper Ouellette and Alex Boles are among the lead relief pitchers. Mattoon knows how crucial it is to have multiple reliable arms.

“[With] those three-game series against our in-conference teams, it’s going to be so important to have each guy have one day, and then we got those relief guys,” Mattoon said. “Our focus as a pitching group is to be effective in throwing our pitches for strikes and forcing the batters to hit the ball just because we don’t want to get to [a point] where they have to rest for those five days. If we can get on to stay at that three, four game mark, then we’re good.”

At the plate, the Bobcats retain an array of consistent production. Pettograsso was the Bobcats’ top hitter last year batting well over .400, while four starters who had batting averages above .300 also return: Korbin Lovejoy, Jaxson Mayo, Bode Petrich, and Avery Wells. Their remarkable depth is just as evident hitting-wise as it is pitching-wise.

“These guys compete,” Mattoon said. “I think from one to nine, we have guys that can hit the ball into a gap for power. We have tons of speed from one to nine, so I’m excited.”

Lansing’s magical run will certainly put a bigger target on their back heading into this season. But with almost everybody back under new leadership, they know exactly what it will take to get them over the hump and earn a shot at redemption.

“[It’s about] understanding that struggles are going to come with baseball,” Mattoon said. “It’s one of the hardest sports to play. You’re gonna have your ups and downs. It’s just [about] keeping us focused, staying together as a team, and just competing every inning. One of the things I told the guys [is that] I don’t see our games as one seven-inning game. I see our game as seven one-inning games. One inning might be bad for us, but understand [that] we have six more of those to go.”

The Bobcats begin their campaign on April 1 at Thomas A. Edison.