D2 Baseball: Memories Pay Off in Motivation
June 15, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Grand Rapids Christian’s line-up returned nearly intact this season after finishing runner-up in Division 2 a year ago.
And every player on the field after that 4-1 loss remembers St. Clair piling on each other in celebration of the ultimate championship.
On Saturday, the Eagles will get another chance to do the same.
Junior Alex VandeVusse and senior Kurt Hoekstra combined for a three-hitter Friday as Grand Rapids Christian advanced again with a 4-0 Semifinal win over Dearborn Divine Child at Bailey Park.
“This was always our goal,” VandeVusse said. “Last year, we remember looking and seeing St. Clair partying on the field and enjoying it, and we knew we wanted that. We were looking forward to this. We knew our goal, knew we could do it, and we came to this game ready.”
Grand Rapids Christian (35-5), ranked No. 2, will take on No. 3 Bay City John Glenn in Saturday’s 3:30 Final. Neither has won an MHSAA title; the Eagles have finished runners-up twice, and John Glenn will be making its first Final appearance.
The Eagles patiently chipped away at Divine Child (22-16), scoring one run each in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Falcons senior Justin Chandler struck out four and gave up only six hits, but they were spread among five Grand Rapids Christian hitters. Senior infielder Taylor Pruis had two and scored a run.
VandeVusse gave up three hits and struck out two before Hoekstra came on to get the final four outs on 14 pitches. Click for a full box score.
“We’re one away,” Eagles coach Brent Gates said. “We didn’t want to come here for this game. We’re here to win this whole thing.”
Bay City John Glenn 6, St. Joseph 5 (8 innings)
Senior centerfielder Aaron Martin scored on junior Zach Olszewski’s single in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the Bobcats in a championship game for the first time.
John Glenn (35-7) also needed an earlier rally after falling behind 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Senior third baseman Brendan Seymour had three RBI and drove in a run, and senior leftfielder Jack Frederick had three hits. Olszewski went the distance on the mound to get the win, striking out eight.
Senior centerfielder Joseph Fratzke and sophomore third baseman Anthony Montoya each had two hits for St. Joseph (32-10). Both were among five pitchers used by the Bears. Click for a full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Christian's Kurt Hoekstra fires a pitch as he closes out the Eagles' win over Dearborn Divine Child. (Middle) Bay City John Glenn's Zach Olszewski threw all eight innings of his team's Semifinal win over St. Joseph.
Flashback 100: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run
November 8, 2024
The MHSAA 11-player Football Playoffs have awarded 332 Finals champions over their first 49 seasons, and the total will grow by eight later this month.
However, only 22 of those titles have been claimed by teams from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And of those, just one came in the state’s largest division.
That honor belongs to Escanaba, which won the Class A title in 1981, marking the first and only time a U.P. team has claimed the crown in either Division 1, Class A, or Class AA.
The 1981 Escanaba team, coached by the legendary Jerry Cvengros – who would later be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame – was led by Kevin Tapani. A dynamic two-way player, Tapani starred at both quarterback and safety. The Eskymos finished the season undefeated at 12-0, outscoring opponents by a combined 345-67. They shut out six opponents and defeated Fraser 16-6 in the title game at the Pontiac Silverdome.
While Tapani excelled in football, his true passion was baseball. He was a standout in high school and went on to become a four-year starting pitcher at Central Michigan University. In 1986, Tapani was selected by the Oakland A’s in the second round of the MLB Draft. He went on to enjoy a successful 13-year career in the majors, earning a 143-125 record, with a 16-9 season in 1991 when he helped lead the Minnesota Twins to a World Series title.
In recognition of his athletic achievements, Tapani was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and named one of the Minnesota Twins' 50 all-time greatest players.
The 22 U.P. teams to win an MHSAA 11-player football championship:
1975 – Ishpeming – Class C
1975 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1976 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1979 – Ishpeming – Class C
1979 – Norway – Class D
1980 – Munising – Class C
1980 – Norway – Class D
1981 – Escanaba – Class A
1983 – St. Ignace – Class D
1992 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class DD
1993 – Kingsford – Class B
1993 – Iron Mountain – Class C
1997 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class D
1998 – Menominee – Class BB
2000 – Iron Mountain – Division 7
2002 – Negaunee – Division 6
2006 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Crysal Falls Forest Park – Division 8
2012 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2013 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2015 – Ishpeming – Division 7
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 1: Flashback 100: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Flashback 100: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba's 1981 Class A championship team, Tapani is in the second row, fourth from the right (#18). (Middle) Kevin Tapani from his Escanaba Wall of Fame Plaque. (Photos courtesy of Escanaba High School, and the MHSAA archives.)