First-Time Finalists Ride Pitching Power

By Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half

June 12, 2015

EAST LANSING – The winning pitchers in the Division 4 Semifinals went all seven innings and combined to give up just three hits on Friday at McLane Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.

A stoic Devin Comes gave up a single to the first batter, and that was all as the sophomore struck out six and walked one in leading Muskegon Catholic Central to a 4-1 victory over first-time semifinalist Ubly.

MCC (38-1-1) will play Centreville (29-1) for the title Saturday at 5 p.m. Both teams are in the Final for the first time.

Michael Kool tossed a two-hitter and struck out 10 as Centreville defeated Rudyard 2-1 in the other Semifinal.

Comes pitched sparingly as a freshman, but knew his role would increase this season. He’s 10-1 and one of a handful of quality pitchers on coach Steve Schuitema’s staff.

“We had talked,” Schuitema said. “If he threw strikes, we’d be OK. We could have played better defense. Zach Huston made some real good plays at second.

“(Comes) is so unflappable. He doesn’t get that from me. I’m a nervous wreck.”

MCC committed four errors, and even those mistakes couldn’t rattle Comes. Ubly scored its run in the fourth inning on a walk, an error and a ground out by Evan Block.

By that time, MCC had built a 4-0 lead, scoring twice in the first inning and two more runs in the third.

“That 2-0 lead relieves a lot of stress,” Comes said. “I still have to do my job.

“I’ve never been in this situation before. We have a bunch of guys who can throw. I just did my normal routine (to prepare). I just try to stay calm and throw first-pitch strikes.”

Nichols Holt’s two-run single gave the Crusaders a 2-0 lead in the first. Jacob Holt had an RBI ground out in the third inning and the fourth run scored on an error.

Zachary Winzer had three of MCC seven hits. Anthony Woodard had two hits and a walk.

Jeffrey Wright pitched well for Ubly (22-8), but didn’t receive the run support.

“Every coach dreams of playing in a championship game,” Ubly coach Jim Becker said. “We were excited, but we’re also down we weren’t able to get there. We overachieved. I expected us to be .500. All along all we wanted was to win a district.”

Click for the box score.

Centreville 2, Rudyard 1

Kool, a junior right-hander, pitched a no-hitter in the Quarterfinal on Tuesday, 3-0 victory over Climax-Scotts. He retired the first 13 batters on Friday before Owen Mills singled.

Kool struck out 10 and walked two, both in the sixth inning, when Rudyard touched him for a run.

Despite his impressive performance, Kool remained humble.

“I just play baseball,” he said. “It’s not me. It’s the team. I felt good. This is the highlight of my career.

“We’re still making history for Centreville. We’re in the state final.”

Centreville took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Kool scored on a throwing error. Nick Weber scored what turned out to be the winning run when Jalen Brown singled him home with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Rudyard (30-5) set a school record for victories in a season and was making its third MHSAA Semifinal appearance.

The Bulldogs scored in the top of the sixth inning after Kool walked the first two batters. A sacrifice bunt moved both up, and James Rosebrock singled home Cody Coffey. But Kool struck out the last two batters and retired the side in order in the seventh.

When asked if he thought about removing his ace during the tense sixth, coach Mike Webster said, “I went with my instincts and left him in.”

Webster will turn 27 on Saturday, and he said, “The kids gave me the best birthday of my life.”

Travis Myers went the distance and took the loss for Rudyard. This was coach Ron VanSloten’s last game, as he will retire after 22 seasons to spend more time with his family. He built a career record of 444-186-4. 

“We had a couple of key at bats today,” he said. “(Kool) is a good dude. Except for that one inning, he comes right at you.”

Click for the box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Devin Comes prepares to deliver a pitch during Friday’s Division 4 Semifinal win. (Middle) A Centreville player crosses the plate for one of his team’s two runs.

Thankful for Lifesavers Who Rushed to His Aid, Sanders Aims to Officiate Again

By Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com

January 14, 2025

Doug Sanders sat quietly thinking about how to best describe what he went through the day after Thanksgiving at Monroe Jefferson High School. 

Southeast & BorderFinally, he just said it. 

“Basically, I died twice,” he said, almost apologetically. 

Sanders, 56, was officiating a boys varsity basketball game between Petersburg-Summerfield and Jefferson when he collapsed. First responders who were in attendance quickly got to Sanders and began performing life-saving procedures. 

Responders performed chest compressions. Twice they used a defibrillator to shock him.  He regained consciousness once only to inform the responders they were hurting his chest, then his heart stopped again. 

When he left Jefferson that night on a stretcher, he was alert. 

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my 24 years coaching,” Summerfield coach Phil Schiffler said. “I’ve seen gruesome things, compound fractures and things, but never someone pass like that, especially someone who was an official, in charge of the game. 

“Thank God for the first responders there that night.”

