Admittedly without the best night's sleep prior to the 3A-Region VI Tournament, Bayfield baseball head coach Danny Petrie nonetheless still relished the insomnia.
And while familiarizing himself with a new crew this spring, it probably wasn't the first time either.
"Baseball's my passion and I was out of it for a few years," he'd said earlier in the 2017 campaign, alluding to a previous two-year (2012-13) stint coaching 3A New Castle Coal Ridge. "Was asked to come be the coach, and I couldn't be happier. I enjoy the team, I enjoy the parents-I'm having a blast. It's exciting."
Petrie previously led the Chino Valley, Ariz., JV when the Cougar varsity won the 2010 Arizona Class 3A State Championship, the school's first.
In his first year at Bayfield, Petrie focused on the underclassman-loaded roster's development.
But if there was ever a game-to-game constant standout, it would have been catcher Austin Bushnell. One of just three seniors on Petrie's squad, Bushnell, who even saw action on the mound in a couple contests, raked at a .387 clip offensively, posted a .564 slugging average, and compiled a .541 on-base percentage while not missing any of BHS' 21 outings.
He averaged better than a hit (totaling 24) and an RBI (totaling 27) per game, and also drew 15 bases-on-balls (he was also tagged by a team-leading seven pitches) while striking out just once every three games.
Able to hustle for foul balls as well as on the basepaths, where he cracked five triples and belted two homers, Bushnell recently received Honorable Mention All-3A distinction from the Colorado High School Activities Association.
He was one of 35 players so honored, after helping the Wolverines finish Petrie's first season at the helm 15-6 overall (after a loss to Salida in the regional's championship) and a first-place 9-1 in the Intermountain League.
Salida senior Ian Olson and senior Graham Price joined Bushnell as Honorable Mention picks, as did senior Jesse Cross of Loveland Resurrection Christian, which also visited Wolverine Field for the aforementioned regional. Also named Honorable Mention All-3A from the IML were Centauri junior Brandon Buhr, Montezuma-Cortez junior Jasen Engel, and Alamosa junior Chance Strand.
Bayfield regional opponents Desmond Lau (Salida, senior) and Ben Vandal (Denver Science & Tech-Stapleton, senior) highlighted the Second Team All-3A selections, while Gilcrest Valley junior outfielder/pitcher Jose Mercado headed up the First Team as 3A Player-of-the-Year.
VHS' Steve Kissler received Coach-of-the-Year after guiding the Vikings to a 19-7 overall record-capped by a 17-1 thrashing of Patriot League nemesis and postseason fixture Eaton (18-9) in the State Championship.
EHS senior Micah Dorsey and junior Jake Sandau were also named First Team All-3A along with Valley senior Shawn Chacon, Arvada Faith Christian senior Landon Ford, Lamar senior Tyler Geddes, Denver Colorado Academy senior Evan Reiter, Lafayette Peak to Peak senior Tommy Shriver, and La Junta junior Dyson Oquist-son of former Major Leaguer (1993-99) Mike Oquist.
Requests made of multiple athletic directors for the full All-IML Team were unanswered as of press time.
THE MILLER WATCH: Having struck out 11 batters in his professional baseball debut, then 10 more in an encore of a second start, BHS alumnus Clay Miller couldn't have been much more of a blessing for the Tucson (Ariz.) Saguaros.
And as of Tuesday morning, he still hadn't dropped a decision for the Pecos League's defending champs.
In four reported appearances-all starts-on the mound so far this summer, Miller posted a team-leading 4-0 record with an outstanding, team-best 0.58 earned-run average in 31 innings of work. He'd fanned 36 and walked just five, and despite giving up 20 hits had only four runs scored against him.
At the plate, Miller had registered an even .300 (3-for-10) batting average with a double and one run, while offsetting two strikeouts with a base-on-balls and one hit-by-pitch.
As of Tuesday, Tucson had the second-best winning percentage (.733) in the PL's Pacific Division, but a league-most 22 wins against just eight losses prior to this weekend's four-game home set with the Bakersfield Train Robbers of California.
