Two local students are now on Saginaw Valley State University’s baseball team, with one seeing playing time and the other preparing for the future.
Goodrich High School graduate Max Bell, a sophomore at SVSU, is seeing his share of playing time at catcher for the Cardinals, while Brandon High School graduate Derek Foyt is sitting out this season as a redshirt freshman.
SVSU head coach Walt Head said Bell is one of four players that have played catcher for the Cardinals this season. Head said Bell has caught about half the team’s games this season.
Through April 15, Bell has played in 19 games and started 17. He has accumulated 45 at-bats with a .283 batting average, one home run and eight RBI.
Defensively, Bell has excelled behind the plate with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. He has accumulated 110 putouts and 11 assists so far this season.
The Cardinals currently have a season record of 13-18 overall and 3-15 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Bell is part of a young quartet of catchers on the Cardinals? roster, along with Midland sophomore Ken Hoffman, Udly freshman Aaron Maurer, and Mt. Pleasant freshman Corey Gross. Head said Bell is still learning how to hit college pitching, but is solid behind the plate.
‘Defensively, he’s pretty good ? he throws OK,? Head said. ‘We’re working on the other end of it. He played a lot as a freshman.?
As far as Foyt is concerned, he is spending this year on the sidelines, waiting for his turn to come at the college level. Including Foyt, the Cardinals have nine outfielders on their roster.
‘We’re going to redshirt Derek, so he’s not going to play,? Head said. ‘We have a lot of outfielders, so he wouldn’t get much playing time.?
However, Head said Foyt is still practicing with the team, and has his own jersey number and uniform.