Baseball Finals: Here Comes the Hit Parade
June 14, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
More than half of the teams in this weekend's MHSAA Baseball Finals field will play their first Semifinals ever Friday at Battle Creek's Bailey Park – including three teams each in Divisions 1 and 2.
But will one also win its first championship? That's a tougher question to answer, especially with reigning Division 3 champ Madison Heights Bishop Foley and Division 4 winner Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett also back and looking like favorites again.
Below is this weekend's schedule, followed by a look at each of the 16 teams that will be playing. Tickets cost $7 per round or $15 for an all-tournament ticket that includes admission to softball games. All Finals also will be streamed live online at MHSAA.tv and FoxSportsDetroit.com.
Semifinals - Friday
Division 1
Warren DeLaSalle vs. Howell - Morrison Field, Noon
Hudsonville vs. Saline - Nichols Field, 1 p.m.
Division 2
St. Joseph vs. Bay City John Glenn - C.O. Brown Stadium, 2 p.m.
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Grand Rapids Christian - Morrison Field, 3 p.m.
Division 3
Saginaw Nouvel vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley - Nichols Field, 4 p.m.
Mancelona vs. Lansing Catholic - C.O. Brown Stadium, 5 p.m.
Division 4
GPW University Liggett vs. Rudyard - Nichols Field, 10 a.m.
Muskegon Catholic Central vs. Decatur - C.O. Brown Stadium, 11 a.m.
Finals - Saturday
Division 4 - 9:30 a.m.
Division 1 - 12:30 p.m.
Division 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Division 3 - 6:30 p.m.
Statistics below are through teams' Regional tournaments. (Click for links to brackets and scores.)
Division 1
HOWELL
Record/rank: 30-10, unranked
Coaches: Jason Ladd and Mike Weatherly (first seasons)
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: RF sr. Brandon Risacher (.440, 16 2B, 24 SB), P sr. Josh Vyletel (14-2, 1.92 ERA), CF sr. Greg Cauley (.396, 19 RBI).
Outlook: The Highlanders are making their first trip to the MHSAA Semifinals, but have seen plenty of strong competition on the way with wins over No. 1 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, No. 3 Northville and formerly ranked Holt. Every starter but one is hitting at least .325.
HUDSONVILLE
Record/rank: 31-5, No. 6
Coach: Dave Van Noord, 18th season (403-177)
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Red
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: 2B sr. Brandon Cable (.461, 29 RBI, 10 SB), P sr. Blake Hibbitts (9-0, 1.33 ERA, 63 K in 52.7 IP), 1B sr. Hunter Prince (.387, 13 2B, 28 RBI).
Outlook: Hudsonville also is making its first trip to the Semifinals, and has the luxury of multiple aces to throw at the competition this weekend. The 6-foot-6 Hibbitts has emerged this fall, and pairs with returning all-stater Tyler Baar (8-2, 2.41 ERA) for an outstanding one-two punch.
SALINE
Record/rank: 30-10, No. 9
Coach: Scott Theisen, 20th season (510-213)
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference Red
Championship history: Four Division 1 runner-up finishes (most recently 2010)
Players to watch: 1B/P sr. Justin Goike (.389, 39 RBI, 8-1, 1.21 ERA), SS sr. Austin Hauck (.345, 10 2B, 39 RBI), CF jr. Gage Hammond (.381, 9 3B, 19 SB).
Outlook: Saline is hoping to finish off its first title run after ending as runner-up in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Six more regulars hit at least .300, including freshman designated hitter Trent Theisen (.386). Senior Brent Vaccaro and sophomore Michael Hendrickson both also had won six games on the mound entering this week, both with sub-2.00 ERAs for the season.
WARREN DELASALLE
Record/rank: 19-22-1, unranked
Coach: Matt Cook, second season (38-41-1)
League finish: Fifth in Detroit Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Three MHSAA championships (most recently 2009)
Players to watch: P/1B/3B sr. Kevin Carroll (.333, 25 RBI, 6-2, 2.00 ERA), 1B jr. Cole Clifton (.389, 12 2B, 39 RBI), CF sr. Reed Carnagie (.300, 31 RBI).
Outlook: DeLaSalle likely will be considered the surprise of this weekend’s field, but consider a few things. The Pilots have a championship history, with two of their three titles coming over the last 12 seasons. And they play in the Detroit Catholic League, which featured top-ranked Brother Rice and annually is one of the most competitive in the state.
