'Prepapalooza' Kicks Off 3-Week Celebration
May 31, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nearly 30,000 athletes will take part over the next six days in what will again be the busiest week of the MHSAA calendar, with teams in all nine spring sports competing for District, Regional or Finals championships at sites across both peninsulas.
The first Finals champions of this spring will be awarded Wednesday in Upper Peninsula boys tennis (UPDATE: both U.P. tennis Finals have been moved to Thursday due to rainy weather concerns), followed by six more in Upper Peninsula boys and girls golf Thursday. Four divisions of Lower Peninsula girls tennis start their two-day tournament Friday, and on Saturday, more than 7,000 athletes will join them competing in four Lower and three Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals.
In addition, baseball, softball and girls soccer teams begin District action tonight, with most of those tournaments wrapping Saturday. Girls and boys lacrosse teams continue Regional play this week, and Lower Peninsula boys golf teams will play Regionals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Second Half again will serve as your home for all MHSAA Finals coverage, with correspondents providing stories and photos, along with full results, from all of the Upper Peninsula Finals this week and then all 18 LP and UP Finals this weekend, Lacrosse and LP Golf Finals on June 14, and Baseball, Softball and Soccer Finals being played June 19-21.
Check back as well for video highlights from most competitions and sign up to watch all broadcast tournament action over the next three weeks for only $9.95 on MHSAA.tv. All schedules, lists of competitors and tournament brackets updated with scores real-time can be found on MHSAA.com. Keep connected as well with the MHSAA’s social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PHOTO: The Unionville-Sebewaing softball team celebrates last season's Division 4 championship.
Like Old Times But Also New, Beal City Closes Baseball Finals as Champion
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – The 2023 season felt like old times and the definition of turning back the clock for Brad Antcliff.
The Beal City baseball head coach from 2007-16, Antcliff returned before the start of this season, and it felt like he never left.
“It did,” Antcliff said. “But I talked to my players about what I needed to do different. It’s their team, and I’m following them.”
Also like old times, Antcliff followed his team to a state championship.
Beal City captured its fifth with a 2-1 win over Plymouth Christian Academy in the Division 4 Final at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium, which also finished the MHSAA's 2022-23 school sports year.
It was the third title as coach for Antcliff, who also guided Beal City to crowns in 2009 and 2010.
“The expectations they met today, it’s hard,” Antcliff said. “It’s hard to get here, and it’s really hard to win it. They met every expectation that we put in front of them this year.”
In what was a well-pitched game between Beal City junior Cayden Smith and Plymouth Christian sophomore Tyler Scott, it was a couple of defensive miscues by PCA in the bottom of the sixth inning that were the difference.
Following a flyout and a single by Beal City junior Jake Gauthier, freshman Blake Walcutt singled. A throwing error put runners on first and second base with one out, and then another throwing error plated Walcutt to give Beal City a 2-1 lead.
The Aggies had the bases loaded with one out, but couldn’t tack on any insurance runs. That didn’t matter, as Beal City (31-8) finished off Plymouth Christian with a 1-2-3 seventh.
Smith got the first out of the seventh inning on a strikeout, but had to be pulled after reaching the 105-pitch limit. Walcutt came in and got the final two outs to preserve the win.
Smith struck out 11, walked none and allowed just three hits in 6 1/3 innings of work.
“My fastball was really there,” Smith said. “My curveball was there. My slider was kind of off. It was down and away and sometimes high. I couldn’t find it. But the curve ball was working, and the fastball was there too.”
Similar to Grand Rapids Christian in the Division 2 title game, Beal City avenged a loss in last year’s Final.
“Since we lost that game, it was our new goal to come and get this one,” Smith said.
After three scoreless innings, Plymouth Christian broke through in the top of the fourth, taking a 1-0 lead on a 2-out RBI single by Scott.
Beal City answered in the bottom half of the fourth inning, tying the game at 1-1 when a run scored on a 2-out error that would have ended the inning.
The Aggies had a golden opportunity in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with two outs, but a groundout ended the threat.
Scott allowed just four hits, struck out four and walked one in six innings of work for Plymouth Christian (34-8).
While disappointed with the result, Eagles head coach Joe Bottorff is excited for the future of his program despite graduating eight seniors.
“I think everyone knows now that we belong here,” Bottorff said. “We had a JV team loaded with freshman travel players, so we have some guys coming through that are going to be really good. We have a pipeline built where we are going to reload rather than rebuild.”
PHOTOS (Top) Beal City’s players raise their championship trophy Saturday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) Jake Gauthier slides into second for a stolen base just ahead of the tag by PCA’s Jordan Scott (6). (Below) Cayden Smith begins to unload a pitch during his winning performance. (Photos by John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)