Williamston vs. DeWitt – – Diamond Classic Baseball Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – June 3, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft
Every year, the Lansing Area’s best baseball teams participate in the Diamond Classic. Through a series of rounds, eight of the ten teams that started the tournament have been eliminated. The remaining teams, the Williamston Hornets and the DeWitt Panthers, are competing for the Diamond Classic championship this Monday night. This is Williamston’s first appearance in the Diamond Classic Final.
DeWitt got here by beating Mason in a quarterfinal game and defeating Holt in this semifinal. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2024/05/30/holt-vs-dewitt-baseball-diamond-classic-semifinal-the-bleacher-denizen-may-28-2024-by-chuck-krafft/
Williamson won its opening round against Portland, and beat one of the top seeds, Okemos, in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal game, they defeated a strong Grand Ledge squad in the semifinal. I was able to cover the quarterfinal and semifinal. Here are those two games in case you have not seen those play by play articles.
In an ironic twist, these teams will also play each other in the regional semifinal on Wednesday!
Here are the starting lineups! DeWitt will be the home team and Williamston will bat first.
WILLIAMSTON HORNETS
Hunter Van Sickler cf
Ben Convey ss
Carter Gulick c
Aiden Friess dh
Brayden Johnson 2b
Hawk Harding p
Miles Keener rf
Kaleb Nielson lf
Brett Palmer 1b
Jack Hart will play third base, but will not bat.
DEWITT PANTHERS
Sam Leonard 3b
Brandon Beckner cf
A.J. Alicea ss
Elliott Larner rf
Nick Weiss 1b
Abram Larner lf
Jake Smith 2b
Zach Nevison p
Trav Moore dh
Cooper Kingsbury will catch, but will not bat.
It is now time to review the events of this game through the aging eyes of a somewhat observant Bleacher Denizen who never had much of a baseball career in the days of yore when he attempted to play. Your Bleacher Denizen’s ability to catch fly balls in the outfield was greatly compromised when the baseball powers-that-be insisted that the Bleacher Denizen no longer use super glue in his glove. Sixty dropped fly balls later, your Bleacher Denizen’s playing time dwindled greatly!
DeWitt Pitcher Zach Nevison retired the first two Williamston batters in the bottom of the first inning on a grounder to shortstop and a grounder to third base. Carter Gulick bounced single up the middle. Zach Nevison retired the next Hornet batter on a popup to third base to end the inning.
Williamston Pitcher Hawk Harding retired the DeWitt leadoff batter in the first inning on a grounder to third base. Brandon Beckner hit a single to center field and stole second base. Hawk Harding retired the next two Panther hitters on a fly to left field and a grounder to the shortstop.
Zach Nevison retired the first two Hornet hitters in the top of the second inning on a strikeout and a bouncer to first base. Miles Keener singled to right field. Kaleb Nielson beat out a bunt single and Miles Keener advanced to second base. Williamston made its third out of the inning on a fly to right field.
Hawk Harding retired the first two Panther hitters in the bottom of the second inning on a grounder to shortstop and a grounder to second base. Jake Smith singled to right field. Williamston Center Fielder Hunter Van Sickler made a fine running grab of a fly off the bat of the next hitter to end the inning.
After two innings, the game was tied at 0-0.
In the top of the third inning Hunter Van Sickler walked and went to second base when Ben Convey was hit by a pitch. Carter Gulick walked to load the bases with no one out. The next Hornet hitter grounded to Panther Shortstop A.J. Alicea, who started a double play. Hunter Van Sickler scored on the play and Ben Convey went to third base. Ben Convey scored on a wild pitch. Williamston made its third out of the inning on a grounder to the shortstop.
Williamston scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Trav Moore led off the top of the third inning for DeWitt with a single to center field. Trav Moore scored when Sam Leonard reached third base on an error. Sam Leonard scored on a groundout to the shortstop by Brandon Beckner to tie the game. Hawk Harding retired the next two hitters on a fly to right field where Miles Keener made a nice running catch and a grounder to the shortstop.
DeWitt scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 2-2.
Nick Weiss moved to pitcher for DeWitt. Zach Nevison went to right field. Elliott Larner went to third base. Jake Smith moved to shortstop. Sam Leonard took over at second base and A.J. Alicea moved to first base.