Division 2
BAY CITY JOHN GLENN
Record/rank: 34-7, No. 3
Coach: Jeff Hartt, 28th season (601-316)
League finish: John Glenn does not play in a league.
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: IF sr. Chase Krager, P jr. Zach Olszewski. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Bay City John Glenn got Coach Hartt his 600th win in the Regional final, and now has made it to the Semifinals for the first time. Krager and Olszewski were all-state second-team picks last season and are two of five seniors on the team. All of them start.
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Record/rank: 22-15, unranked
Coach: Tony DeMare, 13th season (357-138)
League finish: Tied for second in Detroit Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recently 2010)
Players to watch: SS sr. Randy Kuzdak (.348, 23 RBI), 2B sr. Justin Williams (.369, 24 RBI), 1B jr. Zack Schmidtke (.342, 21 RBI, 5-5, 2.55 ERA).
Outlook: Divine Child has won four of the last eight Division 2 championships, and like Warren DeLaSalle above plays a tough brand of competition – seven of those losses came against foes that either were ranked or made the Semifinals as well. Senior Justin Chandler (6-3, 2.25 ERA) likely will draw Friday’s start and is one of four pitchers with at least four wins.
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 34-5, No. 2
Coach: Brent Gates, fifth season (133-44)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent White
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up in 2011 and 2005.
Players to watch: IF/P sr. Kurt Hoekstra (.492, 6 3B, 41 RBI), P sr. David VanVliet (7-0, 0.95 ERA, .328), IF sr. Taylor Pruis (.369, 9 2B, 33 RBI, 26 SB).
Outlook: All but one starter from last season’s MHSAA Final line-up is back for Grand Rapids Christian, and eight starters are hitting .325 or better. Depth also is on the Eagles' side – nine pitchers have won games this season and combined for a 2.13 ERA, and Hoekstra is 3-0 with four saves.
ST. JOSEPH
Record/rank: 32-9, No. 10
Coach: Eric Danapilis, fourth season (110-46)
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: OF sr. Jacob Fratzke (.330, 46 R, 31 RBI), P soph. Charles Fleenor (7-0, 0.95 ERA, .326), 3B soph. Anthony Montoya (.458, 17 2B, 51 RBI).
Outlook: This is St. Joseph’s second trip to the Semifinals, and first since 1981. Six seniors start for the Bears, with Fratzke and shortstop Nick Lawrence both earning all-state first-team selections last season. St. Joseph edged No. 1 Richland Gull Lake 6-5 in the Regional semifinal on the way to Battle Creek.
Division 3
LANSING CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 30-6, unranked
Coach: Mike Scott, fourth season (73-58-3)
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference White
Championship history: Class C champion 1996.
Players to watch: C/P sr. Mike DeClarke (.368, 22 RBI, 6-0, 1.70 ERA), CF jr. Adam Babcock (.449, 39 R, 31 SB), P sr. Dillon Rush (10-1, 0.52 ERA, .406, 33 RBI).
Outlook: Scott has built the Cougars back up from a nine-win season in 2009 to its third District title under him and first trip to the Semifinals since 1997. Lansing Catholic opened this season with a sweep over Semifinalist Saginaw Nouvel Catholic and beat No. 7 Parchment in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. First baseman Jimmy Maher rounds out a small but talented senior class.
MADISON HEIGHTS BISHOP FOLEY
Record/rank: 36-3, No. 1
Coach: Buster Sunde, fourth season (132-23)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League AA
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2011, Class B runner-up 1990.
Players to watch: C sr. Brett Sunde, 3B jr. Billy Malak. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Graduating four all-staters after last season hasn’t slowed the Ventures, whose losses were to Division 1 Lake Orion and Detroit Catholic Central, and Allen Park Cabrini. Brett Sunde has signed with Western Michigan University, but also was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round of last week’s Major League draft.
MANCELONA
Record/rank: 29-5, No. 10
Coach: Jim VanWagoner, ninth season (177-85)
League finish: First in Ski Valley Conference
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: P/IF sr. Craig Conway (.460, 16 2B, 32 RBI, 14-1, 1.79 ERA, 106 K in 85 IP), CF jr. Wyatt Derrer (.414, 28 RBI, 45 SB, 34 R), C fr. Cole VanWagoner (.412, 25 R, 20 RBI).
Outlook: Mancelona is headed to the Semifinals for the second year in a row and the second time ever, but has been building toward this with four straight District and six straight league championships. The Ironmen look especially dangerous if they win Friday, with freshman Brandon Dingman (9-1, 2.22) also strong on the hill this season.
