Beal City vs. Norway – – MHSAA Division 4 Baseball Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – June 15, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft
This afternoon, the Aggies from Beal City are playing the Knights from Norway in the final game of the Michigan High School Athletic Association Baseball Tournament. Norway reached this game by defeating Marine City Cardinal Mooney in the semifinal. Beal City beat Vermontville Maple Valley in this semifinal game to advance to the final game. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/06/14/beal-city-vs-vermontville-maple-valley-mhsaa-baseball-state-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-june-14-2024-by-chuck-krafft/
The Beal City Aggies enter this game with a 33-6 record. They are rated Number 1 in Division 4. Here are some of the top players per the MHSAA website. Statistics do not include yesterday’s semifinal game.
Lane Gross has a .410 batting average and 20 stolen bases. Josh Wilson is hitting .455 with 10 doubles and 53 RBI. He also was the winning pitcher in yesterday’s semifinal against Vermontville Maple Valley. For the year, his pitching record (not including yesterday’s semifinal) is 7-3 and his ERA is 2.66. Cayden Smith is hitting .446 with 30 stolen bases. Cayden Smith also pitches; he has a 9-0 record with a 0.62 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings.
Jake Gauthier is hitting .424. Owen McKenny has a .374 average along with 20 RBI and 29 stolen bases. Blake Walcutt is hitting .342.
Norway is 28-3-1 this season and are rated Number 10. Their only losses in Michigan were to Number 2 Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and Division 2 Escanaba.
Norway also has some impressive players. Owen Baij has a .435 batting average and 23 stolen bases. He also pitches and has a 5-0 record to go with a 0.41 ERA. Landon Amundson is batting .425 and has 10 doubles. Alex Ortman has a .395 batting average and 29 RBI. He also pitches; he has a 4-2 record with a 0.20 ERA. He has struck out 67 batters in 34 innings.
Cole Baij is hitting .390 with 34 RBI. When he pitches, he has an 11-1 record with a 1.02 ERA. He has struck out 85 batters in 54 innings.
Here are the starting lineups. Beal City won the coin flip and will be the home team. Norway will bat first.
NORWAY
Cameron Varda rf
Landon Amundson c
Owen Baij p
Alex Ortman ss
Cole Baij 1b
Bryce Adams 3b
Maddex Burklund dh
Carter Cazzola lf
Ian Popp 2b
Hayden Amundson will play center field, but will not bat.
BEAL CITY
Cayden Smith p
Owen McKenny ss
Jack Fussman cf
Josh Wilson 1b
Jake Gauthier c
Lane Gross 3b
Bennett Gilde rf
Blake Walcutt lf
Cuyler Smith 2b
Let’s take a look at the events of this game through the occasionally clear eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen whose baseball career sadly stalled. He was showing a lot of promise as an outfielder who could catch almost anything, even if he had to dive. This all ended when the baseball powers that be ruled that I could no longer use super glue in my glove to catch baseballs. After about ten flies fell out of my glove for errors in one game, my playing time was drastically reduced.
Beal City Pitcher Cayden retired the three Norway first inning hitters on a strikeout, a fly to center field and another strikeout.
Cayden Smith was safe at second base on an error to lead off the bottom of the first inning for Beal City. Cayden Smith advanced to second base on a groundout to the shortstop by Owen McKenny. Jack Fussman lined a single to center field to drive Cayden Smith home. Norway Pitcher Owen Baij retired the next batter on a grounder to the shortstop as Jack Fussman held at first base. Jake Gauthier walked.
Cole Tilmann entered the game as a courtesy runner for Jake Gauthier. Owen Baij struck out the next Aggie hitter to end the inning.
Beal City scored one run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Aggie Left Fielder Blake Walcutt made an excellent diving catch of a drive by Alex Ortman to record Norway’s first out of the top of the second inning. Aggie Pitcher Cayden Smith retired the next two Knight hitters on a grounder to the shortstop and a strikeout to end the inning.
