By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – Terry Pant says the secret to coaching baseball is to soak up as much information as you can from other coaches and to constantly evolve, to stay ahead of the game.

The formula has worked perfectly at Whiteford. On Saturday, his Bobcats swept LCAA-leading Clinton, 17-7 and 19-9, to earn career wins No. 299 and No. 300.

“It’s been great to coach at my alma mater and to coach some great players,” Pant said. “I can’t take all of the credit. I’ve had great assistant coaches, guys who know baseball and are dedicated to teaching the game the right way. Whiteford is a special place to coach.”

Pant, who graduated from Whiteford in 1987, didn’t play baseball in high school, but coached youth baseball and travel ball.

His first coaching gig at Whiteford was actually football. He was the junior varsity coach for nearly 20 seasons. Steve Draper was the Bobcat varsity baseball coach and he and Pant talked about him joining the staff.

“We were talking about how Whiteford doesn’t have a pitching coach,” Pant said. “That’s when I went to California to learn about pitching.”

Pant returned and was named the Bobcat pitching coach. That first season, the team set a record for most strikeouts in a season. After one season as an assistant, Pant was named head coach.

“I surround myself with guys who know baseball,” Pant said.

Over the years he’s continued to educate himself about the game, learn from other coaches, soak up everything he can from clinics and pick up tips from other coaches.

“Just last week we implemented a new stolen base technique,” Pant said. “I’m never afraid to put in a new wrinkle or try something. You have to constantly evolve. The game is different now from what it was when I started coaching.”

Since taking over the program in 2011, the Bobcats have won 20 or more games nine times under Pant, including a school-record 28 wins in 2024. They have won eight Tri-County Conference championships, seven district championships and two regional championships.

Pant is No. 2 on the all-time Whiteford baseball coaching wins list.

Jack Luettke, who coached the Bobcat baseball team from 1972 to 1978 and again from 1986 to 2001, won 325 games at Whiteford.

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Whiteford 17-19, Clinton 7-9

OTTAWA LAKE — Whiteford baseball score 36 runs over two games against Lenawee County Athletic Association-leader Clinton, collecting 24 hits in the process with two home runs from Caden Schroyer and Tre Eitniear. Game one ended in six innings, with game two wrapping up after the top of the fifth.

Eitniear had two hits and two RBIs in game one, followed up with a massive three hit, seven RBI game in game two, including a grand slam.