MICHAEL POLECAT-VIAN
The trio of Draighton Fletcher, Riley Ellis and Michael Polecat have anchored the Vian Wolverine baseball squad for what will be their fourth year as they get ready for their senior season. All three have also been integral parts of the Wolverine football squad as well.
“We’ve played together our whole life, so it seems like we’re just like brothers,” said Polecat.
Michael plays second base and shortstop and is a top pitcher for Vian and he’s just a good, hard-nosed player according to his coach John Brockman.
“Michael is a good player, works hard, is a great competitor and a very fundamentally sound player,” said Brockman. “He’ll hit second in the lineup and will probably be our top pitcher this year.”
Polecat says he didn’t really have any siblings or friends that got him interested in baseball-it was just something his parents put him into.
“I played football, baseball, basketball and track growing up and I did them all until I got to high school and then I dropped basketball and track. I probably like playing baseball more than football just because I’ve played it my whole life so I’m more attached to it than I am to football. I started playing competitive travel baseball in seventh grade and it’s been a big help in doing well in school ball because you get a lot more reps and you usually see better pitching in travel ball.”
While Fletcher and Ellis have been close friends and role models for Polecat, there are also a couple of other former Wolverines that had an influence on him.
“Cash Collins was like a big brother to me and Diego Ramos was a role model for me when I was a freshman. That was also the year we won the Ripley Tournament which is special to me because we weren’t favored to win it.”
His goals for the upcoming campaign include helping the team get past the regionals this year, hitting between .400 and .500, issuing fewer walks when he’s on the hill and being a good senior leader.
“I lead more by example and trying to show the younger guys what a good work ethic looks like.”
Michel hopes to play college baseball somewhere next year and has had some conversations with potential schools. When he graduates, he wants to be remembered as a guy who always gave 100 percent and never slacked off.