Nick Weiss retired Williamston’s leadoff batter in the top of the fourth inning on a grounder to second base. Miles Keener was safe at first base on an error. Williamston’s next hitter was out on a foul popup to the catcher. Miles Keener took second base on a wild pitch. Brett Palmer belted a double to deep right field to drive in Miles Keener.
Hunter Van Sickler walked. Ben Convey was hit by a pitch. Brett Palmer advanced to third base and Hunter Van Sickler to second base. The bases were loaded with two out. Carter Gulick was hit by a pitch. Brett Palmer was forced home as Hunter Van Sickler advanced to third base and Ben Convey to second base. Williamston made its third out on a bouncer to third base.
In the top of the fourth inning, Williamston scored two runs to take a 4-2 lead.
Nick Weiss doubled over the center fielder’s head to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning for DeWitt. Abram Larner beat out an infield single to the left side; Nick Weiss held at second base. Nick Weiss advanced to third base and Abram Larner to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Smith. Nick Weiss scored and Abram Larner took third base on an RBI groundout to third base by Zach Nevison. Hawk Harding struck out the next Panther hitter to end the inning.
DeWitt scored one run in the bottom of the fourth inning to trim the Williamston lead to 4-3.
Sam Leonard came in to pitch for DeWitt. Nick Weiss went back to first base. Jake Smith went back to second base and A.J. Alicea went back to shortstop.
Brayden Johnson led off the top of the fifth inning for Williamston by being hit by a pitch. He stole second base. Hawk Harding doubled to right field to drive in Brayden Johnson. Jack Kindinger entered the game as a courtesy runner for Hawk Harding. Jack Kindinger advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Miles Keener hit a high hopper single off the third baseman’s glove to drive in Jack Kindinger. Miles Keener stole second base.
Sam Leonard struck out the next Hornet hitter. DeWitt Catcher Cooper Kingsbury picked the Hornet runner off second base for the second Williamston out after DeWitt’s infield handled the rundown effectively. Sam Leonard struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Williamston scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning to boost its lead to 6-3.
Richard Cuzydlo came in to pitch for Williamston.
Sam Leonard singled to center field to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for DeWitt; he took second base when Brandon Beckner was hit by a pitch. A.J. Alicea was walked to load the bases with no one out. Elliott Larner hit a foul sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Sam Leonard. The other runners held.
Brandon Beckner took third base and A.J. Alicea second base on a wild pitch. Nick Weiss singled to left field to drive Brandon Beckner home as A.J. Alicea advanced to third base. Aiden Friess came in to pitch for DeWitt.
Abram Larner singled to drive in the tying run as Nick Weiss advanced to second base. Nick Weiss went to third base and Abram Larner to second base on a sharp groundout to first base by Jack Smith. Zach Nevison drove in Nick Weiss with a single to right field. Abram Larner moved up to third base. Trav Moore singled up the middle to drive in Abram Larner as Zach Nevison advanced to second base.
Williamston Second Baseman Brayden Johnson ranged far to his left to catch a grounder by Sam Leonard and throw him out at first base for the third Panther out.
DeWitt scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take an 8-6 lead.
Hunter Van Sickler walked to lead off the top of the sixth inning for Williamston. Dewitt Pitcher Sam Leonard retired the next two hitters on a foul popup to first base and a fly to center field where Brandon Beckner made an excellent running catch. Aiden Friess walked and Hunter Van Sickler went to second base.
Jack Kindinger entered the game as a courtesy runner for Aiden Friess. On a double steal, Hunter Van Sickler went to third base and Jack Kindinger to second base. Brayden Johnson singled to center field to drive Hunter Van Sickler and Jack Kindinger home. Sam Leonard retired the next Hornet batter on a grounder to second base to end the inning.
Williamston scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 8-8.
Brett Palmer came in to pitch for Williamston and Aiden Friess moved to first base.
Brandon Beckner walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Panthers and went to second base when A.J. Alicea walked. Williamston Catcher Carter Gulick reacted quickly to grab a bunted fly by the next Panther hitter for the first out. Williamston Pitcher Brett Palmer retired the next batter on a popup to the pitcher. Abram Larner singled to left field. Hornet Left Fielder Kaleb Nielson made a great throw home to catch the runner trying to score from second base to end the inning.
