Big Bats Drive Portage Northern to 1st Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 15, 2019
EAST LANSING – Portage Northern has made a habit of getting on top of teams early this season.
There’s no secret to that success. The Huskies are just that good at the plate.
“We can all hit,” senior outfielder Tyler Helgeson said. “This is a great lineup, this is a great team, because if one guy is having an off day, you know that the whole team has your back.”
Pretty much everyone in the lineup had a good day Saturday as the Huskies pounded out 12 hits on their way to a 10-4 victory against Rockford in the MHSAA Division 1 Baseball Final at McLane Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University. The title is the first in Northern baseball history.
“It feels surreal – it hasn’t really hit me yet,” Hegelson said. “This is what we’ve all been working toward. This has been our goal for four years now, and to finally accomplish it, it’s very special.”
Saturday’s win was Northern’s 24th over its final 25 games of the season, with its only loss coming against Division 2 finalist Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in the final game of the regular season.
“This group of kids is just phenomenal,” Northern coach Chris Andrews said. “They’ve been a selfless team, they’ve worked like crazy – we do mental conditioning, we practice then they do weight training twice a week, and these guys never complain. They put in all the work, and they play for each other. It’s just awesome.”
It was the second trip to the Finals for the Huskies (39-7), who had finished runner-up in 2015. Several of those players, as well as other alumni, were on hand to watch Andrews lift the trophy for the first time.
“It feels amazing,” senior first baseman Cam French said. “All of us seniors, we came in with a big goal, and we worked our butts off every day. Bringing home the first state title ever definitely feels good, and I feel like everyone knows that we earned it, so I’m happy.”
French and Helgeson had the biggest hits for the Huskies, as French drove in two runs during a four-run first inning and Helgeson hit a three-run home run over the wall in right field to highlight a five-run fifth.
They each had three hits on the day, as did Zach Quinn. Nolan McCarthy, Greg Lapetina (RBI) and Gannon Andrews (two RBI) each added one hit, while Parker Brey and Malcom Gaynor each added an RBI.
A balanced lineup has been key for the Huskies all season, as seven players hit above .380 for the year, and that doesn’t include the leadoff hitter Helgeson, who hit .355 with 30 stolen bases and will play at Eastern Michigan University next year.
With four Rockford errors sprinkled in, it was more than enough for Northern to distance itself.
“They hit the ball well, and they put the bat on the ball,” Rockford coach Matt Vriesenga said. “We didn’t make a couple plays, and really when you’re playing against a team like Portage Northern, you have to make plays. They’ve hit the ball all year long. They’re a great team. If we make a couple of those plays, maybe it’s a one-run, two-run game, but they deserved to win.”
Xander Morris was the beneficiary of that run support, picking up the pitching win in a complete-game effort. The sophomore struck out four while allowing seven hits and one earned run.
“Xander Morris, he’s a sophomore, unflappable,” Chris Andrews said. “The kid just throws strikes. He’s got a wipeout curveball, he can throw it over for a strike. He’s an amazing kid. He’s planning on being a Navy SEAL, and with that effort, I wouldn’t doubt it.”
Rockford (28-10) scored two of its runs in the third inning to make the score 5-2 at the time, but never was able to get closer. A solo home run by Zach Schamp in the fifth inning gave the Rams some late life, and they threatened again in the sixth only to have that rally cut short by a Brey throw to the plate from right field to prevent a run and end the inning.
“There’s no quit in them – they battled and they keep battling until the end,” Vriesenga said. “You know they’re not going to take an at-bat off. That’s what we’ve talked about; you might go 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, and the next time up you hit a triple, but you have to keep your head up and you have to stay in the game. A kid like Zach Schamp, to come up in his third at-bat and hit a home run – super proud of him and the rest of the guys.”
Grant Martin led Rockford with two hits, while Joe Kelley, Cody Sterkenburg (RBI), Isaac Toole and Owen Cairns each had one.
