The Grand Ledge Comet baseball team had one of the best seasons in the program’s history but still fell short of a state title. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common theme in the Comet program.

Although the Comets couldn’t quite obtain their goals this season, their journey was nothing short of exceptional. In the district semi-final game against the Dewitt Panthers, the Comets were down six runs in the last inning! The Panthers pulled their starting pitcher, and the Comets had a field day, scoring nine runs in the last inning, which was topped off by a three-run home run by senior Noah Warren. “I knew it was gone off the bat,” says Warren. The moment was magical. To see the teams’ leader hit a no-doubt home run to extend their season just added to the craziness of their incredible 37-3 record. The district final against East Lansing was an easy 5-1 win, putting them up against Howell for the Comets’ first regional game. Howell came out of the gates slowly. Their starting pitcher allowed five runs in two innings, making the score 5-1 going into the first of two weather delays. However, the Highlanders came out of the first weather delay with a different attitude and pitcher. A hard-throwing lefty was an arduous task for the Comets to face for the next few innings as he seemed unhittable. But eventually, the Comets’ lineup caught up to him and put the game away in the top of the last inning, eventually winning the game 8-5. 

Heading into the regional final against Ann Arbor Pioneer, the Comets’ were eager for an opportunity at the state’s quarter-finals. The starting pitcher for Pioneer was hot out of the gates allowing only one run in five innings against the Comets. The frustration on many of the players’ faces was clear. As the last inning rolled around with the Comets down 2-1, the pressure was on the Seniors once again to prevail. The first two batters of the inning got on base, giving senior Noah Warren another opportunity for magic. The Pioneer head coach decided to walk Noah to load the bases with no outs. The decision almost paid off. The next two batters struck out and put senior Aiden Alspaugh up to bat in the situation that most kids dream about growing up.

Alspaugh came through with the clutchest hits of his life with a single to right field that scored two and pushed the Comets over the top and back into the state quarter-final. 

Grand Ledge was up against their most formidable opponent to date, facing the number two team in Portage Central. Grand Ledge was simply outmatched. “I wasn’t even missing my spots. They were just hitting everything. It was insane.” says senior Noah Warren. And it quite simply was. The Comets struggled to get any base runners on and couldn’t seem to stop them from scoring. The eventual 6-1 loss brought the Comets to an astounding 37-3 on the year and multiple accolades: District champions, Regional champions, and Diamond Classic champions. 

It’s sad to see the seniors go, but the Comets can hopefully pick up where they left off and provide more winning for the following years to come.