![Grand Rapids Christian players celebrate their Division 2 championship Saturday at McLane Stadium.](/sites/default/files/2023-06/230617_D2b_2H.png)
GR Christian Makes Good on Season-Long Goal: Finish as D2's Best
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – Ever since losing in the Division 2 championship game a year ago, there was one mantra for Grand Rapids Christian: Finish the job.
“That was our goal all year,” Grand Rapids head coach Brent Gates said. “We wanted the dogpile at the end.”
Consider the job finished.
This time, it was Grand Rapids Christian’s players piling on each other in celebration at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium after gutting out a 2-1 win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.
It was sweet redemption for the Eagles (36-5), who won their first Finals title since 2013 and third overall, and fell to Ada Forest Hills Eastern 3-0 in last year’s deciding game.
Ranked No. 1 in the state entering the tournament, the Eagles outscored their opponents 57-8 during their run.
“We talked about it all year, and this is what we worked for,” said senior Cam Seth, who played the biggest role in the championship game.
In the first inning, Seth came to the plate with two runners on and two out following a pair of errors by Liggett. Seth then drilled a 2-run triple to right field to give Grand Rapids Christian a 2-0 lead.
“He threw a curveball, so I knew he was coming fastball,” Seth said. “He put it right where I liked it.”
As it turned out, that would be the only runs Grand Rapids Christian would need thanks to some clutch pitching by senior starter Ty Uchman, and then Seth in relief.
In the top of the second, Liggett loaded the bases with two outs for Clemson-bound Jarren Purify, but Uchman got Purify to hit a hard grounder to short for a force out that ended the threat.
In the fourth, Liggett had runners on first and third with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning.
Finally in the fifth, Liggett pushed a run across on a fielder’s choice by senior and University of Texas-bound catcher Oliver Service, cutting Grand Rapids Christian’s lead to 2-1.
After the first two runners for Liggett reached that inning, Uchman was pulled for Seth, who helped his team preserve the lead by getting three outs.
Following a 1-2-3 sixth, Seth had the daunting task in the seventh of facing the top of Liggett’s order – Purify, junior Reggie Sharpe and Service.
Purify laced a rope to left, but it hung up and was caught for the first out. Sharpe then grounded out on a close play at first for the second.
Service faced a 1-2 count, but eventually worked a walk and took second with two outs after a wild pitch.
But Seth beared down and induced a groundout to end the game.
“Great players, and I just wanted to attack them,” Seth said. “Just give them everything I got and leave it all out there. That’s what I tried to do.”
Liggett will lament not being able to come up with the big hit. The Knights finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
Junior ace Preston Barr allowed only four hits, struck out three and walked just one for Liggett (26-12).
“We just didn’t get a hit with guys on base,” Liggett head coach Dan Cimini said. “You’ve just got to tip your cap to them. Their pitchers, both of them, did a really good job. We put the ball in play, we just didn’t get big hits. It happens. It’s baseball.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian players celebrate their Division 2 championship Saturday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) The Eagles’ Cam Seth (8) delivers after coming on in relief. (Below) A Grand Rapids Christian hitter connects. (Photos by John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
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Maroons 'Make Most' of 1st Finals Trip
June 18, 2016
By Andy Sneddon
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – When the cart wobbled, Mike Mokma grabbed the wheel.
Mokma allowed four hits and struck out 14 on Saturday as Holland Christian won its first MHSAA baseball championship with an 8-5 victory over Linden in the Division 2 title game at McLane Baseball Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.
The Maroons, who finished 36-6 and entered the tournament ranked third, had never made it past the quarterfinal round of the tournament. But they did have the steadying influence of coach Jim Caserta, who led Holland West Ottawa to the Division I title in 2003.
“We tried to take the big experience of the state championship and focus it down to the task,” said Caserta, who is in his third season at Holland Christian. “We told them, ‘Focus on the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball; focus on the little things.’
“They did great and when bad things happened, we didn’t quit.”
Bad things did indeed happen for the Maroons in the fourth inning when they committed three errors and Mokma issued two walks – his only two of the game – and Linden took advantage, scoring all five of its runs for a 5-4 advantage.
Mokma, who has signed with Michigan State, slammed the door after that, setting down the Eagles in order in their final three at-bats. Of those final nine outs, five came on strikeouts. Mokma’s strikeout total was one shy of the MHSAA Finals record 15.
Just two of Linden’s five runs were earned.
“Mike’s super competitive,” Holland Christian catcher David Williams said. “He’s going to grind it out every pitch. He just kept throwing the ball like he does.
“We let him down for a minute, but we got back on the horse. He was sharp today – more than adequate, he was fabulous. He gave us great chance to win, and the bats came around.”
The Maroons tied it 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth inning on Brandon Riemersma’s RBI single, then got the go-ahead run when Riemersma laid down a suicide squeeze to score Chris Mokma in the sixth.
Mike Mokma followed with a two-run double down the leftfield line.
“When we got down, when a couple bad things happened, our guys didn’t panic, and that’s what it takes,” Caserta said. “All year long that’s what we’ve done: Don’t panic and keep grinding and make something good happen.”
Jack Shore allowed nine hits, struck out four and walked two in taking the loss. The fifth-ranked Eagles committed four errors behind him and just three of Holland Christian’s runs were earned.
Coby Curtiss led Holland Christian with three hits including a double.
The title was particularly gratifying for the six seniors on the Holland Christian roster, including Mike Mokma and Williams. The two combined to form a solid battery during all four of their high school seasons.
“We have a strong group of seniors on the team,” said Williams, who is headed to Xavier. “We’re great friends, and we were sitting in the dugout before the game and started looking at each other. It was, ‘Well, we’ve played a lot of ball together. This is our last game as teammates. Let’s make the most of it.’”
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland Christian celebrates its first baseball championship Saturday morning at McLane Stadium. (Middle) Mike Mokma prepares to deliver during another winning performance for the Maroons.