HEMLOCK, MI – As a pitcher, Chad Brown isn’t necessarily comfortable as Batman.
Turns out, he’s not real comfortable as Batman on the basketball court either.
But that didn’t stop the Hemlock senior Friday, with the 6-foot-6 Brown scoring 28 points with nine rebounds and four steals in a 50-34 Tri-Valley Conference win at Hemlock.
“Last year, it was definitely Batman and Robin, where we had that 1-2 punch with (Carter) Gensch,” Hemlock coach Matt Bauer said. “Last year, Brown was Robin, but now he’s got to be Batman. And that’s probably not a role he’s comfortable with, to be honest. He’s a guy that really would prefer to make the extra pass and defer.
“But tonight, he played tremendous. He played strong at the basket. He finished strong. Carrollton has some shot blockers, but he didn’t let it bother him.”
Basketball, however, is not Brown’s main sport. Neither is football, where he played quarterback and punter.
He is a right-handed pitcher who signed to play baseball at Central Michigan University. Still, he chose to continue playing all three sports in high school.
“I talked to my college baseball coaches about that, and they were all for playing as many sports as you can, being as active as you can and enjoying the sports,” Brown said. “It’s my senior year, so I’ve got to enjoy it.
“I’ve got off-season training and stuff right now, and I’ll be throwing bullpens and stuff like that to, so I’ll be locked in.”
The teams were tied at 9-9 after one quarter, but Brown scored 11 points in the second quarter to give the Huskies a 23-14 halftime lead. Carrollton cut the lead to four in the second half, but Brown and the Huskies were able to counter and claim a win in the TVC opener.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind that he would only play baseball,” Bauer said. “But Brown loves his teammates. He wants to be involved in all three sports because he loves being around his teammates and coaches.
“If Chad wasn’t going to be a college baseball player, I’d still hook my carriage to him. He’s just a winner, a really good kid. He’s been raised right. He’s going to find a lot of success in life. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s throwing in the big leagues someday. But if he’s not, he’s going to do a lot of other great things. Baseball is probably the right sport for him because he just has that even-keel demeanor.”
Wyatt Launstein added nine points, with Kellan Schultz scoring six for Hemlock. Landon Zastrow dished out eight assists. Luke Parcell paced the Cavaliers with 18 points, scoring 14 in the second half.
The Cavaliers fell to 0-3 in Jason Holder’s first season as the head coach with losses to Bay City Central, Frankenmuth and Hemlock.
“We had a lot of production graduate last year, but I like the guys we have,” Brown said. “We’re kind of young right now, but I have a lot of confidence that throughout the season, we’re going to get a lot better.
“We’re trusting Coach to coach us up at practice. It’s going to make a big impact on the guys. We’re young, but we’re going to bet better. I know without them, I’m not able to do much, so I’m grateful for what they do.”
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