We are headed into the top of the seventh (and final) inning with the game tied at 8-8!!
Miles Keener singled to right center field to lead off the top of the seventh inning for Williamston. DeWitt Catcher Cooper Kingsbury fired the ball to second base to stop the runner stealing; when the runner tried to retreat to first base, he was thrown out. Sam Leonard struck out the next Hornet batter. Brett Palmer made a bid for a single, but Panther Center Fielder Brandon Beckner made a fantastic diving catch to record Williamston’s third out.
The teams were tied 8-8 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.
Brett Palmer struck out the Panther leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh inning. Zach Nevison drew a walk. Brett Palmer struck out the next batter and got the third Panther out on a fly to center field to end the inning.
The score was tied 8-8 and the game went into extra innings.
Sam Leonard retired the first two Williamston batters in the top of the eighth inning on a popup to shortstop and a popup to second base. Carter Gulick walked and took second base on a wild pitch. Sam Leonard retired the next Hornet hitter on a grounder to shortstop where A.J. Alicea made a fine play to end the inning.
Brandon Beckner was safe on an error to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning for DeWitt. Brett Palmer struck out the next DeWitt batter. The next hitter hit a grounder to Williamston Third Baseman Jack Hart, who relayed the ball to Second Baseman Brayden Johnson, who fired to first base to get the inning-ending double play.
As the game was tied 8-8, Williamston came to bat in the top of the eighth inning.
DeWitt Pitcher Sam Leonard retired the first two Hornet batters in the top of the ninth inning on flies to left field. Miles Keener walked and advanced to second base and then to third base on wild pitches. Sam Leonard struck out the next Williamston batter to end the inning.
Brett Palmer retired the three DeWitt hitters in the bottom of the ninth inning on a strikeout, a grounder to first base and another strikeout.
The game was still tied 8-8 as we got ready for the tenth inning.
Panther Right Fielder Zach Nevison made a great running catch to retire the Hornet leadoff batter in the top of the tenth inning. Hunter Van Sickler walked and moved to second base when Ben Convey walked.
Nick Weiss came back in to pitch for DeWitt. A.J. Alicea moved to first base, Sam Leonard took over at second base and Jake Smith shifted over to shortstop.
On a double steal, Hunter Van Sickler stole third base and Ben Convey stole second. Carter Gulick hit a sacrifice fly to right fielder Zach Nevison. Zach Nevison made a great throw home, but Hunter Van Sickler was able to beat the throw home to give Williamston the lead. Ben Convey held at second base. Williamston made its final out of the inning on a grounder to shortstop.
Williamston scored one run in the top of the tenth inning to take a 9-8 lead.
Aiden Friess came back in to pitch for Williamston. Brett Palmer moved back to first base.
Zach Nevison walked to lead off the bottom of the tenth inning for DeWitt. Trav Moore tripled to right center field to drive Zach Nevison home with the tying run. Sam Leonard hit a walk-off single to right field to drive in Trav Moore with the winning run.
DeWitt won the Diamond Classic in the bottom of the tenth inning 9-8! Congratulations to the Champion DeWitt Panthers!!
Sam Leonard had an excellent tournament and was named the Diamond Classic Most Valuable Player!
Miles Keener had four singles and one RBI for Williamston. Brett Palmer and Hawk Harding each had a double and one RBI. Brayden Johnson and Carter Gulick each had one single and two RBI. Kaleb Nelson had one single.
In a game where hitters dominated, Brett Palmer stood out as he pitched four innings and gave up zero runs while striking out five DeWitt batters.
Trav Moore had a triple, two singles and two RBI for the victorious DeWitt Panthers. Abram Larner had three singles and one RBI. Nick Weiss had a double, a single and one RBI. Sam Leonard had two singles and one RBI. Brandon Beckner and Zach Nevison each had a single and one RBI. Jake Smith had a single. Elliott Larner had one RBI.
Hitters dominated this game. However, Sam Leonard pitched five and one third innings for DeWitt. After giving up four runs in his first two innings, he settled down and pitched three shutout innings before finally giving up one more run in the top of the tenth inning. He struck out four batters and gave DeWitt some important innings.