Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021

The boys are back in town

Grand Lake Mariners set to play after missing 2020

By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard

Grand Lake Mariner Kade Benavidez works out during a Tuesday practice at Montgomery Field. After the 2020 Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League season was canceled due to the pandemic, the Mariners are ready to play in 2021 with the first GLSCL game being Friday at Lima.

The last year was a tough one for Tony Perez.
Perez was set to take over as manager for the Grand Lake Mariners for the 2020 season after being an assistant coach the previous season.
Then COVID-19 struck and shut down everything.
"I'm from Texas, so everything was shut down. We couldn't do anything," said Perez. "Lot of home time. I coach at the high school level, so our season was canceled and school was canceled except for online. So it was definitely an adjustment."
When the call came for him to come back this season to coach the Mariners, Perez couldn't wait.
"To actually have kids on the field, it's nice that these kids could travel from Texas, Louisiana, all over Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee," said Perez. "We have a good mixture. It's fun to see them interact. They're nice kids that want to play baseball. They live it, love it and want to do it hour after hour. That's expected because it was taken away for a year. They're not taking it for granted."
The Mariners, although the full team is not together yet, came into town over the Memorial Day weekend and had a couple of practices heading into tonight's 7 p.m. exhibition game against the Portland Rockets at Montgomery Field.
Perez hopes to see the team gel quickly for the 42-game season spanning June and July.
"Being they're from different programs and do things different, we hope they communicate and bond as a team," said Perez. "Even though they're together for just two months, if they can bond early, that goes a long way for the season because teams that bond usually win."
The Mariners return four players from the 2019 with Versailles graduate Noah Richard joined by Donnie Stone, Jordan Bekier and Noah Thigpen.
Coldwater grad Grant Meyer is the lone Mercer County-area player and will look to get pitching time.
While Perez is happy with what he sees with hitting and defense, he feels the pitching will be a major factor for the team to do well.
"Offensively and defensively, it will be fun to watch," said Perez. "Truthfully, we lost some arms because they were shut down or injured. When it comes to this level, kids get injured. You have to be flexible and connections to make calls day in and day out just to get healthy guys to Celina so we can move forward and play."
The 2021 Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League season gets underway Friday night as the Mariners travel to Lima to face the rival Locos. The home schedule starts this weekend with a home game Saturday with the Galion Graders and followed by a Sunday afternoon game with the Muskegon Clippers.
The league has 14 teams this season split between North and South divisions with teams playing all their games within the division. New to the North Division this season are the Sandusky Ice Haulers and Jet Box out of Michigan. Also in Michigan, Royal Oak returns after playing several seasons ago as the Irish Hills Leprechauns.
Home game admission is $5 with preschool children admitted free. "The Galley" beer garden will be open along the first base line serving up beer from local breweries.
MEET THE MARINERS NIGHT - The Mariners will have a meet the team event for all fans on Thursday at Brew Nation from 6-8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

2021 Mariners Schedule:
June
4  at Lima
5  Galion
6  Muskegon (4 p.m.)
8  at Jet Box
9  at Sandusky
10  at Lima
11  at Galion
12  Sandusky
13  Royal Oak (4 p.m.)
15  at Michigan Monarchs
16  at Lima
17  at Muskegon (6 p.m.)
18  at Galion
19  at Sandusky
20  at Jet Box (4 p.m.)
22  Royal Oak
23  Lima
24  Galion
25  Michigan
26  at Sandusky
27  at Muskegon (4 p.m.)
29  at Royal Oak
30  Lima
July
1  Galion
2  Sandusky
3  at Lima
4  Jet Box (4 p.m.)
6  at Michigan Monarchs
7  Galion
8  Sandusky
9  Lima
10  Galion
11  Jet Box (4 p.m.)
13  Muskegon (6 p.m.)
14  at Sandusky
15  Lima
16  at Galion
17  Sandusky
18  Michigan Monarchs (4 p.m.)
22  at Royal Oak
23  at Galion
24  at Lima

Games begin at 7 p.m.
unless indicated.
Home games at Montgomery Field.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard

Grand Lake's Keegan Gavin throws the ball to a teammate during Tuesday's practice at Montgomery Field.

