Three from EUP commit to Bay College Norse baseball

SAULT STE. MARIE — Dalton Graham, Matt Bush and Spencer Piippo have been teammates since they were 9 years old.

They’ll continue to be on the same team in college. The trio from the Eastern UP all committed to the Bay College Norse baseball program Tuesday.

“These are three kids who have played travel ball their whole lives, working to get to this day,” Sault High and EUP Wood Ducks coach Kris Bontrager said. “They are all getting a great opportunity, one that they’ve earned.

“It’s nice that we have a college program close to us here in the U.P.,” Bontrager said. “We’re happy to keep feeding Bay some baseball players. Their coach Mike Pankow does an excellent job and we hope to keep that (EUP to Bay) connection going.”

All three EUP student-athletes headed to Bay College are 2020 high school graduates — Graham from Sault High, Bush from Pickford and Piippo from Maplewood Baptist Academy. Graham and Bush played for the EUP Wood Ducks 19-under team this summer, while Bush and Piippo were previous teammates for Pickford High School baseball. Graham, Bush and Piippo have been teammates with various age-group travel teams going all the way back to when they were Sault All-Star Little Leaguers.

“We had all played ball together in the past, so being able to stay together helped with the college decision,” Graham said.

Bay College is located in Escanaba. The Norse compete in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 2.

“We all went to a clinic there in February and met the team,” Piippo said. “We got along well with the coach, and it was a good group of guys. Everything felt comfortable. I’m looking forward to it.”

Recent Bay College baseball players from Sault Ste. Marie have included Alex Morehouse, Logan Bailey, Tyler Walcher and Avery TenEyck. Morehouse and TenEyck helped coach the EUP Jr. Wood Ducks this summer.

“Talking to those guys, they were able to tell us what the Bay team was all about,” Bush said. “That was definitely a factor. I was already familiar with the Escanaba area, but didn’t know much about the college and campus.”

Pickford high school baseball, which co-ops with Maplewood, was poised to have a standout team with multiple future college athletes. The Pickford Pirates were defending district champs and had nearly everybody back, but the high school season was canceled due to COVID-19.

“Coach (Dan) Rambo told us he was waiting for this (2020) team for 16 years,” Piippo said of the Pickford team. “So that canceled season was a bummer. We had talent and we wanted to make another run this year.”

Bontrager hoped the recently completed summer baseball season with the Wood Ducks helped ease the pain of missing the spring high school campaign.

“I wish we could have gotten them even more baseball this summer, but at least we salvaged something for their senior year,” Bontrager said. “They might be a touch behind when they get to college, because they missed a whole season of reps. But they all have the ability to catch up pretty quickly.”

Graham was starting shortstop for Sault High as a junior and was poised for a breakthrough senior year. Bontrager had Graham penciled in as the Blue Devils ace pitcher, shortstop and No. 3 hitter in the lineup for his senior season.

“Dalton has the athletic ability to play anywhere on the field,” Bontrager said. “I think he could really excel on the pitcher’s mound, or on the infield for Bay. He has a high ceiling that he hasn’t even come close to reaching yet.

“Defensively the kid is smooth as silk at shortstop,” Bontrager said. “On the mound he is free and easy and the ball just jumps out of his hand. At the plate you would never think of him as a power hitter but his swing is so smooth and quick. The ball explodes off his bat.”