Manis closes collegiate baseball career strong
After four years, two schools and a fair amount of accolades, Nate Manis’ college baseball career is over.
“It’s a pretty surreal feeling,” Manis, a 2011 Port Huron Northern graduate said. “I’m not really sure if it’s hit me yet, I’ve been pretty busy since I’ve been done. I’m sure come this fall, it’s going to be different not showing up to the park and going to practice every day. I’m definitely going to miss it.”
Manis — who played the past two seasons at Wayne State after transferring from Owens Community College — went out with a bang, closing his senior season with a starring role in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Tournament this past May, which earned him a spot on the All-GLIAC Tournament Team.
He hit .375 in the tournament with a .444 on-base percentage in four games, and added two RBI and five runs scored. He was perfect on his 15 chances in the field.
“We finished the year playing our best ball, I think,” Manis said. “It was kind of a disappointing loss at the end, but it was a good game against Ashland. We dealt with some injuries the whole way through, but that’s nothing surprising.
“I just focused on playing good defense and letting our pitchers do their thing.”
On the season, he started 40 games and played in 44 for the Warriors, starting most of his games at third base, but also seeing time at second base, shortstop and all three outfield positions.
“We dealt with some injuries, so sometimes I was playing two or three positions in a game,” Manis said. ‘The big thing I had to adjust to is how they moved me around so much. A few games, I would start in the infield, end up in the outfield, and at the end of the game be back in the infield again.”
The movement didn’t appear to hurt Manis, however, as he was second on the team with a .301 batting average, led the team in runs scored with 33 and had 20 stolen bases (on 23 attempts) which led the GLIAC.
“We’re an aggressive base-running team, but that’s a huge part of my game, is running and taking the extra base,” Manis said. “I had quite a few opportunities to steal bags this year, and I tried to steal one whenever I could.”
Manis is one of four Blue Water Area players on the team, and he believes Jared Tobey (St. Clair), Jeremy Carrell (St. Clair) and Aaron Loconsole (Marine City) all have bright futures ahead with the Warriors.
“All three of them are doing great,” Manis said. “Carrell is just getting over surgery, so he’ll have a good couple years left. Tobey is a freshman and has a lot of upside. (Loconsole) transferred from Bowling Green, he’s a big asset to the team.
“I’m looking to see them do something special in the next couple years.”
Manis still has six credits that he will complete in the fall, and as his scholarship runs through a fifth year, said he’s likely to be around the team in some role next season. He’ll play modified softball this summer with the Secory Flyers, but his baseball career is now in a transitional phase from playing to possibly coaching.
“I’d like to get into coaching down the road, for sure,” Manis said. “I’ve been able to make it to a few of Northern’s practices, throw some (batting practice) to some guys and work on some fundamentals – that’s a lot of fun. Right now, I’m thinking about the possibility of going back to school and getting a Master’s in public administration. This fall I’m thinking of doing some substitute teaching, and maybe that could lead to an opportunity.”
Contact Paul Costanzo at (810) 989-6251 or pcostanzo@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulCostanzo.