Finals Pitchers' Duel Falls Foley's Way
June 17, 2017
By Andy Sneddon
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Casey Peterson had allowed one run all season.
That total doubled with one swing of the bat.
Mason Minzey’s two-out, two-run triple in the fifth inning was the difference Saturday as Madison Heights Bishop Foley defeated Traverse City St. Francis, 3-0, in the Division 3 Final at McLane Baseball Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.
It was the fourth championship for Foley (25-12-1), all coming since 2011.
Peterson, a junior left-hander and one of a plethora of stingy hurlers on the Gladiators roster, entered the tournament with a miniscule 0.15 earned run average. St. Francis pitching had recorded seven consecutive shutouts – and 17 (the fourth-highest total in MHSAA history) on the season -- leading up to Friday’s 3-2 Semifinal win over Schoolcraft.
Peterson was cruising in the fifth inning when he surrendered back-to-back singles with one out to Evan Ludwick and Payton Schuster, and then Minzey’s hard-hit triple that went directly over the head of St. Francis’ centerfielder.
“I told our assistant coach, Tom (Schuster), ‘This game is going to be won on a mistake,’” second-year Foley coach Greg Fettes said. “The centerfielder lost his footing, and that’s what wins us the baseball game. Between two great teams, that’s what’s going to happen. One mistake is going to cost you a game.”
Minzey’s triple broke a scoreless tie, the Ventures added another run on a Justin Campbell RBI single, and then Campbell did the rest on the mound. The lanky 6-foot-4 senior lefthander, who has signed with Tulane, struck out eight and did not walk a batter in firing the complete-game shutout.
“That’s Campbell in a nutshell right there,” Fettes said. “That’s the guy you’re going to get day in and day out. That’s why I love when he’s on the mound. I’m going to be extremely sad to see him go, but I know he’s off to bigger and better things at Tulane and I know they’re getting one heck of a pitcher.”
Peterson gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked only one in a strong effort.
While the Ventures eventually got to Peterson, however, Campbell seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. Four of St. Francis’ six hits came over the first three innings, and Campbell retired nine in a row at one point, a streak that ended when the Gladiators put two on with two out in the ninth inning to bring the potential tying run to the plate.
Campbell induced a game-ending fly ball.
“Very well-played game,” fourth-year St. Francis coach Tom Passinault said. “We knew going in that we’d have trouble scoring runs on the Campbell kid, so every pitch, every hit, every run was magnified. They strung things together at the right time, and we didn’t.
“Really proud of our kids. Been a great year.”
Conner Sweet had two hits to lead St. Francis, which finished with a school-record 38 victories against four losses.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bishop Foley pitcher Justin Campbell delivers during Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) A Ventures hitter gets down a bunt.
Hopman Takes Swing at School, State Records
May 28, 2019
By Tim Robinson
Special for Second Half
Zach Hopman has heard of Drew Henson, of course.
You can’t play for Brighton and not see Henson’s list of accomplishments during a stellar baseball career at Brighton a generation ago.
But Hopman, a left-handed hitter who plays right field and pitches for the Bulldogs, didn’t know until after he hit four home runs during a doubleheader May 21 that he was within shouting distance of Henson’s Brighton school record for home runs in a season.
The four homers Hopman hit on a cold, blustery day during a sweep of Ann Arbor Pioneer gave him 18 for the season, putting him within reach of the Brighton mark of 23, set during Henson’s junior year in 1997.
Only six players in state history have hit more homers in one season. Zach Fish of Richland Gull Lake set the record with 24 in 2011.
“The ball jumped off his bat in a way it doesn’t for a lot of guys,” Brighton coach Charlie Christner said. “It just takes off, and he’s been driving a lot of baseballs this season, and not just to right, but to all fields. It used to be that it was all pull, but this year he’s hitting gap to gap and driving the ball to right field.”
Hopman had six homers last season for the Bulldogs, but noticed an uptick in his power during summer ball.
He spent the winter working out with teammate Jack Krause when not participating in team offseason workouts.
“We would hit with the team twice a week,” Hopman said. “Jack and I would go every weekend, twice a weekend, to go hit at the Legacy Center. Sometimes when we got dismissed from school early, we would go and hit.”
That part of the routine has paid off, to be sure, but Hopman says he’s improved his approach at the plate, too.
“I think I’m seeing the ball a lot better,” he said. ‘I’m more selective with my pitches. That was a problem last year. I had trouble reading pitchers out of the pitcher’s hand. I think my swing is the same, but I haven’t really watched it to make a comparison.”
Hopman, who hits third for the Bulldogs, is part of the best hitting team (averaging .360 as a squad) in Christner’s seven seasons as Brighton coach.
“The guys in front of him have been getting on base,” he said. “Brendan Harrity and Jack Krause have been getting on a lot. And the guys behind him at 4-5-6 are all hitting at least .375. So you can do what you want to do to Zach (pitching-wise) but the guys behind him have picked it up, too.”
Hopman’s average has been around .500 all season, and his power numbers also have gotten him attention.
In that doubleheader against Pioneer, Hopman was 7-for-8 with the four homers and a triple. But a single proved memorable, too.
“My bat broke on one of my singles,” he said, grinning. “The knob fell off, and my hand was stinging for a solid inning.”
He’s not so bad on the mound, either. He pitched two innings of relief that Monday, with all six outs coming via strikeouts.
Hopman’s baseball roots run deep at Brighton. His older brothers, Carson and Trevor, both played for Brighton.
“They’ve been really supportive,” Zach said. “They come with me to hit at the high school on weekends, and they come to my games. It’s really nice that they’re here.”
His approach at the plate has been straightforward.
“I try to think middle,” he said. “A line drive up the middle. I don’t think about home runs, because then I’ll have a bad swing. I’m not trying to pull the ball any more. I don’t want to get into the home-run mentality.”
In other words, if the record comes, it comes.
And if it doesn’t, it still has been a senior season to remember for Zach Hopman.
PHOTOS: Brighton’s Zach Hopman has sharpened his swing to make a run at his school’s home run record set by Drew Henson. (Photos by Tim Robinson.)