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PITCHER'S DUEL: Rudyard Loses 2-1 Heartbreaker
 EAST LANSING---The Rudyard High School baseball team has made this long tournament run mostly on good pitching and defense. And on a cloudy Friday afternoon at Michigan State University, the Bulldogs were in a nailbiter with the Centreville Bulldogs despite getting no hitting.  This was a pitcher's duel between Rudyard's Travis Myers and Centreville's Michael Kool. Centreville took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Kool scored on a throwing error on a delayed steal in a first-and-third situation. Nick Weber scored what turned out to be the winning run when Jalen Brown singled him home with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rudyard scored in the top of the sixth inning after Kool walked the first two batters. A sacrifice bunt by Connor Myers moved both men, and James Rosebrock singled home Cody Coffey with a ball just past the second baseman's glove. But with the tying run and third and the go-ahead run at second, Kool struck out the last two batters (Cory Gillett, Owen Mills), and then retired the side in order in the seventh.  
James Rosebrock drives home Rudyard run.
Mills broke that up with a solid base hit. Rosebrock's hit in the sixth inning was the only other hit off of Kool. Kool fanned ten batters for the win. Myers allowed six hits in a losing effort for Rudyard, which finished its best-ever season with a 30-5 record. CLICK HERE to see the statistics, courtesy of the MHSAA. Centreville is 29-1 and will face Muskegon Catholic Central in the Division Four state championship game Saturday afternoon at Michigan State University. The game was the end of the line for Rudyard Coach Ron VanSloten, who is retiring after 22 years to spend more time with his family. His final record: 444-186-4. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from Friday's semifinal game.  |