Petersburg residents Matt LaRocca and Aaron Myshock were the first to assist Sanders on the court. Others helped as well, including Summerfield athletic director Kelly Kalb, former Summerfield athlete Brendan Dafoe, a nurse; and Angela Prush, who works at Monroe County Community College as a clinical educator in the respiratory therapy program. Jefferson athletic director Alyssa Eppler helped on the scene as well.

“There was no hesitation,” Kalb said. “As soon as Doug went down, Matt and Aaron took off to the court and got to Doug. Everyone played a role. It was a great collaboration."

Bradley is in uniform for a baseball game. Kalb said the MHSAA this year implemented a new policy requiring schools to have an Emergency Action Plan in the event of this very type of emergency. That plan, she said, definitely helped both schools as they responded.

“We lost him a couple of times,” she said. “It was scary.”

Sanders knew something was wrong during the game. Moments before falling to the floor he called over one of his officiating partners, Steve Rechsteiner, and said something was wrong. He asked him to get him some water and said he felt light-headed.

“I said, ‘Help me,’” Sanders said. Moments later, he went to the floor.

As responders attended to Sanders, officials from both schools cleared the gymnasium of spectators and players, and the game was called. Players and fans left the gymnasium that night unsure of the events that had just unfolded in front of them.

“It’s amazing how it all happened,” said Sanders, who has been a registered MHSAA official for more than 30 years. “If I would have been driving or anywhere else when it happened, I may not be here today to talk about it.”

Sanders has had a history of heart problems, and those run in his family. About four years ago, he had open-heart surgery.  Officiating another game a few nights before the incident at Jefferson, he had collapsed during a timeout. He was under doctor’s care but felt well enough to return to the court after enjoying Thanksgiving with his family. 

The game between Summerfield and Jefferson went into the fourth quarter. That’s when Sanders began to feel something was wrong.

“I am so blessed and grateful to be where the right people were with me,” Sanders said. “I had the right people there at the right time.”

After being transported to a nearby hospital in Monroe, he was sent to another in Toledo. He spent several days in the hospital undergoing heart tests and procedures. He went home for recovery and recently started attending basketball games in the area again.

“People have been so nice through all of this,” he said. “I’ve gotten messages and cards and calls and texts from people all over the place, people I don’t even know. A lot of the officials that I’ve worked with have reached out to me. It’s really a close-knit group.”

Thankfully, his heart is improving.

Sanders is a 1987 graduate of Ottawa Lake Whiteford.  He got his start as a referee for youth basketball at Whiteford Elementary School. Then-athletic director John Flynn encouraged him to get his MHSAA registration, and helped him get it. Soon after, Flynn was assigning him middle school games.

Bradley makes a call behind the plate during a Monroe County Fair youth softball tournament game at least a decade ago.Over the years, Sanders began umpiring baseball and added refereeing football a few years ago. 

He loves sports and being close to the game. 

“That’s why I do it,” he said. “I wanted to be a basketball official because I enjoy working with the student-athletes. I like the exercise, especially during the wintertime. Outside it’s snowy and wet, and this was a way to get out and do something.”

He’s busiest during basketball season where he is assigned as many as four or five games a week. In 2022, he officiated a boys Semifinal game at the Breslin Center. He rarely slows down or takes nights off.

Since the incident, Sanders has been going through a series of tests on his heart and has had an ICD – or implantable cardioverter defibrillator – installed in his chest. An elementary school teacher in Toledo, he expects to return to work soon. 

He’s met some of the first responders who helped save him that night at Jefferson but still isn’t sure just how many people played a role. He’s grateful the district had a defibrillator nearby – and especially that people were there who knew how to use it.

Schiffler said people just sprang into action, like they were trained to do.

“I was shook. I’m not going to lie,” he said. “The people who were trained in that knew just what to do.”

LaRocca and Myshock were there watching their sons play on the Summerfield team. Dafoe, who played sports at Summerfield and with Sanders as his referee and umpire on a number of occasions, has a brother on the varsity team.

Sanders is tentatively scheduled to referee a game at Adrian Lenawee Christian on Monday, Jan. 20. He can’t wait to shake the rust off, put on the striped shirt and blow his whistle. He knows there will be eyes on him throughout the game.

“I’ve had so many people tell me, ‘Take the rest of the winter off, don’t come back too early,’” Sanders said. “I want to get back out there. Something tells me in my heart and soul that I’m ready. I had my stress test, and I did well. Am I ready? I want to say yes. I think so. Only time will tell.”

Doug DonnellyDoug 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 DougDonnelly@hotmail.com with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTOS (Top) MHSAA official Doug Sanders monitors the action during a 2022 Division 4 Semifinal between Wyoming Tri-unity Christian and Genesee Christian. (Middle) Bradley is in uniform for a baseball game. (Below) Bradley makes a call behind the plate during a Monroe County Fair youth softball tournament game at least a decade ago. (Middle photo courtesy of Doug Sanders. Below photo by Kim Brent, courtesy of the Monroe News.)