MARION – Michael Sandman reached down and swiped a rolling foul ball and threw it back to the pitcher. It’s an act he’s done countless times before.
But this time, he let out a little grunt.
“Probably shouldn’t have done that,” he said with a smile.
Sandman is coming off surgery to remove cancer from his lung. While one wouldn’t know it by looking at the tall, young coach of the Utica baseball team, he’s still working his way back.
Sandman has been waiting almost two years to coach his alma mater after being hired in the summer of 2019 following a one-year stint at Johnstown — his first as a head coach. He had been an assistant at Utica prior to that.
The COVID-19 pandemic wiped away the 2020 season. Then the diagnosis put this one in jeopardy.
Now all signs point to positive news for Sandman.
“(Doctors have) tested the lymph nodes around it and everything looked good,” he said. “They ended up cutting out half my lung. I still have to get scans every six months for five years. Fingers crossed, but they said the outlook was really good.”
He’s been watching from the outfield walls during the season — more frequently over the past couple of weeks.
On Saturday, May 1, Sandman finally got to coach his first real game.
“I’m excited to be here,” he said. “I’m so proud of these guys — all the work they’ve put in over two years — to see them having some success. It’s really all about them. I’m tickled to be here and be a part of it with them again. Nobody knew if that was gonna happen or not this year.”
Lincoln Valentine provided a quick jolt, sending the fifth pitch of the game over the wall in left-center to give Utica a 1-0 lead.
“We missed him like crazy,” Valentine said. “We just came off of an eight-game winning streak. Then we just lost to Watkins. So we were looking to bounce back. Having Coach Sandman here — we’re super-pumped.”
Sandman intently watched every play from the dugout. He did not handle the fungo bat for fielding warmups in the pregame, nor did he coach third base during the game.
At one point, he slammed his hand on a metal chair when a ball dropped between two fielders.
Still, the 10-4 win was everything a coach could ask for. Valentine and Nolan Bennett had three hits each. Valentine scored three runs and drove in two, while Bennett scored twice and had one RBI.
Collin McCullough hit a two-run double in the top of the sixth to help Utica expand its lead again after Elgin scored three times in the previous inning.
McCullough struck out the side with two runners on in the bottom of the sixth to stall another Rocket rally.
“It feels great to finally get him back,” McCullough said. “Just finally getting him back and having him fully capable of doing what he can do with this program … it’s been awesome.”
Roman Gamble had two hits including an RBI triple. He also scored a run.
Mason Grant struck out six batters and allowed three unearned runs over 4 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
Ryan Coolbaugh had two hits and an RBI to lead the Rockets.
