This year, Chippewa Hills made it to the state baseball semifinals for the first time since 1985, and they almost got to the Division 2 title game.
But Grand Rapids Christian edged the Warriors 1-0 in a heartbreaking game in Battle Creek. Christian would wind up winning the Division 2 state title with a 3-0 win over Richmond.
The Warriors ended their season at 27-8. It was a memorable season, as they beat Whitehall 6-4 and Cheboygan 3-1 in the regionals for their second straight regional title.
The Warriors slipped past Mount Pleasant 6-5 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal round on June 14. A dramatic five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh sent the Warriors to the semifinals.
“Ending your season with a loss is never a good feeling,” said Warrior coach Ben Wright. “How we got to where we were at and the moment that we lost is nothing to hang our heads about. We played tremendous baseball down the stretch. I don’t think we had a a bad day, we just didn’t have a great day. Getting beat 1-0 shows we had a lot of resilience and fight. I thought we played well.”
Devin Esch and Shane Travis got the only hits for the Warriors. Christian scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the fourth on Alex VanDeVusse’s suicide squeeze bunt. The Warriors had two runners on in the sixth, but pinchrunner Trevor Perdy was picked off at second base by Christian starter VanDeVusse, who threw a two-hitter, walking three and striking out 11.
“The season was tremendous,” Wright said. “We accomplished a lot of great things. We won our third straight district, second straight regional, and sixth straight conference championship. It was an unbelievable season for these young men. They put their hearts and souls into being as good as the previous years and solidified themselves as one of the best teams in Chippewa Hills’ history. The No. 1 key benefit was chemistry. The guys waned to do well and wanted to be good.”
Jake Tarbell threw a 5-hitter for Chippewa Hills, walking six and striking out four.
In stats after the districts, Tarbell had a 9-2 record with 1.98 ERA. Ty Schafer was 7-2 with a 2.83 ERA.
Tarbell led the team in hitting with a .510 average, including 16 doubles, 40 RBI, and 28 runs scored. Devin Esch and Hunter Conley both batted .497. Schafer batted .364 with 23 RBI.
“Losing in the state semifinals exceeds the expectations of any of my teams,” Wright said. “I’m preparing my teams to be ready for the districts. From then on, it depends on how your team plays. I knew this team was going to good. I knew we had some good baseball players.”