PHOTOS: (Top) Portage Northern's Tyler Helgeson (7), Gannon Andrews (2), Zach Quinn (27) and Malcolm Gaynor celebrate during Saturday's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Andrews and a Rockford runner race to the plate.
Upton Hoists Beal City Back to Top of D4
June 16, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Don’t get Beal City senior Brett Upton wrong. He wants all the attention on himself – in the biggest of moments.
But he’s the first to deflect the credit to his teammates.
Take for example Saturday afternoon at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium. Upton pitched a gem, completely dominating Unionville-Sebewaing during a 10-0, six-inning victory in the MHSAA Division 4 championship game.
He deserved the lion’s share of the credit. No one could dispute that.
“It’s awesome. I embraced it. I feed off stuff like that,” said Upton, who struck out eight while walking just a pair. “I love big games, I love being the guy in situations like that. All the credit to my teammates, though, making me look a lot better than I really am. That’s for sure.”
The championship is the fourth in Beal City baseball history. The Aggies also won titles in 1993, 2009 and 2010. They were runners-up in 2013-14.
“I’m so happy for these kids,” Beal City coach Steve Pickens said. “This is what baseball is all about. When I see my kids do well, it’s like you put a dollar in and two dollars come out.
“They’ve been dedicated all year, and they work hard and that’s paid off.”
Beal City scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior Kollin Sharrar reached on a bunt single and scored on an RBI double by junior Keegan Haynes. The Aggies added another run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by junior Colby Berryhill, scoring Lucas Schumacher.
But the Aggies broke the game open – and closed it out – with eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Haynes and freshman Cameron Lynch each singled to center to get things rolling for their team. After junior Nate Wilson was intentionally walked to load the bases, senior Aaron Schafer drove in a pair to make it 4-0.
That was just the beginning for Beal City. One batter later, with the bases loaded, Berryhill drove in two more with a double. Upton then had a double of his own, scoring senior Lucas Schumacher to give his team a 7-0 lead. Haynes’ RBI single made it 9-0, and Wilson closed things out with an RBI single.
“I can’t even describe it right now. Four years, four years it took us to get here,” Upton said. “To finally finish it, oh my God. All the hours we’ve put in all winter, this senior corps as a group. It’s all paid off. We won our last high school game ever, can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Haynes finished 3 for 4 scoring twice and driving in a pair for Beal City (23-8). Schumacher also had three hits, scoring twice, while Berryhill finished with two hits and three RBI.
Pickens, in just his second year as head coach of the Aggies, spoke about the state of the baseball program in Beal City.
“The kids want to play baseball out there. That’s half the battle, getting them to play,” Pickens said. “I don’t have to do that, so now I can start at 202 instead of 101. By the time we get to the state tournament, here we are.”
Beal City beat Gaylord St. Mary, 7-3, in their Semifinal matchup Friday.
Unionville-Sebewaing (22-16) bested St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 5-1, to advance to Saturday’s championship game.
“When you get beat, you get beat. At the end of the day, it’s going to sting but you can live with that knowing you got beat by a good team. They’re a great team,” USA coach Tyler Bader said. “They pitched well, they defended well, they bunted well. I think we could have done some other things that would have made it a little tougher (for them). Anytime you get just one hit, it’s tough to win a game.”
Despite the loss, Bader said he was proud of his team.
“When you get this far into the tournament, you know the team in that other dugout is no slouch. We just couldn’t take advantage of our opportunities when we had guys in scoring position, to put a little pressure on them,” Bader said. “I told them before we went up on stage (to receive the runner-up trophy), ‘I know we’re bummed, we’re mad, but try and enjoy this because in a couple days we’re going to look back on this moment.’
“I know there are a lot of other schools and players out there that would love to swap places with us and be the loser in the state championship game.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Beal City raises its championship trophy Saturday. (Middle) Brett Upton delivers a pitch for the Aggies.