Michigan high school baseball: Riverview Richard outlasts Beal City, 4-3, for Division 4 title

EAST LANSING — Riverview Richard coach Mike Magier just wanted a ground ball to end the game.

Freshman left-hander Drew Everingham got it for him, inducing a 6-4-3 double play that clinched the Pioneers' 4-3 win over Beal City in the Division 4 state finals Saturday at Michigan State's McLane Stadium. It's Richard's first state title since 2018.

Last season, it took the Pioneers (20-12) around 25 games to turn two, Magier said, after the COVID-19 pandemic stalled player development. But Richard harped on it in practice this season and was rewarded for it.

"I want to say our first couple of games, we turned like three double plays, and they're like, 'it's not gonna take 25 games this year coach,'" Magier said. "We work hard at it. We make sure that we get our fastest runner out there and saying, 'Hey, this is our time to first base, we gotta do it in as many seconds every time. ... It's something that we really put some time into."

Senior Ashton Nowak pitched 6⅓ innings for the Pioneers, striking out four and walking four while allowing three runs. Connor Silka had three of Richard's 10 hits, which Nowak appreciated.

"It felt great, especially since I had our entire defense behind me and I had a lot of help with offense as well," Nowak said. "Everybody did their part, everybody did their job and everybody played their best that they have all season."

Richard struck first in the top of the third inning when Brenden Hills doubled to right-center and scored on a single to left field by Silka.

When Beal City threatened in the bottom of the third by putting runners on second and third, Pioneers first baseman Ryan Rainey made a crucial defensive play. He caught a pop up well down the foul line, then fired home to get Konnor Wilson out at the plate.

Rainey's effort was noticeable throughout, as he stayed on the bag during a dropped third strike throw despite being spiked by the runner, and later fell into the dugout chasing a pop fly.

"I really give a lot of credit to him, because he didn't have the best game Thursday," Magier said. "And we talked about it, and he came back and put it all on the line to play great."

The Pioneers added two runs in the second inning after Nowak walked and Hills singled to begin the inning. With two outs, Bryan Tuttle roped a bases-clearing double to left field for a 3-0 lead.

"He's the backbone of our team," Magier said of Tuttle. "I think he's caught every game, and I think maybe two or three innings he didn't catch all season. ... Sometimes his at-bats he gets a little tired at, but today he came ready to play and he just he smoked that ball."

Beal City (30-3) found new life in the bottom of the sixth when Jack Fussman doubled to left field with two outs, scoring Brayden Hanes and Wade Wilson.

The Aggies entered the contest averaging a state record 12.3 runs per game and needed those two runs Saturday to maintain it for the season. Thanks to Fussman's clutch hit, Beal City surpassed Three Oaks River Valley (11.9 runs in 1994).

Richard went up 4-2 in the top of the seventh when Nick Wisniewski drilled a line drive up the middle with the bases loaded. The ball, registered as a hit, squirted out of the glove of Beal City shortstop Kaiden Andrews, scoring Tylor Morehouse.

"That was a hard hit ball, and I was wondering if he was gonna get to it from my angle or not," Magier said. "And he made a nice play, just didn't get the glove on it. ... Good things come when we barrel the ball up."

An RBI single by Haynes in the bottom of the seventh made it 4-3, leading Magier to replace Nowak with Everingham to close out the Aggies. Soon after, Silka fielded the grounder and flipped it for the decisive turn, impressed by his freshman teammate's poise.

"He's gotta have some balls for sure," Silka said. "If I was in that position, I don't know what I would've done."

Contact Mason Young: MEYoung@freepress.com Follow him on Twitter: @Mason_Young_0.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA baseball: Riverview Richard outlasts Beal City in Division 4