Mount Pleasant is on top of the baseball world again.
The Oilers defeated Richmond 7-2 on June 14 at Michigan State University to take their first Division 2 title since 2007. They also won the Class A title under coach Luke Epple in 1996.
This time, the Oilers dominated Richmond. They fired out to a 4-0 lead early in the game.
Senior Aaron Leasher had seven solid innings of four-hit pitching, walking three and fanning seven. His fastball did the trick.
“I couldn’t get my curveball across,” he said. “I was struggling in the early innings. My fastball was working well. As the game went on, I started getting my curveball across.”
Robert Backus, the Oilers’ talented second baseman, had two hits and two RBI, while Dean Marais added two hits.
“The consistency of practices―moving runner and sacrifices―that’s the biggest thing that worked for us today,” Leasher said. “It’s a great feeling, to be twice down here in one year; obviously basketball wasn’t the way we wanted it to end. It’s a great experience to play in Breslin in the arena over there.”
Epple saluted his team’s pitching staff throughout the tournament, which included 5-0 and 5-1 wins in the regionals over Clio and John Glenn, 5-0 over Gladwin in the quarterfinal, and 7-1 over Gull Lake in the semifinal. Hunter Buczkowski had a five-hitter in seven innings of work in the semifinal.
“We have some other good pitchers,” Epple said. “We had to go with those two. They were dominating all the way through. They dominated all the way through the regular season. They have a couple of losses each, but they were like 1-0 and lost to Bay City Western (Division 1 state champion). We knew if we could move the ball a little bit and score some runs, but make the plays we should make, we had a good chance of winning it. They believe it.”
Epple noted that the program continues to celebrate the memory of his father and former Oiler coach Joe Epple.
“He got cancer in 2007 when we won the state, and we dedicated [the title] to him,” Epple said. “He had bone marrow cancer. In 2008, we did the same. We lost to a very good Dearborn Divine Child team and were runners-up. He passed away in 2009. His nickname was Iron, and you see Iron on the hats. He handed this over to us. He had it well-established, and we’re trying to keep it going.
“He lived this game. He did it for the kids. He did it for the right reason. That’s why the kids respect him and the parents who played for him respect him. They don’t want his memory to die. He’s in a better place now.”
Epple promised his players that, if they got to Lansing, they could get Mohawk haircuts.
“My wife allowed me to do it, also,” he said.
Mount Pleasant ended its state championship season at 32-8-1, while Richmond’s 2014 campaign ended at 35-4.
That makes for two champions in one baseball league. The Oilers finished second in the Saginaw Valley League North at 11-3 behind Bay City Western, which was 13-1 and which won the Division 1 state title.