D4 Semis: Finalists Seize Opportunities
June 13, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Beal City baseball went viral this week, thanks to a trick play that played a small part in its Regional Final win over top-ranked Muskegon Catholic Central last weekend.
But the Aggies showed again Friday morning that they are nothing if not opportunistic – and fun to watch.
Fakery wasn’t necessary like the hidden-ball trick against MCC that has been viewed more than 300,000 times on YouTube and made national headlines with coach Brad Antcliff and two of his players interviewed on Fox News.
But Beal City had a run before it had a hit against Kalamazoo Christian, stole six bases and took advantage of five errors and getting hit by three pitches on the way to an 11-1, six-inning Division 4 Semifinal win at McLane Baseball Stadium.
“We like to stay aggressive on the base paths and in the batter’s box. We’ve been talking about that all year,” said sophomore shortstop Tucker Gross, who scored two runs and stole three bases. “It’s a lot of fun, being aggressive, not holding back. We’re just being ourselves and having fun.
“The stakes are higher, but we stay true to who we are and play our kind of ball.”
Beal City (36-3), ranked No. 2 entering the tournament, will play Saturday against No. 5 New Lothrop for its first MHSAA title since 2010. The Aggies were runners-up a year ago to Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, a semifinalist in Division 3 this weekend.
Aggies pitcher Ty Rollin did use an ounce of trickery to end Kalamazoo Christian’s opening rally, faking a pick-off attempt to third base in the first inning and wheeling toward first base before catching a runner trying to advance to second. He got that out and struck out the next batter, and it was all Beal City until the Comets scored their lone run in the sixth inning.
The Aggies scored one run in each of the first three innings before adding six in the fourth. In addition to eight hits, they executed a squeeze for one run, plus a double steal and some hit-and-run to move around the bases and earn a comfortable advantage that allowed Antcliff the luxury of pulling his ace after the fourth inning so he can use him again in the championship game.
Only three of Beal City’s runs were earned.
“We’re going to make the other team make plays. The kids played great baseball; they did exactly what we wanted them to do today,” Antcliff said. “We were going to score as quickly as possible and as many as possible, because I’ve got Ty for six (innings Saturday).
Rollin, who threw all eight innings in last season’s one-run Final loss to Liggett, allowed only two hits in four innings Thursday and also scored twice. Reliever Kurt Gross finished the game and knocked in two runs in his only at bat. Senior Ryan Tilmann had two hits and scored three runs.
Junior rightfielder Greg Harris drove in the lone run for Kalamazoo Christian (18-18).
It probably won’t make national news if Beal City finishes this run with the Division 4 title Saturday. But that certainly will be the most memorable moment for the team and community, even if the recent national hype was a fun highlight along the way.
“It’s cool, but the main thing is we’ve gotta stay focused,” Gross said. “We can’t let it get into our heads. We can’t let it become a distraction. We can talk about it a little bit, but that’s all.”
New Lothrop 3, Maple City Glen Lake 1
Both teams playing in the second Division 4 Semifinal were in a similar history-making position – New Lothrop was playing for its first championship game berth ever, and Glen Lake was playing for its first in forever (1984).
The Hornets have had a lot of success in athletics in 2013-14, and maybe some of that savvy rubbed off on sophomore pitcher Cameron Pope. He struck out 11 and gave up only six hits before yielding to junior reliever Grant Steinborn with one out in the seventh inning.
New Lothrop has risen from Quarterfinalist in 2012 to Semifinalist last season, and now has its firt opportunity to climb the last rung on the historical ladder.
“It’s the chemistry. It’s a small school. Everybody has classes with each other. We just all get along and we love playing with each other,” Pope said of why this year’s team became the first baseball finalist.
“It’s tradition. New Lothrop’s a winning school. It’s just what we do.”
Sophomore rightfielder Quentin Taylor scored two of New Lothrop’s runs and drove in the third. He was the only hitter with more than one for the Hornets, who had only six hits total to Glen Lake’s 11.
The Lakers had one last opportunity in the seventh inning. With runners on first and second bases, two drives down the leftfield line fell foul, one by mere inches. One runner would've scored, and the second would've had a shot at tying the game as well. But Steinborn was able to pick up the final two outs without incident.
Senior shortstop Tristan Williams had three hits for Glen Lake and scored the lone run. Senior Thomas Waning was steady on the mound, giving up only the three hits and striking out five.
“There’s nothing we did or didn’t do in terms of mistakes or anything like that. At the end they got two big hits when they needed to get two big hits, and we didn’t get those hits when we needed to have them,” Glen Lake coach Kris Herman said.
“We felt like we had a real opportunity to do good things here, and we’re very disappointed. We said we’d celebrate when the season was over, and we will, but now is not going to be the time because we felt an opportunity got away from us.”
PHOTO: (Top) Beal City’s Carson Salisbury scores as part of a six-run rally in the fourth inning Friday. (Middle) Cameron Pope unloads a pitch in earning the win for New Lothrop.
Thankful for Lifesavers Who Rushed to His Aid, Sanders Aims to Officiate Again
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
January 14, 2025
Doug Sanders sat quietly thinking about how to best describe what he went through the day after Thanksgiving at Monroe Jefferson High School.
Finally, he just said it.
“Basically, I died twice,” he said, almost apologetically.
