MUSKEGON — You’re not always rewarded for sweat equity, but Reeths-Puffer’s players were Saturday, pouring a lot of themselves into the GMAA baseball tournament and coming away with the program’s first title in 19 years.
Facing three high-octane opponents that entered the day with fewer than 10 losses between them, the #2-seeded Rockets defeated Muskegon Catholic 5-0, hung on for a thrilling 3-2 win over Mona Shores, and capped it off with an 8-7 win over Division 3 #5 North Muskegon. Right fielder Landyn Wilson made a diving catch on a line drive to save the final game in the seventh inning.
“I’m kind of speechless,” R-P coach Butch Attig said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m so happy about this, not just because we won the tournament. It’s about what these guys put in and the hard work that they put in and I’m just ecstatic for them. I’ve got some emotion, because that’s a grind of a day.”
The Rockets, who had pitched out of jams in each of the last two innings against Mona Shores, found themselves in another tough spot in the finals after Logan Slimko slammed a two-run home run in the second inning.
That didn’t last long, though, as Trent Reichert, who opposed Slimko on the mound, avenged the homer with a two-run line-shot double to tie it up. Courtesy runner Ethan Muskovin scored the go-ahead run later in the inning on a wild pitch.
“Baseball’s a matter of mindset, so we just kept the energy up, we got the hits going and just fought right back,” Reichert said. “They’re a really good baseball team, so we had to look at one another and just say, let’s get this done, and let’s get the W.”
R-P added two more runs in the fourth, which the Norsemen answered on another home run, this one by Ben Meyers. The Rockets came right back with a two-run double by Holden Earnest in the fifth.
Earnest took the mound in the sixth after Reichert hit his pitch limit for the day, and the Norsemen were able to make things interesting late, but the R-P defense stepped up when it mattered most as Wilson made the winning play.
“Off the bat, I was just (thinking) ‘get ball’, and then once I left my feet had to kind of pray that I had it, but I had a good feeling,” Wilson said. “I could feel it in the pocket, but I was really hoping I had it.”
Attig gave Reichert and Jaxson Whitaker, who started the Shores game before Reichert came on for the save, credit for their gutsy performances on the mound.
“I’m proud of every one of them, but I have to give a little bit more kudos to Whitaker and Reichert, who have been with me for four years and understand the expectation is when I hand you the ball, to go to the mound. And they performed. I’m just ecstatic.
“We got on their back for two games and they said, ‘Let’s go. I’ll bring you there. Give me a couple runs and I’ll finish this up.’ It was spectacular.”
R-P eked out a win over Shores in the semifinals, pushing across two runs in the fifth inning to go ahead for good. Whitaker was outstanding on the hill, allowing no earned runs while striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings. Reichert delivered two clutch outs with runners on to get the save.
Against Catholic, Ethan Frang collected three hits, and Brayden Mitchelson and Earnest teamed up on an impressive four-hit shutout.
Attig said the wins should give the Rockets a lot of confidence heading into a tough district that features the Sailors, as well as perennially tough Kenowa Hills and Grand Haven.
“When we circle up at the end of practice, and I look at them and I say, ‘I love you guys,’ I mean I love those guys,” Attig said. “I love what they bring to practice. I love the grind. I love what they do, and I knew they could do it. They just had to believe in themselves, and today they did. They showed that they belong.”
Earlier in the tournament, Montague gave North Muskegon all it could handle in the quarterfinals before falling short, 2-1. The winning run scored on a passed ball in the sixth inning. Eli Petersen pitched very well, striking out six and allowing four hits and one earned run. Kellan Francis had three hits. The Wildcats beat Western Michigan Christian Friday, 12-2, in a play-in game, scoring four runs each in three innings behind two-hit efforts by Ryver Jarka, Petersen and Cole Herremans.
Whitehall, too, dropped a tough game in the tournament, falling 3-2 to Mona Shores. Ryne Christensen pitched 5 1/3 strong innings, allowing only three hits and one earned run.
