ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Nate Beimel has this on his older brother:
A year ago last week, the younger Beimel and cousin Tim helped St. Marys to a 3-2 victory over Clearfield for the District 9 Class AAAA baseball title. The family was instrumental to to the win: Tim twice scored the go-ahead run — by stealing home and scoring all the way from second on a throwing error. Nate allowed just one run on three hits while striking out eight in 5 ⅔ innings.
The championship was the first for the Dutch since 2000, snapping an incredible streak of eight straight seasons with a title game loss at varying classification levels, including all four years (2014-17) with Michael Beimel.
That put the official district title count among the siblings at Nate 1, Michael 0.
If he’s so inclined, Nate could spend the next two months, in person, reminding his brother of this fact. Because for the first time in their eight-year history, the Olean Oilers have siblings on the team at the same time, with Nate, a rising collegiate freshman, joining Michael, one of the top returning players from last year’s New York Collegiate Baseball League championship series runners-up.
He’s unlikely to do so, however.
There has been (mostly) nothing but love between the brothers since they began playing baseball together as children. Plus, the younger of the two knows that Michael wouldn’t hesitate to put him in his place.
“It’s usually just going at each other to push each other to do better,” Nate said of the rivalry aspect between the two. “And then whenever we’re playing together, and I do something he doesn’t like, he for sure lets me know about it.”
In true younger brother fashion, Nate has seemingly always tagged along with Michael in the sport they love most.
He followed his older brother up through the youth ranks in Elk County. They were teammates for two years, in Nate’s freshman and sophomore campaign, at St. Marys, where they helped the Dutch to a pair of D-9 final appearances.
On the heels of his sophomore year at St. John Fisher, Michael may have thought he’d finally rid himself of his pesky younger sibling. But here they were Monday, side-by-side at Fred Handler Park in their first practice together as Oilers teammates, preparing for tomorrow’s season-opener at Niagara.
“No, it’s good,” said Michael, with a laugh, when asked how he felt about having to keep an eye on his brother this summer. “He hasn’t gone to school yet, so (I’ll be) kind of teaching him the ropes. It’s good to have him.”
Said Nate of playing alongside Michael once more: “It’s just nice to be back with him for another year. It could be our last year (together); if we happen to have another, who knows? It’s just nice to have him behind the dish because there’s nobody more reliable behind there than him.”
And that’s an indication of just how strong the baseball relationship is between the former D-9 standouts:
They’re not just teammates, they’re battery mates.
The Beimels, by nature, have long been in step with one another.
Part of that is the simple essence of the pitcher-catcher rapport: If a hitter fouls a pitch straight back, Michael, naturally, is going to call for something off-speed on the following delivery. But the bigger component is the camaraderie they share as brothers. They’re hoping it’s a bond that will lead to success when they share the Bradner Stadium field together this summer.
Michael: “We’re just always on the same page; with our pitches, where we’re going to put it.”
Nathan: “I know what he’s thinking and he knows what I’m thinking at all times.”
Michael: “We’re best friends. We’ve played together since we could walk basically. I’ll know what’s on for him because I’ve been catching him his whole life.”
Ultimately, the two will travel far different trails in their collegiate careers.
Michael, as a sophomore this spring, became the starting catcher for Division III powerhouse St. John Fisher in Rochester, helping the Cardinals to a 29-14 record and within one game of the NCAA Tournament. Nate is set to join Division I Columbia in the fall, choosing the Lions, in part, for the big-city lifestyle he wanted to try, a decision that denotes his prowess both as a baseball player and a student.
Before they go their separate ways, however, they have goals for June and July.
Michael, who hit .340 last season, second-best among Oilers who played at least 20 games, hopes to lead Olean back to the NYCBL championship series while simultaneously showing the way for his brother.
“We like to have fun,” he acknowledged, “but when we get to the field, we want to play, we want to win. We all want to be here, we all love the game, and it’s good for him to see that … a winning team before he goes to school.”
Nate, who figures to be one of coach Brian O’Connell Jr.’s starting pitchers this year wants to help put the Oilers, who topped Niagara and Rochester in the Western Division playoffs last year before being swept by Onondaga in the finals, over the top.
Nate: “I just think I can do what I can to help the team win and the rest will take care of itself.”
Michael: “I think we’re going to be a powerhouse this year.”
(J.P. Butler, Bradford Publishing Company group sports editor, can be reached at jbutler@oleantimesherald.com)
