This Time, It's Saline's Time to Top D1
June 17, 2017
By Andy Sneddon
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Five times, Scott Theisen had brought a team to an MHSAA championship game.
Five times, his Saline Hornets had come up empty.
But Saturday, appearing in its sixth Final, Saline jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and made it stand up to claim its first MHSAA baseball championship with a 5-2 victory over Northville at Michigan State’s McLane Baseball Stadium.
“It means the world, not only to me but all the other guys who have been here and gotten so close so many times,” said Theisen, who is in his 25th season at Saline and led the Hornets to Division 1 runner-up finishes in 1998, 2008-10, and 2016. “This one is in the books for everybody. It’s hard to describe how I feel.”
Theisen used four pitchers – starter Danny Weidmayer followed by Paul Kiyabu, Kellan Huang and Tyler Zmich – to hold in check the Mustangs (30-11).
None was overpowering – they surrendered a combined 10 hits and Northville stranded 10 base runners – but they threw strikes and benefited from three double plays turned behind them.
“They threw OK compared to how they’ve thrown all year,” Theisen said. “It’s a tough situation out there with the stakes so high and the zone was moving and it was tight at times. They just kept working and kept pumping strikes and didn’t let the wheels fall off.”
The Hornets (39-3) loaded the bases in the first inning with a single, a walk and a bunt. Two runs were forced in by walks, and Huang hit a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Ryan Foley led off the Saline second inning with a double, stole third and scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-0. He finished with three hits including two doubles.
“We’ve been working so hard for this state title,” said Foley, a senior outfielder and one of seven starters who returned from the Hornets squad that fell, 7-6, in the 2016 title game to Warren DeLaSalle. “To get one for coach T, it means so much to this community. Even when we were 8 or 9 years old, we had a goal and that was to get a state title at the high school level.
“We came up short last year, and that crushed us. We kept our composure (this year) and I think it helped having had so many guys who played in the state title game (last year).”
Kiyabu, who relieved Weidmayer, picked up the victory. Zmich worked the final two innings for the save, entering with two on and none out in the sixth inning and inducing two groundballs, one of which went for a double play.
It was the first Finals appearance for Northville, which got three hits from Aram Shahrigian and two each from Nick Prystash and Alex Garbacik.
“I think ultimately it was the first inning, nerves and jitters, and the double plays we hit into,” Northville coach Mike Kostrzewa said. “We had 10 hits and two runs; that’s not going to happen very often. Credit them for making the plays. We had squandered opportunities, and really a bad first inning.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Saline celebrates its first MHSAA baseball championship Saturday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) The Hornets score one of their five runs.
Performance of the Week: Fruitport's Ryan Bosch
May 8, 2025
Ryan Bosch ♦ Fruitport
Senior ♦ Baseball
Bosch is finishing up an all-state career at Fruitport this spring, and he led the Trojans to a historic accomplishment this past weekend. He struck out 15 batters Saturday as Fruitport defeated North Muskegon 9-1 to win its first Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament championship since 1991. Bosch also hit a solo home run to complete his team’s scoring.
Fruitport is 16-1 this spring and 12-1 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver, and finished last week ranked No. 19 in Division 2 while North Muskegon was ranked No. 4 in Division 3. The 6-foot-8 left-handed pitcher made the all-state second team as a first baseman in 2023 and contributed this past winter to a Fruitport basketball team that finished 17-6. He has signed to play baseball next at Wake Forest.
@mhsaasports ⚾️POW: Ryan Bosch #fruitport #baseball #15strikeouts #GMAAtournament #homerun #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports ⚾️POW: Ryan Bosch #aaronjudge #tacobell #laughingemoji #energydrink #baseball #family #sleep #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
Follow the MHSAA on TikTok.
MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
Previous 2024-25 honorees
May 1: Jackson Lam, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix track & field - Report
April 25: Isabelle Horvath, Bangor - Report
April 18: Presley Jones, Sterling Heights Stevenson soccer - Report
April 11: Olivia Jasniewicz, Troy soccer - Report
March 27: Katie Spicer, Fowler basketball - Report
March 21: Moses & Markus Blackwell; Warren Lincoln basketball - Report
March 13: Keyshawn Summerville, Lansing Sexton basketball - Report
March 6: Maggie Buurma, Fowlerville wrestling - Report
Feb. 28: Maren Studt, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep skiing - Report
Feb. 21: Olive Krueger, Marquette swimming - Report
Feb. 14: Hunter Lemmon, Fraser swimming - Report
Feb. 7: Aubrey Hillard, Rochester competitive cheer - Report
Jan. 31: Wyatt Spalo, Reed City wrestling - Report
Jan. 24: Olivia Flynn, Harbor Springs basketball - Report
Jan. 17: Levi Rozema, Holland Christian swimming - Report
Jan. 10: McRecco McFadden, Burton Bentley basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Nash Leonard, Bay City Western hockey - Report
Dec. 11: Blake Cosby, Dundee wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Keaton Hendricks, Zeeland West football - Report
Nov. 29: Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids swimming - Report
Nov. 22: Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber volleyball - Report
Nov. 15: Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25: Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18: Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4: Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26: Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19: TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
(Photos by Angela Rusnak.)