SHELBY – Skipper Brian Wright is back for his 44th season writing the lineup card for the Shelby Tigers. A deep run in the tournament last year resulted in a district title win over rival, Hart. Now, with their top four pitchers and a lot of their offensive production returning, coach Wright and the Shelby program are expecting another successful season. “This season, we have 7 starters returning off of last year’s team, so the excitement is high for the season to begin. With only one senior, we are still a fairly young team,” Wright said.
11 out of the 13 players for the Tigers this season, manager Wright has coached either their brother, uncle, or father. Wright said, “That is a proud piece of information that I shared with the team the other day about our Baseball program here at Shelby.”
Last season ended with an 18-8 loss to Benzie Central in the regional round. Now, with a full season of varsity baseball for most of these guys, Shelby has an opportunity to make a similar run and potentially make it further than last season.
2024 Season
17-12 record
2nd in the WMC-Rivers
Defeated rival Hart in the district final
Four all-conference players
Batting
Junior shortstop DayDay Garcia had a stellar sophomore season. A true five-tool player will be the captain of the infield for the Tigers. Garcia stole 33 bags and hit .408 which included 40 hits.
Garcia’s counterpart on the left side of the infield, junior Chase Simon is a power threat and can play the hot corner well. Simon knocked in 30 RBI’s and posted a .402 average.
Junior Eli Kelley rounds out the big three in the infield. A utility guy who can play all over the diamond gives the Tigers lots of flexibility. Kelley hit nearly .300 and came across the plate with 30 runs scored last season.
Pitching
Garcia, while being a top hitter offensively, throws gas from the mound as well. The now-junior finished with a 7-5 record in 65 innings pitched and notched a total of 88 strikeouts in his sophomore season.
Simon is recently coming off of an elbow injury in the district final against Hart that sidelined him for all of the football season. The righty is at full strength this spring and will give Wright another sneaky option on the rubber. Simon went 4-1 last season and pitched 34 innings.
Trevor Weiss and Eli Kelley will pick up a lot of load work as well. They both recorded over 30 innings pitched a year ago.
The Bottom Line
Though the Tigers squad is still filled with lots of juniors and only one senior, they competed well last season, and many expect the same in 2025. Shelby will need the same production as last year in the lineup to make a run. With an outlier in Garcia and key bats such as Simon and Kelley, along with strong arms in the rotation, watch out for the Tigers as they make an effort to achieve a WMC-Rivers title.
2025 Tentative Schedule
3/25 – Vs. Onekama
3/25 – Vs. LeRoy Pine River DH
4/8 – Vs. Hesperia DH
4/11 – Vs. Mason County Eastern DH
4/15 – Vs. North Muskegon DH
4/17 – Vs. Kent City DH
4/21 – Vs. Muskegon Catholic Central DH
4/24 – @ Whitehall DH
4/26 – @ Central Montcalm
4/29 – @ Holton DH
5/3 – @ Hesperia DH
5/6 – @ Hart DH
5/9 – @ Bear Lake
5/13 – @ Ravenna DH
5/16 – Vs. Manistee DH
5/20 – Vs. Mason County Central DH
5/22 – @ Montague
5/23 – Vs. White Cloud
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