Unexpected Eagles Finish Repeat Run
June 15, 2013
By Andy Sneddon
Special to Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – There’s a big difference between a mere thrower and pitcher.
Austin Batka epitomized Saturday what it means to be the latter.
Batka took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before settling for a two-hitter as Grand Rapids Christian held on to beat Richmond, 3-0, in the MHSAA Division 2 championship game at C.O. Brown Stadium.
It was the second consecutive title for the Eagles, who took a markedly different path than in 2012.
Saturday’s win capped a remarkable run for Grand Rapids Christian, which was 6-12 at one point this season and entered the MHSAA tournament 12-15. The Eagles reeled off seven consecutive wins to finish 19-15. They went 36-5 a year ago, and were 30-8 in 2010, when they were the MHSAA runner-up.
“I don’t know if you think that way,” Christian coach Brent Gates said when asked if he was surprised his team found itself back in Battle Creek after the way it started the year. “I knew we had ability, but it was a young team so you really didn’t know what they were going to become.
“What we saw over the course of that (early-to-midseason) time is every practice, the three-hour practices – they wanted to be there, they wanted to get better, and you just saw it become a little bit smoother. We’ve got some good athletes on the team, and they put the work in to get here.”
Batka, a junior left-hander, tamed a Richmond (34-5) team making its first-ever appearance in Battle Creek.
He mixed his breaking ball in effectively enough to keep the Blue Devils on their heels and, more importantly, off the bases. He struck out eight and walked two and at one point set down 11 consecutive Blue Devils.
“I wasn’t necessarily overpowering,” said Batka, who completed a one-week, three-game stretch, including Regional and Quarterfinal victories, during which he allowed a combined five hits. “I’ve been finding my curveball, so I don’t have to throw my fastball as hard.”
Batka’s teammates gave him all the support he would need when cleanup man Tyler Sigler tripled leading off the second inning. He scored on Tyler Boyd’s bunt.
The Eagles used two walks, a hit batsman, a wild pitch, and a fielder’s choice to scratch out another run in the fifth inning. Batka then helped himself when he drove in the game’s third and final run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Though Batka had a three-run cushion – and his no-hitter still intact – to start the seventh, he wasn’t out of the woods.
Ryan Boyd led off the bottom of the final frame with a looping liner to shallow center field to spoil the no-hit bid.
Batka said he didn’t realize the significance of that turn of events until Gates made his way to the mound.
“He told me ‘It doesn’t matter; it’s still going to be a complete game,’ Batka said, “and I looked up at the scoreboard and there’s the ‘1’ on the hit.”
A strikeout, an infield single, a fielder’s choice forceout, and an error left the bases loaded with two out. Batka got the final out on a chopper back to the mound.
“He’s thrown a lot of innings here in the last week,” Gates said. “He’s had three starts in less than a week. He’s a consistent 85-87 (mph) kid with a consistent curveball. He strikes out a lot of kids. Today, he just battled. … He didn’t have probably his best stuff, but he gutted through it. He knows how to pitch.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Christian baseball players pile onto the pitcher’s mound and each other after clinching their second straight MHSAA championship. (Middle) Eagles junior Austin Batka threw a complete game to earn the victory. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Buchanan Baseball Closes 2021-22 Sports Year as Champ for 1st Time Since 1985
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – Buchanan had no shortage of heroes in its 3-1 Division 3 championship game win over Detroit Edison on Saturday at McLane Stadium.
Among them: Cade Preissing, who walked three times and scored all three runs for the Bucks; Matthew Hoover, who drove in two runs with a pair of doubles and also got the W on the mound, and pitcher Macoy West, who made a stratagem by Buchanan coach Jim Brawley pay off by relieving Hoover twice at crucial times to pick up the save.
“I’m very proud of these young men,” Brawley said. “They've worked their butts off all year. They deserve it. They really do.”
The championship was Buchanan's first since 1985. The Bucks most recently finished Division 3 runner-up in 2015.
They won this game with clutch hitting, scoring runs in the third and fifth innings with two outs.
Both times, Preissing walked, then scored on doubles by Hoover.
“(Preissing) is a smart kid, a great hitter,” Brawley said. “He knows how to get on base, steal the bag, and Matthew brings him in.”
“I just tried to slow the moment down,” Hoover said. “Just put it in play. I’m glad I did. We won because of that.”
Preissing scored an insurance run in the seventh inning. He led off with a walk, went to second base on a fielder’s choice, to third on another fielder’s choice, then scored on a single by West.
Edison, the first Detroit public school to play for a Finals title in baseball since Detroit Western in 1972, continuously answered to stay close.
That’s where Brawley’s stratagem came in.
Noting that Edison won its first postseason game after its opponent had to pull its starting pitcher due to a pitch limit, Brawley opted to replace Hoover with West in the sixth inning to pitch to the lower third of the Pioneers’ order.
Hoover was back on the mound to start the seventh inning.
Edison got things going with a Terrell Crosson single, although he was a force out when Deshaun Williams reached on a fielder’s choice. But two walks loaded the bases.
In came West, who fell behind 3-1 to the only batter he faced – before coming back to get a strikeout and seal the win.
“We had opportunities,” Edison coach Mark Brown said. “It just wasn’t meant to be”
For the Bucks, it was a crowning achievement for a group that grew up playing baseball and reached their sport’s pinnacle.
“I’m just glad we finally did it,” Hoover said, his voice breaking with emotion. “We've been playing since we were 8 years old, playing in summer league, playing in the backyard. It means so much to me”
Jordan Jones had two hits for Edison (25-13), and Gregory Pace Jr. threw the first five innings for the Pioneers allowing two earned runs and striking out six hitters.
PHOTOS (Top) Buchanan players celebrate their Division 3 championship that closed the 2021-22 school sports year Saturday. (Middle) The Bucks’ Cade Preissing (17) takes a throw at second base as an Edison baserunner slides in head first.