Beloit Turner's Mitch Seager ready for more after breakout year

As the early days of October roll by, the thrill of postseason baseball is sweeping over fans across the nation. Every game, every at bat, every swing matters. The pressure could get to anyone. Beloit Turner senior outfielder Mitch Seager and the rest of the Trojans experienced that themselves this June at the Division 2 state tournament.

Making their first appearance at state since 2001, the Trojans found tournament veteran West Salem staring them right in the face in the semifinals. Things didn’t go quite as planned for Turner out of the gates.

“The state game seemed to go by so fast. I remember the first inning clearly. Our first three hitters struck out, including me—looking. I can still see the inside two-seamer breaking away on me to catch the inside corner,” Seager said.

The start of the game was a jarring welcome to the big stage. The Panthers scored three runs in the second inning, quickly taking the lead in their third straight trip to Appleton. Turner never fully recovered despite a late rally and eventually lost 5-3.

“We put too much pressure on ourselves and that's not how coach (Jeff) Clowes teaches the game. He tells us that this is fun. Brain surgery and firefighting is pressure,” Seager said. “After we settled in, you could see we were more in the game with the rally in the last inning."

Seager went 1 for 3 in that game, hitting a double in the seventh inning in what ended up being his final at bat in the season.

It was a fitting end to a memorable year for Seager, and not just because the Trojans reached the state semifinals. He hit .521 as a junior with 14 doubles, three home runs and 43 RBIs. That was an improvement in essentially every category from his sophomore season, which is no small feat. Two years ago he hit .414 with 12 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs.

His performance earned him a spot on our first team All-Wisconsin squad this year and made him a finalist for our Player of the Year award.

With the stellar performances came attention from colleges who were interested in bringing him into their programs.

“The recruiting process was stressful and fun at the same time,” he said. “Knowing that some colleges wanted me was a nice feeling. Finding the right fit for me was pretty easy because I think I'm pretty adaptable to my surroundings.”

As it turned out, the right fit wasn’t all that far away. He capped off a productive 2017 by committing to play baseball at Winona State in early October.

“Winona State really (had) a home style feel for me. That's what I was looking for. When I visited schools, I wanted to get the feeling of comfort. If I am spending four years of my life there, I want to make sure I was happy and comfortable with where I am,” he said. “Winona is also a beautiful city.”

ROAD TO STATE

To get to the state tournament, Seager and the Trojans needed to clear a huge obstacle in the sectional semifinals. Turner entered that round as the No. 2 ranked team in Division 2, only behind Catholic Memorial. The Crusaders just so happened to be in the same section of the bracket as Turner, so the two top-ranked teams in the Division squared off early in the tournament. The two had already played earlier in the season, with Turner emerging victorious.

Things wouldn’t be any easier in the playoffs though. Ben Dragani, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Wisconsin, was on the mound for Memorial. The Trojans expected this, and took steps to get ready for it leading up to the game.

“The previous week at practice we turned up all of our pitching machines so we could keep up with his velocity,” Seager said.

The big lefty still gave Turner trouble, holding the Trojans scoreless through four innings. His Crusader teammates gave him a 1-0 lead to work with by scoring a run in the third inning.

Turner finally broke through on Dragani in the fifth inning. Ethan Burns hit an RBI double to tie the game, and Hunter Waldsmith gave the Trojans the lead with an RBI knock to right field.

“That inning was filled with energy. As soon as we got our first man on, we knew it was our inning. So we kept up the energy and things just kept going our way,” Seager said. “After the third out, we knew they were going to have some push to make a comeback, but we carried all of our emotions into the field to stop them.”

That’s exactly what Turner did, as the Trojans managed to strand the tying run on base in the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings to advance to the sectional finals.

“During the game, we knew we had to keep the energy up. With the noise we make in the dugout combined with our fans, we were hoping to maybe startle them,” Seager said. “It really doesn't get better than that. We knew it was going to be a good game and you’ve got to love that. Two teams pulling on opposite ends of the rope and we just had a few more hard pulls to get us the win. Much respect to them as a program.”

Turner defeated Mount Horeb later in the day to punch its ticket to the state tournament.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Trojans lost some highly talented players to graduation last year, but Seager is optimistic for the upcoming season. The team will have roughly half its lineup back, and some quality pitching returns too. That includes Seager, who was Turner’s No. 3 pitcher last spring.

“This year I think we will be coming back with more punch. Two years (ago) we lost three big seniors. We didn't think we'd be as strong (after they graduated), but I think that's what made us work harder,” he said.

If they could do it last year, why not this year?

“We are going to have to work through some struggles, but I believe we can overcome them,” Seager said.

Turner has certainly been no stranger to winning over the past two years. They’ve gone a combined 48-7 during that span.

“Being a part of the Turner program is such an honor. With the coaching we have and the way coach Clowes thinks of the game is really life-changing. Having the energy and the bond that we have really makes us stronger on the field. I truly believe that's what led to our success. We really are one big happy family,” Seager said.

But before he gets completely back into baseball, Seager will wrap up his cross country season for the Trojans this fall. Compared to baseball, he admits it’s not his strong suit.

“(I run cross country). Not very well, but I try,” he joked.

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