Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Bark River’s then-player and now-manager Matt Richer Jr. slides safely into third base as Escanaba’s Brett Schlenvogt (20) waits for the ball July 5, 2019 at Bark River.

BARK RIVER — Like most other local teams, the Bark River Bucs Under-19 baseball team has been going through some changes due to the restrictions placed to mitigate COVID-19.

Last season’s manager, Matt Richer, was planning to coach again, but due to MHSAA restrictions on coaching student-athletes, he has handed the position off to his son, Matt Richer Jr.

“I’ve coached third and first base — pretty much all of those — but I’ve never taken over a team before,” the new coach said. “(Coaching) is interesting, though. It’s a nice way to stay in the game.”

The turnout for the team has been about the same as previous years, and Richer Jr. is excited about the team they’ve put together.

“It’s been good so far. All the kids are excited to be out playing baseball,” Richer Jr. said. “We have a lot of kids that played for Bark River and North Central, and I think we’re going to have a fun season.”

There are some familiar faces from around the area on the roster. Mid Peninsula’s Zach Englund, who hit 1,000 career points in his senior year for basketball, will be a starter for the team.

“Zach Englund will probably be starting the first game,” Richer Jr. said. “He’s one of our better players, so we’re excited to see what he can do.”

Soon to be senior Nick Javurek of Bark River-Harris has also found a place on the team.

“Nick Javurek will have a big impact from shortstop and pitching,” Richer Jr. said. “We’re looking for a big jump from him.”

Johnnie Robinette of Bark River will reprise his role as catcher for the Bucs, and Richer Jr. expects to get good mileage out of him.

“We’re looking for a big summer out of him from behind and at the plate,” Richer Jr. said.

The Bucs also face the same struggles as other local teams with the loss of the spring sports season.

“Usually by the time (American) Legion happens, they’ve had a whole high school season, so we just have to take some time getting their arms all ready,” Richer Jr. said. “Usually they’ve starting throwing by December, so we kind of have to slow down and have a pitch limit on them. For the first game we had, we had a 50 pitch limit as the max. We’ve just been having to manage that a lot more.

“Everyone wants to play this summer because everyone just wants to be able to do something since we haven’t been able to for a few months.”

Bark River has been tested more than most locally, kicking off the season with a 12-4 loss at Iron Mountain on June 10, but it’s only shown the Bucs what they need to work on as the season progresses.

“(The players) were all upset that they couldn’t have their high school season, so I think they’re focused on doing as well as they can for this season and hoping that it can carry over into next season,” Richer Jr. said. “I think they’re pretty pumped up about it this season.”

The Bucs face off against Niagara, Wis. today at 6 p.m. at the Bark River Township fields.

The schedule:

June 16 — Niagara, Wis.

June 19 — at Escanaba

June 20 — Copper Country at Escanaba

June 21 — Menominee, Iron Mountain at Wells

June 24 — at Marquette

June 26 — at Escanaba

June 30 — at Gladstone

July 7 — at Menominee

July 8 — Iron Mountain

July 13 — at Niagara, Wis.

July 14 — Escanaba

July 16 — Menominee

July 21 — Marquette

July 24-26 — League tournament at Iron Mountain