Additional online story on this date
Vaccine clinic set in Coldwater for Friday
All COVID-19 health orders officially expired early this morning, including the state's mask mandate and capacity limitations for outdoor facilities, among others. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Officials: Crash probe could take 1-2 years
MONTEZUMA - The probable cause of a plane crash that left a Defiance man with serious injuries Thursday won't be announced until the conclusion of the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation, which reportedly could take up to one or two years, NTSB spokesperson Eric Weiss said Tuesday.
Man pleaded guilty to four sex charges
VAN WERT - A former Parkway Local Schools teacher will be sentenced on June 30 in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court for four counts of sexual battery involving a student.
MINSTER - Council members at Tuesday night's meeting granted permission to supporters who want to raise money for park improvements to use the Paris Street Park for a kickoff event.
ROCKFORD - A grassy section located behind People's Bank owned by the village will be roped off to support a fundraiser for a local family June 25.
CELINA - The first two innings were rocky for Parkway, but in the third, the wheels came off.
Fifteen Celina batters came to the plate and 10 came around to score as the Bulldogs buried the Panthers on the way to a 13-1 win in their ACME baseball opener at Montgomery Field on Tuesday.
CELINA - Commencement for 171 Celina High School graduates was held May 23 in the Fieldhouse.
Valedictorian Emma Menchhofer is the daughter of Jason Menchhofer and Amy Jacquay. She attained a 4.103 GPA and plans to attend Indiana University to study ecology and conservation.
CELINA - The Celina High School class of 2021 demonstrated remarkable perseverance in how they embraced a second pandemic-upended school year, said superintendent Ken Schmiesing.
COLDWATER - Ninety-seven seniors graduated May 30 during a commencement ceremony in the Palace Gymnasium to limited spectators.
The valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2021 are Matthew Waite, son of Jack and Teresa Waite, and Courtney May, daughter of Brian and Connie May, respectively.
'Looking forward to future'
By MATTHEW WAITE
Coldwater valedictorian
It is hard to believe that this unconventional school year is coming to a close so quickly. As it ends, I am able to reflect on all the experiences, opportunities, and memories from these past four years.
'Great passion for helping'
By COURTNEY MAY
Coldwater salutatorian
Being stuck at home last year made me realize how much I really love Coldwater High School. Never again will I take attending such an amazing school for granted.
FORT RECOVERY - Commencement for 69 Fort Recovery High School graduates was held May 23 at the Fort Site Field House.
Hope Wendel is valedictorian.
By ANNA WENDEL
Fort Recovery Local Schools class president
Last March when the school shut down no one could've predicted our future. I'm happy
FORT RECOVERY - Like many educators, Fort Recovery High School Principal Tony Stahl said the 2020-2021 school year was a challenging year, to say the least.
MARIA STEIN - When members of the Marion Local High School class of 2021 look back on their senior year, they should recall not the trappings of a pandemic but the ways in which they triumphed, superintendent Mike Pohlman said.
Valedictorian and salutatorian named
MARIA STEIN - Commencement for 76 Marion Local High School graduates was held May 23 at the high school.
Valedictorian Kacey Holdheide is the daughter of Brad and Sandi Holdheide. She attained a 4.074 GPA and plans to attend the University of Cincinnati to study mechanical engineering.
MINSTER - Commencement for the Class of 2021 was held at 1 p.m. May 30 at the Minster Elementary School, preceded by a Baccalaureate Mass at 11:30 a.m. at St. Augustine Catholic Church.
NEW BREMEN - The Cardinal football team's state championship run - the first in the program's nearly 50 year history - perhaps best exemplifies the tenacious, resilient spirit of the class of 2021, 7-12 principal Marcus Overman said.
ELLIBLEU JEAN ROETGERMAN
New Bremen High School 2021 valedictorian
Life is like a book with a new page being written every day. No one is able to write our books for us, and no one can determine the quality of our books, except ourselves.
NEW BREMEN - Commencement for 55 New Bremen High School graduates was held May 30 in the high school gym.
Prior to commencement, a baccalaureate ceremony took place in the middle school gym.
VIVIAN NIEKAMP
New Bremen class president
Hello, my name is Vivian Niekamp and as class president I was asked to have a speech prepared for grad
NEW KNOXVILLE - Thirty New Knoxville seniors received their diplomas during a May 30 commencement ceremony in the school gymnasium.
The valedictori
ROCKFORD - Parkway High School principal Brian Fortkamp admitted he was nervous heading into the 2020-2021 school year.
Fortkamp worried it would be a challenge to get students to comply with the various COVID-19 safety mandates, especially getting them to wear masks.
KELSEY NICHOLS
Parkway 2021 valedictorian, class president
With the coronavirus still heavily affecting the world at the start of the school year, things looked a little different this year.
ROCKFORD - Commencement for 69 Parkway High School graduates was held May 23 in the high school gymnasium.
Kelsey Nichols is valedictorian. She is
ST. HENRY - High school principal Eric Rosenbeck said 2020 presented a lot of new, unforeseen and unexpected situations for the school amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
ST. MARYS - Commencement for the Class of 2021 was held at 2 p.m. May 30 at the Grand Lake Health System Field.
Approximately 153 graduating seniors were expected to take part in Memorial High School's first outdoor graduation ceremony at the Roughrider Stadium.