Five seniors head up all state Class of 2006

For the first time in school history, five Rogers City ball players have earned all state honors. Seniors Chris Santini, Cody Wenzel, and Justin Wilbert were first team selections, while Austin Fairbanks and Jake Bellmore took second team honors from the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association. The Huron baseball team, which won 28 games in a row before losing to Holton in a quarterfinal game June 13, nearly had an all state infield.

Wenzel earned the award his play at shortstop and Santini earned first team as a pitcher but each alternated at both positions. When they were not striking out batters at the plate, they were throwing runners out at first. Fairbanks was an all state second sacker, while Bellmore was one of the best first basemen in the state. Wilbert was one of five first team all state outfielders selected June 21.

?ALL FIVE of these guys, I have to give them a lot of credit,? said head coach Howard Madsen. ?They have been a real positive influence on the program. They set the tone for what Rogers City baseball is all about. ?Evidently, by what they did at the state level, proves they were an exceptional group of young men.? Wenzel led the 2006 Hurons with a robust .607 batting average, had a team leading 49 RBI, and was tops with nine triples. He was second on the team with 44 runs scored and third in stolen bases with 27. ?He was never happy with his performance,? said Madsen, ?and continued that inner drive, that burning desire to excel, and work, and work, and work. He is extremely competitive.? Wenzel was 11-2 on the mound with a .83 ERA.

Santini made the first team as a pitcher, but had a great year at the plate as well. At the plate, he had a team-leading 11 doubles for the Hurons and hit .489. He scored 20 runs and knocked in 26 runs. He also was one of six players to reach stolen base totals in the double digit range with 14. ?He would strive to excel,? said Madsen. ?His idea of the perfect game would be to not allow the other team to score, or allow the other team to not get a hit, and we know that it is virtually impossible, but he was striving for that every time they took the ball.? On the mound, Santini led the team with a 0.79 ERA and 60 strikeouts. He finished with an 11-1 record.

IN 32 GAMES, Wilbert was one of four players to hit at or above .500, and finished at an even .500. He was tied with Wenzel for the team lead with two homers, and fourth on the squad in stolen bases (21) and runs scored (37). ?Justin Wilbert was not a very exceptional player when he came into the program, but he worked his tail off,? said Madsen. ?Of all the exceptional kids that we have had in the program, Justin Wilbert worked harder than all of those kids.? Fairbanks led the Hurons with 48 runs scored and 50 stolen bases. During his career, he never was thrown out trying to steal a base. Final career stats were not available, but it appears he will claim the career stolen base record, edging out Marty Madsen.

From the leado

ff position, he hit .500 with 34 singles, six doubles, and 28 RBI. He also was hit-by-a-pitch six times, which easily was tops on the team. ?Austin Fairbanks has given me three great years,? said Madsen. ?As far as natural ability, he probably had more natural ability than any player I have ever had.? Bellmore hit .438, with 18 runs scored, 27 singles, and 27 RBI. ?Jake was the kid that kept everybody enjoying the game,? said Madsen. ?Jake loved the game more than anybody on the team, I think. He had fun playing, was intense when he played and kept everybody loose. He was our emotional leader, and you need that.?

Madsen was appreciative of the effort put in by his assistant coaches ?to make those kids great players.?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.