Homer, Liggett Set Up Saturday Meeting
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2019
EAST LANSING – Jacob Wilson just wanted to start jumping up and down Friday after his game-winning single sent Homer to the MHSAA Division 3 Baseball Final.
But before he could fully celebrate, he had to make it to first base, something he admitted he had to be reminded to do.
“The coach told me to (run to first),” Wilson said.
He made it without issue and was mobbed by his teammates as Homer defeated Pewamo-Westphalia 2-1 in nine innings at McLane Baseball Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University. The Trojans advanced to Saturday’s Final against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, which defeated Gladstone 5-0 in the other Semifinal.
“What an unbelievable setting, and to have a 2-1 walkoff in the bottom of the ninth at Michigan State, that’s stuff you dream of at the beginning of the season,” Homer coach Scott Salow said. “It was an unbelievable ballgame. Two great teams.”
Wilson’s hit down the third-base line ended a game dominated by pitching and defense, as he and Pewamo-Westphalia starter Brendan Thelen kept hitters off balance for the majority.
In the ninth inning, however, Homer was able to load the bases with no outs, and Wilson drove in Zach Butters for the walk-off win.
“I was up to bat and I was looking at my teammates while they were on base, and they were just looking at me smiling, giving me a thumbs up,” Wilson said. “I just had faith in myself that I could get it down.”
Butters’ run was the first since the second inning, and ended one of the few Homer threats. Thelen threw 7 2/3 innings prior to reaching his pitch-count maximum, striking out five and allowing three walks, two hits and one run. He allowed just one Homer runner to get to third base.
“Their coach, Scott Salow, has a great program, and he said that’s the best pitcher they’ve seen all year,” Pewamo-Westphalia coach Mark Rademacher said. “They only got two hits on him, and he said that’s the best pitcher they’ve seen. Brendan rose up to the occasion. He kept us in the game when we were leaving guys stranded on base, and our defense was helping him out. It was just a great performance on his part.”
Wilson put together a gem of his own, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings, also leaving the game because of his pitch count. He pitched out of a jam in the sixth inning, as Pewamo-Westphalia had a runner at third with one out. Wilson was able to get a strikeout and a popout to end the threat.
“Just survive,” Salow said of Wilson. “I don’t know how many chances they had with leadoff guys on. It seemed like we were fighting fires most of the game, especially in the middle innings.”
Pewamo-Westphalia opened the scoring in the second inning, as Aaron Bearss drove in Ethan Thelen with a single.
Homer responded in the bottom of the second, as Kyle Compton stole home on a designed play. Wilson, who was on first, purposefully fell on a steal attempt, forcing a throw to first and allowing Compton to head home.
“We spend a lot of time on our first-and-third offense, trying to put balls in play without the aid of a bat,” Salow said. “It’s a play that we practice all the time, and it worked out almost to perfection.”
Compton finished with two hits and two walks for Homer (32-3). Butters picked up the win in relief, striking out one and allowing two hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Tanner Wirth and Ethan Thelen each had two hits for the Pirates (31-3).
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 5, Gladstone 0
Alec Azar had all the run support he needed before he stepped on the mound.
The Liggett senior pitcher threw his first pitch with a 2-0 lead, which was more than enough as he put together a dominant outing to lead the Knights into the Division 3 Final, their first since 2016.
“That’s what I like about being away,” Azar said. “You get ahead, and then I can come out on the mound and get really comfortable and throw my game.”
Azar carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished the game with 12 strikeouts and two hits allowed.
“He was lights out,” Liggett coach Dan Cimini said. “I told him this was going to be his last start as a senior at Liggett and I need his best, and he gave us his best. He almost had a no-hitter, threw the ball really well, had his best stuff, great slider, fastball. He just did everything he could for our team today to get us a W.”
Logan King hit a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the first inning, which Gladstone coach Kelly Shea said stunned his team. The Braves remained stunned as Azar struck out the first four batters he faced.
“Our pitcher got them with two ground balls to start the first inning, and I thought we’re going to get out of the inning,” Shea said. “Then they had a kind of so-so base hit, then he hangs that next pitch and they pounded it over the fence. It kind of took the wind out of our sails, and we never got back.”