SAGINAW NOUVEL CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 29-9, unranked
Coach: Dave Horny, sixth season
League finish: Nouvel does not play in a league.
Championship history: Four MHSAA championships (most recently 2005), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: P sr. Joe Buchalski (.385, 12 2B, 26 RBI, 8-2, 0.54 ERA, 104 K in 52 IP), 1B sr. Josh Buchalski (.367, 10 SB, 6-0, 1.04 ERA, 76 K in 54 IP), LF sr. Mike Albosta (.367, 11 SB, 27 R).
Outlook: Nouvel might be unranked, but owns wins against Division 1 No. 4 Bay City Western and Division 2 No. 3 Bay City John Glenn among other larger opponents it faced this spring. The Panthers won their first Regional title since 2007 and have the pitching to finish this weekend with one more championship – junior Drew King also is 6-0 this season, with a 2.05 ERA.
Division 4
DECATUR
Record/rank: 34-6, No. 2
Coach: Ben Botti, 18th season (376-180)
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recently 2003), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: 3B sr. Stephen Botti (.322, 23 SB, 26 RBI, 8-2, 1.39 ERA), SS sr. Theodore Rufo (.514, 13 2B, 7 3B, 31 RBI, 38 SB), P sr. J.T. Kawaski (.328, 28 RBI, 9-1, 1.01 ERA, 81 K in 62.3 IP), 1B/P jr. Tim Cerven (9-0, 1.31 ERA, 94 K in 64 IP, .363, 34 R).
Outlook: This is Decatur’s first Semifinal appearance since 2003, which it finished with a second-straight MHSAA title. Botti, Rufo and Kawaski all were all-state first-teamers after last season’s run to the Quarterfinals, and they are only three of eight starters batting .320 or better.
GROSSE POINTE WOODS UNIVERSITY LIGGETT
Record/rank: 24-3, No. 1
Coach: Dan Cimini, ninth season (240-50)
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference
Championship history: Two MHSAA championships (most recently 2011), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Alexander Daar (15-0, 0.10 ERA, 153 K in 85 IP, .551, 38 RBI), 3B soph. Anthony Simon (.515, 26 RBI, 25 R), CF jr. Mark Evan Auk (.500, 33 R, 18 RBI, 4-2).
Outlook: University Liggett is three respectable losses from a perfect record – the Knights fell to Division 2 No. 5 Mount Pleasant, Semifinalist Dearborn Divine Child, and Division 1 Grosse Pointe North. Daar was an all-stater last season and has been nearly unhittable. Junior Connor Fannon also is a returning all-state first-teamer and is hitting .636 in limited at bats.
MUSKEGON CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 26-8, unranked
Coach: Steve Schuitema, fourth season (77-37)
League finish: Second in River Valley Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: SS sr. Connor Seymour (.443, 36 R, 8-2, 1.95 ERA, 70 K in 52.7 IP), 1B/P fr. Nick Holt (9-2, 1.63), CF sr. Jason Ribecky (.400, 11 SB, 31 RBI).
Outlook: Despite an 8-1 start, MCC lost two of four games at the end of the regular season. But the Crusaders rebounded quickly and beat No. 5 Beal City on the way to the Semifinals. Four seniors start, but so do four underclassmen. Ribecky also was the star of the boys basketball team that made that Finals weekend in March.
RUDYARD
Record/rank: 20-16, unranked
Coach: Ron VanSloten, 19th season (375-159-3)
League finish: Fifth in the Straits Area Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: C sr. Tyler Wilson (.495, 14 2B, 5 HR, 38 RBI, 20 SB), SS/P Brady VanSloten (.379, 38 R, 15 SB, 7-4, 1.75 ERA), 1B jr. Justin Kruger (.360, 20 RBI).
Outlook: Despite a fifth-place league finish and the graduation of two all-staters after last season, Rudyard is back at Bailey Park for the first time since 2007 and has won at least 20 games for the seventh straight season. After dropping four of their last eight regular-season games, the Bulldogs have won their postseason games by an average of 8.4 runs per.
PHOTO: Madison Heights Bishop Foley's Brett Kunde takes a swing during last season's Division 3 Final. Kunde will return to Bailey Park on Friday, and last week was drafted by the Oakland Athletics.
Sampson Goes 'All Out' for 3 Ida Teams
April 23, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
IDA – Clay Sampson knows only one speed, whether it’s on the football field, basketball court or baseball diamond – it’s full go, all the time.