Norway Pitcher Owen Baij retired the Beal City leadoff batter in the bottom of the second inning on a grounder to the shortstop. Blake Walcutt reached first on an error. Owen Baij struck out the next Aggie hitter. Cayden Smith was hit by a pitch and Blake Walcutt advanced to second base. Jamisen Latham entered the game as a courtesy runner for Cayden Smith.
Owen McKinny grounded a single up the middle to drive in Blake Walcutt as Jamisen Latham went to third base. Knight Right Fielder Cameron Varda made an excellent catch of a bid for an RBI single by Jack Fussman to end the inning.
Beal City scored one run in the bottom of the second inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Beal City Pitcher Cayden Smith retired the three Knight hitters in the top of the third inning on a grounder to third base, a fly to left field where Blake Walcutt made a fine running catch and another grounder to third base.
In the bottom of the third inning, Norway Second Baseman Ian Popp ranged back into right field to catch a soft fly to record the first Aggie out. Jake Gauthier walked. Cole Tilmann entered the game as a courtesy runner for Ian Popp. Lane Gross doubled to deep center field to drive Cole Tilmann home.
Knight Center Fielder Hayden Amundson made an excellent diving effort on a drive by Bennett Gilde, but it fell in for a single. Because he could not know whether the ball would be caught, Lane Gross held at second base. Blake Walcutt walked to load the bases. Knight Pitcher Owen Baij retired the next Aggie hitter on a fly to right field.
Cayden Smith grounded a double to left field to drive Lane Gross and Bennett Gilde home. Blake Walcutt advanced to third base. Alex Ortman came in to pitch for Norway. Cole Baij moved to shortstop. Owen Baij moved to first base.
Owen McKenny walked and the bases were loaded Jack Fussman walked to force Blake Walcutt home as Cayden Smith advanced to third base and Owen McKenney to second base. Alex Ortman struck out the next Aggie hitter to end the inning.
Beal City scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to boost its lead to 6-0.
Aggie Pitcher Cayden Smith retired the three Knight batters in the top of the fourth inning on a strikeout, a fly to second base and a strikeout.
Knight Pitcher Alex Ortman retired the three Aggie hitters in the bottom of the fourth inning on a foul popup to the catcher, a strikeout and a fly to left field.
Cayden Smith struck out the first two Knight batters in the top of the fifth inning. Carsyn Moore came in to pinch hit for Norway. Cayden Smith also struck him out.
Blake Walcutt walked to lead off the top of the fifth inning for the Aggies. Cuyler Walcutt walked and Blake Walcutt advanced to second base. Cayden Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Alex Ortman struck out the next Aggie hitter. Cole Tilmann entered the game as a courtesy runner for Cayden Smith at first base.
Jack Fussman singled to right field to drive in Blake Walcutt and Cuyler Smith as Cole Tilmann advanced to third base. Jack Fussman went to second base on the throw home. Josh Wilson beat out an infield single to drive in Cole Tilmann. On an error, Jack Fussman was able to hustle home with the winning run.
Beal City was ahead 10-0, so the game was stopped in the fifth inning because of the mercy rule.
Congratulations to the Beal City Aggies, who are the 2024 Division 4 Baseball Champions!!
Owen Baij pitched two and two thirds innings for Norway and struck out two batters. Alex Ortman pitched one and two thirds innings; he struck out three Aggie hitters.
Jack Fussman had two singles and four RBI for Beal City. Cayden Smith had a double and two RBI. Lane Gross had a double and one RBI. Owen McKenny and Josh Wilson each had one single and one RBI. Bennett Gilde had one single.
Cayden Smith pitched a five inning perfect game for the Aggies; he allowed no one to reach base. He struck out eight batters along the way. Per the MHSAA, this is the first time there has ever been a perfect game pitched in a state final.
Congratulations to the Beal City Aggies on winning the State Championship!!!