Reese put in its bid for a Division 3 state baseball title but fell short in the semifinal, losing to University Liggett School 7-1.
The Rockets had won a tight regional with 2-1 and 2-0 victories over Memphis and Montrose. Then they blanked Pinconning in the quarterfinals 5-0.
Liggett defeated Decatur 9-0 in the finals.
In the semifinal, Reese had four hits total and only one walk. Cody Peyok had one of those hits and scored the only run. Liggett had a 6-0 lead after three innings.
Liggett and Reese each committed three errors. “We made a couple of mistakes,” coach Dave Elliott said. “We made some throwing errors. We gave them extra bases, which gave them an opportunity to score a few more runs. Not that it probably would have made a difference in the game, but you never know as it goes on.”
Matt Sahr and Cody Peyok were the pitchers for Reese. “There were some close pitches I thought we could have had,” Elliott said. “But that’s a part of baseball. I’m not complaining. I’m saying there’s a few pitches that could have gone either way.”
Elliott has a 19-year record of 418-198-4. The Rockets made it to the semifinals in 1997 and lost to River Valley, which went on to win the title.
This year, Reese’s season ended at 28-8-1, but it was a memorable one for the Rockets.
“At one point, we were 11-7,” Elliott said. “But I play a lot of kids. I try to see my other kids. You never know when the situation may come up that you need them.”
After the 11-7 start, Reese then won 17 straight games.
“We played really well and got some good pitching,” Elliott said. “Even in the tournament, up until the time we played Liggett, we had only given up two total runs. We had a good team and great kids. You don’t want it to end, but unfortunately, it does.”
Defense and pitching paved the way for the Rockets. “Our defense, especially the last 17 games, we played really solid,” Elliott said. “The infielders and outfielders made some great catches. That was key.”
Peyok batted .407 for the Rockets.
“I had eight seniors on the team, and six of them started,” Elliott said. “We’re probably going to be young next year. My catcher [Jacob Hartman] was only a freshman.”
Elliott had expected a huge season. “Three kids had been with me for three years,” he said. “Justin Heinlein was my shortstop and was a key to my infield, especially defensively.”