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Foley, Richard to Meet Again in D3 Final
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 15, 2018
EAST LANSING – It’s not the way the winning team would like to finish a game.
But all the same, Madison Heights Bishop Foley did win, and the Ventures will play for a second consecutive Division 3 title.
Bishop Foley led its Semifinal against Gladstone 6-0, then 7-1 after six innings Friday when the game got tight. The Ventures hit three batters in the seventh, and the Braves brought the tying run to the plate.
But sophomore Braden Mussat got the final out on strikes, and Bishop Foley held on for a 7-5 victory to advance again at McLane Stadium on Michigan State’s campus.
Bishop Foley (19-17-1) will play Detroit Catholic League rival Riverview Gabriel Richard for the title at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Bishop Foley and Richard do not play in the same division of the league, and the teams met once this season, in a league crossover, that Richard won 8-2.
For Bishop Foley, the sixth inning Friday was nearly as tenuous as the seventh, as Gladstone loaded the bases with one out. Starter Ethan Hoffman struck out the next two batters to maintain a six-run cushion.
First-year Bishop Foley coach Tim McEvoy went to the mound in the sixth to reassure Hoffman that everything was all right.
“I told him that this was his game,” McEvoy said. “It was a bit of a jam. He’s been there before.”
Hoffman was wild, yet effective. He walked six but allowed just two hits. His wildness might have contributed to his effectiveness. He said his fastball is consistently in the high 80s, but he had more to offer on this day.
“My curveball was working really well,” he said. “I was trying to keep them off balance. I was wild, but I kept them off balance with my off-speed stuff. They hadn’t really squared up on me all day.”
Bishop Foley scored in each of the first four innings. A three-run third featured a two-run double by Kenneth Germain.
Gladstone (32-5) got on the board in the fifth on a walk, an error and a ground out.
An RBI single by Ben Alderson in the bottom of the sixth inning pushed Bishop Foley’s lead back to six runs, when the game nearly turned upside down.
In the seventh, Carson Shea had a one-out single and Cody Frappier was hit by a pitch. Both moved up on a wild pitch before Mussat retired the next Braves batter. Consecutive hit batsmen forced in a run, and a wild pitch brought in Gladstone’s third. Ben Kelly’s two-run single made it 7-5, and Mussat ended the drama with a strikeout.
“I trust Braden,” McEvoy said. “Even if it got to 7-6, I would trust him.”
Gladstone left nine runners on base, five during the last two innings. The Braves put the first two runners on in the third, but a double play ended that threat.
“We had our opportunities,” Gladstone coach Don Lauscher said. “We had bases loaded a couple of times. They certainly gave us some opportunities. We didn’t get the big hit when we needed it. Their pitcher (Hoffman) was throwing heat and was a little erratic.”
Germain and catcher Mason Minzey each had two RBI for Bishop Foley. Minzey had a double, and his sacrifice fly was hit to the warning track in left center.
Clay Cole took the loss for Gladstone.
VIDEO: Bishop Foley jumps out to a 5-0 lead on this two-run double by Kenneth Germain.
Riverview Gabriel Richard 5, Schoolcraft 2
Trailing 2-0, Gabriel Richard (28-3) scored five runs on three hits in the sixth inning to advance.
The Eagles (22-12) took that 2-0 lead in the fifth inning on one hit, four walks and an error. Sophomore Cole Atkinson came on in relief of starter Frank Klamerus with the bases loaded and one out, and walked in the second run. He then got the last out on a ground ball to third.
“It was a close call on the walk, but I knew I had to throw strikes,” said Atkinson, who was called up from the junior varsity in late May. “I knew I had a good defense behind me. And I knew our offense would get going.
“I had to be a bulldog (when I came in). I just had to shut them down.”
Richard had four hits over the first five innings, but no base runner reached third base.
Kevin Tuttle started the Pioneers’ rally with a one-out single. The next two batters reached on errors before Klamerus unloaded with a two-run double that one-hopped off the left-field fence. After a walk, pinch hitter Hayden Flynn hit a two-run single.
“We always have confidence in ourselves,” Richard coach Mike Magier said. I knew we could come back. (Atkinson) came in and did his job.”
After that one walk, Atkinson retired the last seven batters he faced.
“Yeah, we played Bishop Foley before,” Klamerus said. “But this is much bigger than the Catholic League.”
VIDEO: Frank Klamerus had a two-run double during a five-run sixth inning for Riverview Gabriel Richard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Evan Ludwick slides into home to score for Bishop Foley on Friday. (Middle) Gabriel Richard’s Frank Klamerus (23) and Schoolcraft catcher Stephen Schultz watch a Klamerus drive.
![Orchard Lake St. Mary's baseball](/sites/default/files/2022-05/220525_Porter_2H.jpg)
Performance of the Week: Orchard Lake St. Mary's Brock Porter
June 1, 2022
Brock Porter ♦ Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
Baseball ♦ Senior
One of Michigan’s most highly-regarded baseball talents in years, Porter continued his dominating senior season May 20 with his fourth no-hitter of the spring – this time in a 4-0 win over Detroit Catholic Central in the Catholic High School League Bishop semifinals at Comerica Park. He struck out 16 hitters, upping his season total to 87 with only 17 walks over 42 innings. He’s 6-0 and has allowed only one earned run – and three total – this season.
Porter grew up playing baseball and football, and downhill ski racing, before turning his full athletic attention to the diamond. He has signed to continue his baseball career at Clemson University, and he also is expected to be a first-round selection in July’s Major League Baseball draft. Porter threw a 12-strikeout six-hitter in last season’s Semifinal against New Boston Huron as the Eaglets went on to win the Division 2 championship, and St. Mary’s is up to 37-0 this season and has won 59 straight games. Porter also is a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council.
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2021-22 Honorees
May 20: Brady Schultz, Menominee track & field - Report
May 13: Robert Burns, Flint Powers Catholic golf - Report
May 6: Bo Lockwood, Hartland lacrosse - Report
April 28: Nonah Waldron, Oak Park track & field - Report
April 21: Theryn Hallock, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central soccer - Report
April 14: Kaitlyn Pallozzi, Farmington Hills Mercy softball - Report
April 7: Mason Docks, Williamston basketball - Report
March 24: Mya Petticord, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep basketball - Report
March 16: Charley Bayer, East Grand Rapids diving - Report
March 9: Ja'Marcus Smith, Detroit Mumford wrestling - Report
March 2: David Schaberg, Holt bowling - Report
Feb. 24: Adelaide McRoberts, Kingsford swimming - Report
Feb. 17: Christopher Kavanaugh, Petoskey hockey - Report
Feb. 10: Ira Jenkins, Whitehall wrestling - Report
Feb. 3: Emma Stewart, Salem gymnastics - Report
Jan. 28: Tyler Ray, Pinckney swimming - Report
Jan. 21: Elle Craven, Traverse City Central skiing - Report
Jan. 14: Nevaeh Williams, Mount Clemens basketball - Report
Dec. 2: Lucas Dunn, Chelsea football - Report
Nov. 25: Riley Nugent, Plainwell swimming - Report
Nov. 18: Harper Murray, Ann Arbor Skyline volleyball - Report
Nov. 11: Abby VanderKooi, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian cross country - Report
Nov. 4: Arianne Olson, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Oct. 28: Jack Guggemos, Okemos soccer - Report
Oct. 21: Sachiv Kumar, Northville tennis - Report
Oct. 14: Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7: Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30: Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23: Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16: Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Porter family.)