Algonac baseball falls to Bridgman, 7-1, in Division 3 state final
EAST LANSING — For three months, the Algonac baseball team sat comfortably atop Division 3.
On Saturday, the Muskrats were abruptly knocked off their perch.
Algonac fell to Bridgman, 7-1, in the Division 3 state final at Michigan State's McLane Baseball Stadium. They finished the best season in program history at 37-4.
"Their pitcher did a great job of getting strike one over," Algonac coach Scott Thaler said. "I don't think we made the adjustments needed to be a championship team today. We all kind of took the same approach and decided to have a bad day at the plate in the same day. That's baseball. Either everybody's hitting or everybody's not hitting."
Added Thaler: "But I'm proud of the boys. Absolutely proud of the boys. (It was) an amazing, amazing year. This result does not dictate or make our season."
In the bottom of the first inning, Algonac starter Bryce Simpson pitched out of a jam with runners on the corners and one out. He answered with back-to-back a strikeouts to retire the side.
The Muskrats' offense, however, never found an answer and finished with just three hits.
Simpson encountered more trouble in the third with the bases loaded and one out. But this time, he couldn't work his way out of it.
An infield fly landed next to first baseman Matthew Meldrum and scored a runner from third.
Bridgman's next batter hit a ground ball to shortstop Caleb Thomas. That scored another run from third. But Thomas overthrew first base, allowing a third run to cross the plate.
The Bees weren't done. The next at-bat resulted in an RBI double down the right-field line.
In just three at-bats, Bridgman had taken total control of the game.
The Muskrats' lone run came in the top of the sixth, when Nate Vercammen scored from second on an RBI single by Evan Saddler.
Despite Saturday's loss, Algonac's season was filled with memories and milestones. Prior to this year, the Muskrats had never advanced past the regional final. They'd also never won a BWAC title.
Yes, Algonac wanted to bring home the ultimate prize. But the 2023 campaign was still a turning point for the program.
"You look at that crowd we had out there, I don't think there's anybody left in Algonac," Thaler said. "(This season) was amazing for the community. Unfortunately, there's always going to be one team standing that doesn't have a loss. And unfortunately, that wasn't us today.
"But we have a fairly young team. A lot of our pitching comes back. So we're going to learn from this and look to get back here and (travel) 122 miles next year."
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Algonac baseball falls to Bridgman, 7-1, in Division 3 state final
