Staff Writer
Senior pitcher Michael Warner is expected to be a driving force behind the Varsity Baseball team this year, according to Baseball Coach Steve Sharp.
Warner, who also plays second base, has verbally committed to play baseball next year for Indiana Tech.
Joining him on the diamond this season will be returning seniors Ako Gilmore and Brent Kline and juniors David Cole, Lance Lucas and Tyjai Thompson.
Last year the team finished second in its league, with losses to Ferndale, Southfield-Lathrup and Berkley. But this year Berkley is in another district “And we’re going to beat Southfield-Lathrup two times instead of one,” vows Warner.
Most of this year’s teammates, like Warner, have been playing ball for a dozen years, having started with T-ball at the age of 5.
Warner, who started with the Southfield Astros when he was still wearing Spiderman underpants, was courted by Wayne State, Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Delaware State and Alabama State this year for his baseball prowess.
Warner says part of his pitching success is related to the team’s catcher, Thompson. “He’s a good young catcher with a lot of potential to play college baseball,” says Warner. “I can rely on him to be my catcher in high school. He can make the long throw from home plate to second with accuracy.”
Part of Warner’s decision to attend Indiana Tech was made jointly with his parents. “I actually took the time to sit down with my parents, and we discussed my future. I met with the potential teachers that I would have if I went to Indiana, and when I was invited to visit the school to do so, I realized how small the school’s campus and class sizes were, so I actually felt comfortable there.”
Coach Sharp also had a lot of input to help him make a good decision, Warner said.
Sharp said, “It’s very good for the school that we have one of our team players going on to play college baseball.” Coach Sharp continued, “He worked very hard; he’s played on Varsity for four years, as well as done a lot of work in the summer time. His hard work during those four years improved his off-season work outs.”
Warner has been the most significant Blue Jay baseball player to commit to a college career since Leon McKissic in 2006, who went on to play 4 years at Kentucky State, said Sharp.
As far as Warner’s teammates being affected by this big milestone, Coach Sharp said, “I think that’s just a goal that they see he was able to reach, based on how hard he works and all that he’s done. So for other kids in our baseball program, this was the light at the end of their tunnel to (realize) that they could move on to play at the next level, just like (Warner) will.”
Warner partly attritubes his baseball skills to his father, Robert Warner, who coached him in Little League and also pitched in high school for Port Huron Central. “I may have picked up some of his genes,” Warner said. “When I was a kid, he always wanted me to play baseball, so he taught me the way of the game, and I’ve loved it ever since then.”
Warner, who is 5 feet 8 inches tall, says former coaches often told him he was too short to go anywhere with baseball. “They told me I needed to stretch my bones.” But Warner told himself that if shorty Dustin Petoria of the Boston Red Sox could go pro, Warner could at least play college ball.
And Warner was apparently right.