Going out in Stiles
April 18, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Not to call it effortless, but pitching has been a pretty smooth part of Nick Stiles’ high school career.
He holds multiple school Bath records, including for single-season and career strikeouts, and his career ERA is under 1.00.
But the school record he’s on the cusp of holding alone will mean the most.
Stiles, a senior, is tied with former Bees all-stater Brennan Powers with 33 career wins. That means a few things – Stiles has been resilient, beaten some pretty good teams in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, and gotten help from teammates behind him defensively and at the plate.
“It’s a pretty cool deal. It will be pretty nice to be able to be remembered at the high school for something,” Stiles said. “It’s easy to pitch in high school. It’s not always easy to win.”
Stiles dialed his fastball up to 90 miles per hour last season, and that remains his go-to pitch. He’s been playing baseball since he was 6, and always was a hard thrower for his age. But he learned how to pitch instead of just throw on his 14-and-under summer team, and was a major part of the Bees’ Division 3 Semifinal run in 2010. Bath fell in that round 3-0 to eventual champion Shepherd, on what was Stiles’ 16th birthday.
“That year, we weren’t really expected to do anything as far as win that many games,” Stiles said. “I guess I got something out of it; just play every game like it’s the last one of the season.”
He hopes to take the Bees to the last game of this season to finish his high school career. It could also mark the end of his baseball career – although he has some college interest, Stiles also is his school’s valedictorian and might end up at Michigan State as a student only.
“It would be nice to go back to Battle Creek to play for a state championship, obviously,” Stiles said. “If it works out, it does. If not, I enjoyed my time.”
Click to read more about Stiles and this week's other High 5s honorees.
PHOTO: Stiles started in center field and come on to pitch in relief during Bath's 2010 Semifinal against Shepherd.
Beal City Ace Closes Finals-Filled Career with Perfection in Repeat
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 15, 2024
EAST LANSING — Getting to pitch in a state championship game once is rare in itself. Doing so twice is even more improbable.
But three times during a career? Take a bow, Beal City senior Cayden Smith.
Two years ago, Smith pitched two innings of relief in a loss to Riverview Gabriel Richard. Last year, he allowed one run in a complete-game win over Plymouth Christian Academy.
Getting the ball again in a championship game Saturday, Smith saved the best for his last high school game and achieved something no pitcher had done before in a Final, throwing a perfect game in a 10-0 Beal City win over Norway that ended after five innings.
Smith, who will play for Central Michigan, struck out eight batters to earn his second-straight Finals win.
“Nerves are going to get to you every year,” Smith said. “It’s just who can overcome.”
Smith did more than that in a performance that reduced Beal City head coach Brad Antcliff to tears of joy after the game when describing it.
“That’s Cayden Smith,” Antcliff said. “The kid is a gamer. He wants the ball. He had all the command of his pitches today, and he pounded the zone. You have kids that have ‘it.’ I can’t tell you what ‘it’ is. But Cayden Smith has ‘it.’ He’s a bulldog.”
Beal City’s offense was also potent, starting when senior Jack Fussman singled home Smith for the first run in the bottom of the first inning.
Beal City (34-6) then grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI single with two outs by junior Owen McKenny.
The Aggies kept the pressure on in the third, scoring four times to take a 6-0 lead. Senior Lane Gross hit a two-run double to the gap in right-center, and then Smith helped his own cause with a two-run double that made it 5-0 Beal City. A walk with the bases loaded gave the Aggies a 6-0 advantage.
In the sixth inning, Beal City took an 8-0 lead on a two-run single by Fussman, and then completed the game via the run-differential rule when a single up the middle by senior Josh Wilson ended up scoring two runs with a Norway throwing error to home.
Fussman finished with four RBI for Beal City, which won its sixth Finals title in school history.
Even in defeat, Norway produced a terrific story.
The Knights (28-4-1) were attempting to become the first team from the Upper Peninsula to win a Finals title in baseball, and getting to the championship game was no small feat, especially after beating a team from the Catholic High School League, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, in a Semifinal.
But Norway simply ran into a buzzsaw in Smith and a Beal City team that was ranked No. 1 in the state for a reason.
“We’re going to cherish it forever,” Norway head coach Tony Adams said. “It was a heck of an accomplishment. We made school history, we made history for the Upper Peninsula, and today’s result isn’t going to diminish that. You can’t take that away.”
PHOTOS (Top) Beal City’s Cayden Smith (26) makes his move toward the plate during his team’s Division 4 championship win. (Middle) The Aggies' Jack Fussman gets under a throw home to score. (Below) A Beal City hitter lines up a pitch.