“He has such a passion for the game, no matter what sport,” said his basketball coach, Jared Janssen. “As a coach, you preach all the time about giving it your all for 32 minutes. The thing is, with Clay, he did it. He was always going all out.”
Sampson’s career at Ida High School is winding down, and Bluestreak fans will be sad when he’s no longer putting on a uniform and representing the Class B Monroe County school.
Sports always have been part of his life. His parents were both multiple-sport athletes in high school, as was his older brother, now 21. His younger brother, 15, is following in the same footsteps.
“I played four sports when I was younger,” said Sampson, who is about 5-foot-7, 145 pounds. “I think that’s where it started. I’ve always loved the competition.”
His parents have a deep sports background as well. His mom, Carrie, was a three-sport athlete at Ida and part of the Bluestreaks’ Class C championship softball team in 1989. His dad, Steve, was a Class C champion hurdler and record holder for the Summerfield track & field team in 1990.
“He’s the middle boy of three, and he’s probably our spitfire,” said his mom. “He’s a competitor. He’s a debater, too. I’m sure his teachers would say that. He’s always up for a challenge. He’s always been an intense kid.”
In football, Sampson was Ida’s quarterback, helping the Bluestreaks win 16 games over the past two seasons and extend their consecutive playoff streak to six. He threw for more than 500 yards and ran for more than 400.
“As a mom, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know about him playing quarterback,’ but he just said, ‘Mom, I’m fine,’” said Carrie.
He’s been a four-year varsity baseball player. As a freshman, he drove in the winning run as Ida won the first District baseball title in school history.
Sampson made his biggest impact on the basketball court. He finished this winter as one of the top scorers in Monroe County at 20 points a game and, despite being Ida’s point guard, was third in the county in rebounding at more than seven boards a game. His shooting has improved every season, he said, and this year he made 44 3-pointers. He also knew how to draw a foul. He got to the free throw line 178 times, shooting better than 74 percent from the stripe.
“I was a sad 3-point shooter as a freshman,” Sampson said. “It’s something I worked on all through high school. This year I was better at it. I was able to use my ability to shoot from outside to draw defenders and get to the free throw line. I didn’t go out there and just chuck up 30 shots or something.
“Coach Janssen sat down with me before the season and told me that we needed a lot of scoring out of me. I knew I had to carry that load.”
Ida went just 1-20 during Sampson’s sophomore season but improved to nine wins the following year. This season, Janssen’s first, the Bluestreaks won 12 games, including back-to-back over Flat Rock and Carleton Airport, two of the three teams that shared the Huron League championship. The second of those wins, against Airport, gave Ida the District title. Sampson scored 28 in that game, including drilling 14 of 19 free throws.
“We started 0-2, but things changed after that,” Sampson said. “We had a lot of fun. No one expected us to win that many games or a District. It was great beating Dundee twice. I know my senior class had never done that, so that was awesome. Winning a District just put a great cap on the season.”
Sampson rarely came off the floor for Ida.
“A lot of people that play that way try and do too much,” Janssen said. “He always seemed to find that good medium. Everything he did helped the team, offensively and defensively. The pace he played at wasn’t too much.”
Sampson, who recently announced he would attend Glen Oaks Community College in Centreville and play basketball, said his parents never pushed sports on him or his brothers. He played in the recreation baseball leagues at Ida beginning in first grade and youth football through the community-sponsored team. He played on travel basketball teams from the time he was 10 years old.
“They introduced sports to me and my siblings, and it’s just always been part of our lives,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine not playing all of the sports that I played in. I don’t understand kids that just play one sport.
“Football is the No. 1 sport that shapes you. It’s a demanding sport. You have to be mentally and physically tough to go through a football season, let alone four. Basketball is probably my favorite, but football is a close second.”
No matter what sport Sampson plays, his family is a big part of it. In addition to his parents being at every game, his aunt, Connie Diesing, has been a strong supporter, sending texts before just about every game and being part of the community following his every play.
“I don’t think she’s ever missed a game,” Sampson said of his aunt.
Sampson is a Bluestreak through and through. The family lives in the house his grandfather grew up in.
“I think my mom is a little more competitive than my dad,” he said. “We joke about them winning state championships or holding records. It’s all in fun. My whole family is so supportive. It’s always reassuring that they have been there the whole time.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ida’s Clay Sampson directs this offense this winter. (Middle) Sampson (2) is hoisted by a teammate during a playoff win over Dearborn Heights Robichaud on Oct. 26. (Top photo by David E. Phillips; middle courtesy of the Ida football program.)