But Then What Happened?

Bryce played with the Ohio Hitmen during the summer of 2017. They were coached by Tony Tupta and Bryce loved Tony’s coaching style. Very knowledgeable about the game, good teacher, almost always upbeat and encouraging and Tony had a great sense of humor. He also valued Bryce’s ability and his contribution to the team. Bryce felt respected and appreciated. The Hitmen had a very good collection of talent and the players got along really well.  Their very first game of the tournament season, they faced a team from Pittsburgh that had been a nemesis to the Hitmen in recent years. Bryce started in center field but was summoned to the mound in the second inning as the starting pitcher was struggling and the Hitmen had fallen behind. Bryce had a great initial pitching appearance for the team as he quieted the opponent’s bats enough for the Hitmen to catch up and push the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Bryce had a walk-off, RBI single, giving the Hi...

Through the winter of 2016-17, Bryce’s junior year of high school, he continued to work on his game. He worked on pitching and hitting every week with Shawn Nottingham, he hit the batting cages at Grand Slam in Canton every Thursday, worked out with the Ohio Hitmen on Saturdays and never missed an open gym hitting session on Sunday nights. Being the starting centerfielder on Northwest’s varsity baseball team seemed to be on course but he never took it for granted. Tryouts began the last week of February 2017. On Friday, Coach Mac met with each player individually to inform them of which team, if any, they’d be playing for and what his expectations were for them. As we had hoped, Bryce was told that he’d be the varsity starting centerfielder and one of the three starting pitchers… of course, barring any unforeseen circumstances.   Jeana and I were excited for the season. Bryce had worked long and hard to play varsity baseball. Bryce Munson #8 The first game was...