Azar added two hits at the plate, while Nick Post had two hits, including an RBI double for the Knights. King finished with three RBI on the day.
Carson Shea, who started on the mound for Gladstone, broke up Azar’s no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning. Jared Crow added a double for the Braves in the seventh.
PHOTOS: (Top) Homer’s Zach Butters heads home for the game-winning run in Friday’s first Semifinal against Pewamo-Westphalia. (Middle) Liggett's Alec Azar makes his move toward the plate.
Upton Hoists Beal City Back to Top of D4
June 16, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Don’t get Beal City senior Brett Upton wrong. He wants all the attention on himself – in the biggest of moments.
But he’s the first to deflect the credit to his teammates.
Take for example Saturday afternoon at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium. Upton pitched a gem, completely dominating Unionville-Sebewaing during a 10-0, six-inning victory in the MHSAA Division 4 championship game.
He deserved the lion’s share of the credit. No one could dispute that.
“It’s awesome. I embraced it. I feed off stuff like that,” said Upton, who struck out eight while walking just a pair. “I love big games, I love being the guy in situations like that. All the credit to my teammates, though, making me look a lot better than I really am. That’s for sure.”
The championship is the fourth in Beal City baseball history. The Aggies also won titles in 1993, 2009 and 2010. They were runners-up in 2013-14.
“I’m so happy for these kids,” Beal City coach Steve Pickens said. “This is what baseball is all about. When I see my kids do well, it’s like you put a dollar in and two dollars come out.
“They’ve been dedicated all year, and they work hard and that’s paid off.”
Beal City scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior Kollin Sharrar reached on a bunt single and scored on an RBI double by junior Keegan Haynes. The Aggies added another run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by junior Colby Berryhill, scoring Lucas Schumacher.
But the Aggies broke the game open – and closed it out – with eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Haynes and freshman Cameron Lynch each singled to center to get things rolling for their team. After junior Nate Wilson was intentionally walked to load the bases, senior Aaron Schafer drove in a pair to make it 4-0.
That was just the beginning for Beal City. One batter later, with the bases loaded, Berryhill drove in two more with a double. Upton then had a double of his own, scoring senior Lucas Schumacher to give his team a 7-0 lead. Haynes’ RBI single made it 9-0, and Wilson closed things out with an RBI single.
“I can’t even describe it right now. Four years, four years it took us to get here,” Upton said. “To finally finish it, oh my God. All the hours we’ve put in all winter, this senior corps as a group. It’s all paid off. We won our last high school game ever, can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Haynes finished 3 for 4 scoring twice and driving in a pair for Beal City (23-8). Schumacher also had three hits, scoring twice, while Berryhill finished with two hits and three RBI.
Pickens, in just his second year as head coach of the Aggies, spoke about the state of the baseball program in Beal City.
“The kids want to play baseball out there. That’s half the battle, getting them to play,” Pickens said. “I don’t have to do that, so now I can start at 202 instead of 101. By the time we get to the state tournament, here we are.”
Beal City beat Gaylord St. Mary, 7-3, in their Semifinal matchup Friday.
Unionville-Sebewaing (22-16) bested St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 5-1, to advance to Saturday’s championship game.
“When you get beat, you get beat. At the end of the day, it’s going to sting but you can live with that knowing you got beat by a good team. They’re a great team,” USA coach Tyler Bader said. “They pitched well, they defended well, they bunted well. I think we could have done some other things that would have made it a little tougher (for them). Anytime you get just one hit, it’s tough to win a game.”
Despite the loss, Bader said he was proud of his team.
“When you get this far into the tournament, you know the team in that other dugout is no slouch. We just couldn’t take advantage of our opportunities when we had guys in scoring position, to put a little pressure on them,” Bader said. “I told them before we went up on stage (to receive the runner-up trophy), ‘I know we’re bummed, we’re mad, but try and enjoy this because in a couple days we’re going to look back on this moment.’
“I know there are a lot of other schools and players out there that would love to swap places with us and be the loser in the state championship game.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Beal City raises its championship trophy Saturday. (Middle) Brett Upton delivers a pitch for the Aggies.