1997 Boys Baseball Team

After losing seven starters, including the team’s top two pitchers, not many people expected another deep tournament run in 1997. DeWitt was still dealing with the heart-breaking loss in the state championship game the previous season. After a slow start, the Panthers brought home the program’s eleventh consecutive Ingham County League Championship, and they secured Coach Frank Deak’s 500th career victory. The boys slipped past league foes Williamston and Stockbridge to win a third straight Class B District crown. DeWitt then took out Ovid-Elsie 9-2 and Richland Gull Lake 3-1 to capture its third straight regional title before cruising to a 13-3 victory over Belding in the state quarterfinal. Against all odds, the Panthers returned to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Class B Final Four in Battle Creek, the program’s third trip in five years. DeWitt advanced to the state title game in dramatic fashion with a 1-0 victory over heavily favored Jackson Lumen Christi after getting out of a bases loaded jam with no outs in the seventh inning. Unfortunately, their quest for a state title ended with a 3-2 loss to Saginaw Nouvel Catholic in a painfully coincidental circumstance. Just three outs away from a Class B title for the second straight year, the Panthers lost on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning. DeWitt finished the season 25-13. The 1997 DeWitt Boys Baseball team included the following members: Ryan Ashbrook, Chad Bandilla, Brent Barker, Elijah Beckwith, Aaron Colf, Matt Dodson, Ben Dorer, Gavin Gillette, Sean Merrill, Rob Miller, Chris Rypstra, Greg Smith, Jack Thompson, Brent Wardell, Brian Wardell, Mike Zallman, Nathan Zink, Head Coach Frank Deak and assistant coaches Mike Ashley, Mark Simon and Larry Woodbury.