D3 Contenders Hold On for 1-run Wins
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 16, 2017
EAST LANSING – It looked like a mismatch. Madison Heights Bishop Foley, an annual powerhouse with plenty of pitching that had breezed through the tournament, against a sub-.500 team with little past tournament success.
It was anything but. Caro put a scare into the Ventures, but Bishop Foley held on for a 3-2 victory in a Division 3 Semifinal at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium on Friday.
Bishop Foley (24-12) will play top-ranked Traverse City St. Francis for the title at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
St. Francis (38-3) advanced to its first Final thanks to some fine pitching and Cooper Peterson’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that pushed across the winning run in a 3-2 victory over Schoolcraft.
Bishop Foley, ranked No. 7 heading into this postseason and Division 3 champ from 2011-13, is a member of the highly competitive Detroit Catholic League, and the Ventures weren’t expected to be tested by a team that started 0-7 and had to adjust to a coaching change after the slow start.
Ethan Hoffman went the distance for the victory as he struck out 11 and surrendered two hits, one walk and one earned run.
The Ventures scored runs in the first, third and fifth innings off Deven Hodder. Although they didn’t have many hard-hit balls, the Ventures appeared to be in good shape going into the top of the sixth inning.
But Caro’s Dylan Brown led off with a triple and scored on Conner Langenburg’s sacrifice bunt. Langenburg reached base on an error and later scored on a failed pickoff attempt. The Tigers had the tying run on first when Steven Strachan III was hit by a pitch, but the inning ended on a failed stolen base attempt.
Hoffman then set the side down in order in the seventh inning, sending the Ventures to their fifth MHSAA Final.
“I came in and did my routine,” Hoffman said. “Everything was working. I established my fastball early. That sixth was pretty nerve-racking. That seventh showed I could come back from that.”
Bishop Foley made a couple of base-running miscues as well. Evan Finegan knocked in the Ventures’ first run with a single but Justin Campbell, who had drawn a walk one batter earlier, was picked off of second to end the inning.
A Campbell single scored Finegan for Bishop Foley’s third run in the fifth inning, but a pickoff ended that rally as well.
Second-year Bishop Foley coach Greg Fettes is happy to be in the Final, but he wasn’t pleased with the overall play of his team.
“I told my guys that the only team that’s going to beat us in this tournament is ourselves,” Fettes said. “You almost saw that in the sixth. We haven’t done that all year. We looked like a Little League team.”
Fettes wasn’t pleased with his players’ approach at the plate either. Bishop Foley had scored 36 runs over its last three games entering Friday.
“That’s what we do, swing, swing, swing,” he said. “Look at our playoff wins. I’ll have them ready to go (on Saturday).”
Caro (15-22) outplayed Bishop Foley defensively. Shortstop Mason Campbell made a leaping catch to rob Finegan of a hit to start the sixth and Strachan, the first baseman, made an over-the-shoulder catch going down the foul line to retire the next batter.
Caro coach Victor Gomez said it was a smooth transition for him when he took over the program. He was an assistant for two seasons and was familiar with the players.
“We just had to let the kids know we believed in them,” he said. “I watched them grow up. I saw they had the skill set.”
Traverse City St. Francis 3, Schoolcraft 2
Joe Muzljakovich pitched the first 6 2/3 innings for St. Francis and kept his team in the game by getting out of bases loaded situation in the fifth. He was removed with the bases loaded in the seventh, and Conner Sweet came on in relief and threw one pitch to get out of that jam.
Gabe Callery, the leadoff hitter, led off the eighth for St. Francis with a walk and ended up at third base after a failed pick-off and sacrifice. Junior Cooper Peterson came up to bad and did what coach Tom Passinault told him to do.
“He told me just to get a piece of the ball,” Peterson said. “He said get it to the outfield. I just kind of poked it. (Darren Kehoe) threw me a curve and I was a little out front.”
Ricky Clark batted in Schoolcraft’s first run in the first inning with a ground out that scored Nolan Anspaugh, who had tripled. Anspaugh also scored in the third on a sacrifice fly after reaching base on a double.
Blake Bales pitched well for No. 5 Schoolcraft (25-11), as he went 6 2/3 innings, allowed three hits and struck out eight.
Sweet picked up the victory for the Gladiators, allowing a walk and one base hit.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bishop Foley's Ethan Hoffman delivers a pitch during the first Division 3 Semifinal on Friday. (Middle) St. Francis' Artie Dutmers slides into home for one of his team's three runs.
Liggett Caps Title Run with Big Hits, Near-Perfect Pitching
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 19, 2021
EAST LANSING – With a full head of steam, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Matthew Greene slid into third base head first.
Greene was greeted with a big hug from coach Dan Cimini after his two-out, bases-loaded triple sealed a 12-0 five-inning win over Traverse City St. Francis in Saturday’s Division 3 Final at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium.
“We knew that we needed a couple more runs to put it away quickly, so we were really aggressive that inning and we came out and put the ball in play,” Greene said. “I just saw a fastball and rocked it, and it was great. I got up at third and he gave me a hug and said, ‘This is it, we’re state champs.’ We just needed three more outs, so it was an awesome experience.”
It was Green’s second big hit of the game. He also doubled in the fourth inning to drive in a pair of runs.
He finished the day 2-for-4 with five RBI.
“He’s a great natural hitter, and he's been like that for us all year,” Cimini said. “The double was gigantic, and the triple just iced it. We needed that.”
The second-ranked Knights (31-5) claimed the program’s sixth Finals championship, but first since 2016.
They finished runners-up in 2019, but entered this year with only two senior starters.
“We were so confident the entire year, and we just really wanted this one for our coach and for our team,” Greene said.
Liggett sophomore starter Jack Jones kept the Gladiators at bay and tossed a three-hit shutout.
He struck out six and didn’t allow a walk.
“I knew that Jack was going to throw a good game, but we just had to make sure we did our job and score runs,” Cimini said. “He pounded the strike zone and kept us in it. He gave us an opportunity to score runs.”
The Knights led 3-0 in the third inning before a 48-minute rain delay.
They didn’t let up after the halt, scoring five runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth.
“I told our team that we have got to continue to score runs, and we did that,” Cimini said. “We left no doubt.”
The Gladiators (28-10), who also finished runners-up in 2017, mustered only three hits and committed four errors.
“It doesn't matter what you do in the field if you can’t score runs,” St. Francis coach Tom Passinault said. “We really struggled with their pitcher. He had real good command of his curveball, and he was spotting his fastball. He kind of had us in knots.
“We went as far as we could, and that’s a darn good team that beat us.”
The Knights finished with 11 hits and were led by freshman Preston Barr’s 3-for-3 performance.
Freshman Reginald Sharpe went 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore Jarren Purify also had a pair of hits.
“The guys hit the baseball, and they put pressure on them,” Cimini said. “(St. Francis) made a couple mistakes, but we were putting constant pressure on them.
“That pressure, mixed in with our big hits and Jack throwing a great game, was the recipe for a championship, and we got it today."
PHOTOS: (Top) University Liggett piles onto the pitcher’s mound after clinching the Division 3 title Saturday. (Middle) St. Francis catcher Aidan Schmuckal tries to get a tag down as a Liggett runner dives for the plate.