Bay City Western Ascends to 1st Final
June 14, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Bay City Western baseball coach Tim McDonald has had enough strong teams over 21 seasons to win 563 games.
Thursday night, he talked with his players about separating themselves from those previous teams by taking the program to its first MHSAA Final.
Riding the skilled left arm of senior Brett Adcock, top-ranked Western earned that opportunity by beating No. 4 Sterling Heights Stevenson 4-2 in their Division 1 Semifinal on Friday at Bailey Park.
The Warriors will face No. 6 Birmingham Brother Rice for the title at 9:30 Saturday morning.
“We knew we could make it this year,” said Adcock, a three-year varsity player who will throw next season at the University of Michigan. “It’s a great feeling to be able to get (McDonald) there, and to get us there, and to have a chance to win a state championship.”
McDonald – an All-America pitcher at Central Michigan University who was drafted by both the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics – brought teams to the Semifinals twice before. Both suffered six-run losses – 9-3 to Grosse Pointe North in 2006 and 6-0 to Saline in 2009.
Those teams and this one are three of eight he’s coached to at least 30 wins. But this team – made up of players who have been teammates or little league opponents since elementary school – is the first to eclipse the 40-win plateau. Western is 41-2.
Adcock said it’s because of an attitude instilled by his coach that keeps his players driving for more. McDonald credits “good, fundamental baseball” – aggressive base-running and clutch hitting that’s kept the Warriors from playing a bad game all spring.
Having a Division I prospect on the mound also doesn’t hurt. Adcock gave up three hits and struck out six in throwing a complete game and moving his personal record this season to 12-0.
Western scored first, in the top of the fifth inning, when senior rightfielder Brendan Taberski singled, stole second and later crossed the plate on a double steal after junior shortstop Seth Freed drew a throw by taking off for second from first.
Stevenson evened the score in the bottom of the inning, but the Warriors went ahead for good when senior catcher Grant Bridgewater singled in sophomore designated hitter Carson Eby in the sixth inning.
Titans senior Johno Rodriguez also threw well, allowing only four hits before leaving the game with one out in the sixth. Stevenson (28-9) scored its lone run when junior second baseman Dean Emanuele bunted home sophomore shortstop Riley McCauley.
“There’s been something special about this team all year, since day one,” McDonald said. “This team has separated themselves in every possible way, and hopefully we can put a pretty big exclamation mark on an incredible season.”
Birmingham Brother Rice 5, Howell 0
Brother Rice (32-8-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning and wouldn’t need more as junior Matt Ruppenthal threw a four-hit shutout, striking out five without walking a batter.
He also had three hits in four at bats and an RBI for the Warriors, who will play in their first MHSAA Final since winning a title in 2008.
Junior first baseman Randy Righter also was 3-for-4, scoring two runs and driving in one. Sophomore third baseman Alex Malzone drove in two runs.
Senior Tyler Bradner was one of four Highlanders to hit safely, and he also threw an inning and an out of relief.
Howell, ranked No. 5 entering the postseason, was playing in its second straight Semifinal and finished this spring 33-8.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bay City Western senior Brett Adcock fires a pitch on the way to a complete-game victory Friday. (Middle) Brother Rice sophomore Alex Malzone hits a drive and finished with two RBI in the Warriors' win over Howell. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Beal City Ace Closes Finals-Filled Career with Perfection in Repeat
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 15, 2024
EAST LANSING — Getting to pitch in a state championship game once is rare in itself. Doing so twice is even more improbable.
But three times during a career? Take a bow, Beal City senior Cayden Smith.
Two years ago, Smith pitched two innings of relief in a loss to Riverview Gabriel Richard. Last year, he allowed one run in a complete-game win over Plymouth Christian Academy.
Getting the ball again in a championship game Saturday, Smith saved the best for his last high school game and achieved something no pitcher had done before in a Final, throwing a perfect game in a 10-0 Beal City win over Norway that ended after five innings.
Smith, who will play for Central Michigan, struck out eight batters to earn his second-straight Finals win.
“Nerves are going to get to you every year,” Smith said. “It’s just who can overcome.”
Smith did more than that in a performance that reduced Beal City head coach Brad Antcliff to tears of joy after the game when describing it.
“That’s Cayden Smith,” Antcliff said. “The kid is a gamer. He wants the ball. He had all the command of his pitches today, and he pounded the zone. You have kids that have ‘it.’ I can’t tell you what ‘it’ is. But Cayden Smith has ‘it.’ He’s a bulldog.”
Beal City’s offense was also potent, starting when senior Jack Fussman singled home Smith for the first run in the bottom of the first inning.
Beal City (34-6) then grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI single with two outs by junior Owen McKenny.
The Aggies kept the pressure on in the third, scoring four times to take a 6-0 lead. Senior Lane Gross hit a two-run double to the gap in right-center, and then Smith helped his own cause with a two-run double that made it 5-0 Beal City. A walk with the bases loaded gave the Aggies a 6-0 advantage.
In the sixth inning, Beal City took an 8-0 lead on a two-run single by Fussman, and then completed the game via the run-differential rule when a single up the middle by senior Josh Wilson ended up scoring two runs with a Norway throwing error to home.
Fussman finished with four RBI for Beal City, which won its sixth Finals title in school history.
Even in defeat, Norway produced a terrific story.
The Knights (28-4-1) were attempting to become the first team from the Upper Peninsula to win a Finals title in baseball, and getting to the championship game was no small feat, especially after beating a team from the Catholic High School League, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, in a Semifinal.
But Norway simply ran into a buzzsaw in Smith and a Beal City team that was ranked No. 1 in the state for a reason.
“We’re going to cherish it forever,” Norway head coach Tony Adams said. “It was a heck of an accomplishment. We made school history, we made history for the Upper Peninsula, and today’s result isn’t going to diminish that. You can’t take that away.”
PHOTOS (Top) Beal City’s Cayden Smith (26) makes his move toward the plate during his team’s Division 4 championship win. (Middle) The Aggies' Jack Fussman gets under a throw home to score. (Below) A Beal City hitter lines up a pitch.