Whitehall delivered one of its best days of the year at the perfect time Saturday, defeating Big Rapids, 7-3, and Ludington, 6-4, to earn the district championship, the school’s first in baseball in seven years.
The Vikings’ Nate Betz got the offense going in the second inning of the semifinal against the Cardinals, which entered the tournament with a 25-7 record. Betz ripped a two-out, two-run double to tie the game at two, quickly giving Whitehall a response to the Cardinals’ two-run first inning. Another clutch two-out, two-run double came flying off the bat of Noah Meinert in the third inning, which put the Vikes ahead for good. Whitehall extended the lead to 7-2 later in the game, with Meinert and Kyle Stratton each delivering run-scoring hits.
Ryne Christensen continued his strong work on the mound, striking out six and allowing only six hits and two earned runs. The Vikings played good defense, with just one error.
A five-run second inning sparked Whitehall to the championship win. The first six Vikings reached base in the inning, and Christensen, Brock Morningstar and Eli Winters all had RBI hits after that to give Whitehall a 6-2 lead. Evan Thomas worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the sixth inning to preserve the win. He struck out four and allowed five hits in five innings before Morningstar came on to earn the save.
As in the semifinals, Whitehall made only one error.
“The kids knew that if we played good defense and good situational baseball that we would have a great chance to win, and that’s exactly what they did,” Whitehall coach Warren Zweigle said.