Sanders, 56, was officiating a boys varsity basketball game between Petersburg-Summerfield and Jefferson when he collapsed. First responders who were in attendance quickly got to Sanders and began performing life-saving procedures.
Responders performed chest compressions. Twice they used a defibrillator to shock him. He regained consciousness once only to inform the responders they were hurting his chest, then his heart stopped again.
When he left Jefferson that night on a stretcher, he was alert.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my 24 years coaching,” Summerfield coach Phil Schiffler said. “I’ve seen gruesome things, compound fractures and things, but never someone pass like that, especially someone who was an official, in charge of the game.
“Thank God for the first responders there that night.”
Petersburg residents Matt LaRocca and Aaron Myshock were the first to assist Sanders on the court. Others helped as well, including Summerfield athletic director Kelly Kalb, former Summerfield athlete Brendan Dafoe, a nurse; and Angela Prush, who works at Monroe County Community College as a clinical educator in the respiratory therapy program. Jefferson athletic director Alyssa Eppler helped on the scene as well.
“There was no hesitation,” Kalb said. “As soon as Doug went down, Matt and Aaron took off to the court and got to Doug. Everyone played a role. It was a great collaboration."
Kalb said the MHSAA this year implemented a new policy requiring schools to have an Emergency Action Plan in the event of this very type of emergency. That plan, she said, definitely helped both schools as they responded.
“We lost him a couple of times,” she said. “It was scary.”
Sanders knew something was wrong during the game. Moments before falling to the floor he called over one of his officiating partners, Steve Rechsteiner, and said something was wrong. He asked him to get him some water and said he felt light-headed.
“I said, ‘Help me,’” Sanders said. Moments later, he went to the floor.
As responders attended to Sanders, officials from both schools cleared the gymnasium of spectators and players, and the game was called. Players and fans left the gymnasium that night unsure of the events that had just unfolded in front of them.
“It’s amazing how it all happened,” said Sanders, who has been a registered MHSAA official for more than 30 years. “If I would have been driving or anywhere else when it happened, I may not be here today to talk about it.”
Sanders has had a history of heart problems, and those run in his family. About four years ago, he had open-heart surgery. Officiating another game a few nights before the incident at Jefferson, he had collapsed during a timeout. He was under doctor’s care but felt well enough to return to the court after enjoying Thanksgiving with his family.
The game between Summerfield and Jefferson went into the fourth quarter. That’s when Sanders began to feel something was wrong.
“I am so blessed and grateful to be where the right people were with me,” Sanders said. “I had the right people there at the right time.”
After being transported to a nearby hospital in Monroe, he was sent to another in Toledo. He spent several days in the hospital undergoing heart tests and procedures. He went home for recovery and recently started attending basketball games in the area again.
“People have been so nice through all of this,” he said. “I’ve gotten messages and cards and calls and texts from people all over the place, people I don’t even know. A lot of the officials that I’ve worked with have reached out to me. It’s really a close-knit group.”
Thankfully, his heart is improving.
Sanders is a 1987 graduate of Ottawa Lake Whiteford. He got his start as a referee for youth basketball at Whiteford Elementary School. Then-athletic director John Flynn encouraged him to get his MHSAA registration, and helped him get it. Soon after, Flynn was assigning him middle school games.
Over the years, Sanders began umpiring baseball and added refereeing football a few years ago.
He loves sports and being close to the game.
“That’s why I do it,” he said. “I wanted to be a basketball official because I enjoy working with the student-athletes. I like the exercise, especially during the wintertime. Outside it’s snowy and wet, and this was a way to get out and do something.”
He’s busiest during basketball season where he is assigned as many as four or five games a week. In 2022, he officiated a boys Semifinal game at the Breslin Center. He rarely slows down or takes nights off.
Since the incident, Sanders has been going through a series of tests on his heart and has had an ICD – or implantable cardioverter defibrillator – installed in his chest. An elementary school teacher in Toledo, he expects to return to work soon.
He’s met some of the first responders who helped save him that night at Jefferson but still isn’t sure just how many people played a role. He’s grateful the district had a defibrillator nearby – and especially that people were there who knew how to use it.
Schiffler said people just sprang into action, like they were trained to do.
“I was shook. I’m not going to lie,” he said. “The people who were trained in that knew just what to do.”
LaRocca and Myshock were there watching their sons play on the Summerfield team. Dafoe, who played sports at Summerfield and with Sanders as his referee and umpire on a number of occasions, has a brother on the varsity team.
Sanders is tentatively scheduled to referee a game at Adrian Lenawee Christian on Monday, Jan. 20. He can’t wait to shake the rust off, put on the striped shirt and blow his whistle. He knows there will be eyes on him throughout the game.
“I’ve had so many people tell me, ‘Take the rest of the winter off, don’t come back too early,’” Sanders said. “I want to get back out there. Something tells me in my heart and soul that I’m ready. I had my stress test, and I did well. Am I ready? I want to say yes. I think so. Only time will tell.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) MHSAA official Doug Sanders monitors the action during a 2022 Division 4 Semifinal between Wyoming Tri-unity Christian and Genesee Christian. (Middle) Bradley is in uniform for a baseball game. (Below) Bradley makes a call behind the plate during a Monroe County Fair youth softball tournament game at least a decade ago. (Middle photo courtesy of Doug Sanders. Below photo by Kim Brent, courtesy of the Monroe News.)