Summerfield’s baseball team was staring at a 10-10 record in mid-May.
“Early in the season, we had a rough stretch,” Bulldog coach Reid Olmsted said. “I never thought we were a bad team, but I wasn’t convinced we were a great team, either. We were probably somewhere in the middle.”
Olmstead might be convinced now that his team is on the verge of greatness.
The Bulldogs stretched their winning streak to 11 games and earned a spot in the Division 4 state semifinals by cruising past Vermontville Maple Valley 14-2 in a regional championship game and blanking Decatur 5-0 in the state quarterfinals on Saturday, June 7.
Ida, meanwhile, saw its season end with a 7-6 loss to Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in a Division 3 regional championship game.
Division 4
SPRING ARBOR – “Who would have thought it,” Olmstead mused while contemplating his team’s run in the state tournament. “We just got hot at the right time. We’re playing really well right now.”
The constant during the 11-game winning streak has been outstanding starting pitching by Reece Kalb and Jude Flowers.
That happened again Saturday with Kalb throwing against Maple Valley and Flowers taking the mound for the quarrterfinals.
“They were both outstanding,” Olmstead said. “They both threw a complete game. Jude threw a shutout against Decatur. They were both awesome.”
They both were backed by great defense and early offense.
“Our defense was amazing,” Olmstead said. “We made some really big plays against Decatur.”
The Bulldogs grabbed momentum early in each game.
“The big thing is that we got off to good starts in both games,” Olmstead said. “Against Decatur, we scored two in the second and one in the third. That’s a team that’s not used to playing from behind and it showed. We kept our foot on the gas the rest of that game.”
Tyler Dafoe led the way in the opener with three hits and four RBIs. Brenden Myshock and Trent Miller also recorded three hits each with Flowers adding two.
Dafoe was 2-for-3 in the quarterfinals and Kalb drove in two runs.Summerfield gets a few days off before taking on Plymouth Christian at 5 p.m. Friday at Michigan State.
“It’s a great feeling, but now it’s time to get back to work,” Olmstead said.
Division 3
ADRIAN – An Ida comeback fell short, but Blue Streak coach Jimmy McMonagle could not have been happier with his team.
“What a great, fun experience for the boys,” he said. “We’ve been preaching all year to grind out at-bats, grind out innings. This is a perfect example of what we’ve been preaching all year.”
Ida had to continually fight back in the game.
University Liggett scored three runs in the top of the second to take the lead, but Ida never veered from its game plan.
The Blue Streaks plated a run in the bottom of the inning on a suicide squeeze bunt.
“Going into it, we didn’t have anything to lose,” McMonagle said. “We were playing a perennial state power and we had never been there before. I told the boys to enjoy the moment and enjoy their time there. We found out that we belong.”
Ida scored three runs in the third and two more in the sixth to get within a run. The potential tying run was cut down at the plate in the sixth.
“An argument could be made that the catcher was blocking the plate,” McMonagle said. “It was just a couple of plays that didn’t go our way.”
And a couple of plays make a big difference when you are facing a quality opponent.
“I will be very surprised if they don’t go on to win the state title,” McMonagle said.
Owen Snyder pitched a strong game for Ida, giving up just three hits and three earned runs. Luke Hennessey led the offense with two hits while Jaxon Millican drove in three runs and Dean Thomas two as the Blue Streaks finished 26-10.
“We had a wonderful season,” said McMonagle, who had five seniors on the roster but just two who were full-time starters.
“I love the look of the future, not only because of what’s coming back, but because of what they realized today, what they see ahead of them. Ida is going to be good for at least the next few years.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Amazing run carries Summerfield baseball team into state semifinals
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
