Whiteford baseball wins Regional, falls in quarterfinals

ADRIAN – Whiteford didn’t look like a team that had just seen its season come to an end with a tough loss.

There weren’t any tears to be seen.

The Bobcats were poised as they walked off the Nicolay Field at Adrian College following a 4-3 loss in 9 innings to Bridgman in the Division 3 state quarterfinals.

Photo Gallery: Whiteford wins Regional baseball title

“I’m not disappointed in the least,” Whiteford coach Terry Pant said. “When we started this season, we didn’t expect to be here. We won three trophies (Tri-County Conference District and Regionals).”

Whiteford won the seventh Regional championship in school history by beating Jackson Lumen Christi 5-2 earlier in the day.

The trio of trophies and a 22-11 final record were pretty good for a team that graduated seven seniors, including six starters last season.

“It was a good season, a good journey,” said Whiteford sophomore Nate Stevens, who started the quarterfinal game. “These guys are all my buddies.”

A few weeks go, Stevens didn’t know if he would be able to join his buddies on the field for the state tournament.

He suffered a shoulder injury during a late-season game against Summerfield, missing several weeks of action.

Stevens finally returned to the mound last weekend in the District Tournament, then was given the ball to start the quarterfinal game.

“Confidence is No. 1,” he said. “You just have to go out and be yourself.”

Stevens shut out Bridgman for the first five innings Saturday.

“I thought he pitched great,” Pant said.

Whiteford finally broke the scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Shea Ruddy started the rally by beating out an infield hit, then Logan Tammerine drew a walk, and Luke Rasor was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Stevens then line the ball into right-centerfield for a two-run single.

“That was electric,” Stevens said.

A bunt single by Ryan Ruddy brought in the third run.

The Bobcats were flying high following the big inning, but Bridgman responded quickly in the bottom of the inning with three straight, two-out RBI singles that knotted the score again.

“When we jumped on them for three runs, I thought maybe we were in a good spot, but they are a good team,” Pant said. “They did what they had to do.”

Whiteford put runners on base in the seventh, eighth, and ninth inning – including two in scoring position – but could not cash in.

“We missed our opportunities,” Pant said.

Bridgman finally pushed a run across the plate in the bottom of the ninth to earn a trip to the state semifinals in East Lansing Thursday.

Rasor and Stevens collected two hits each against Bridgman. Jake Giesige had a triple.

Rasor and Shea Ruddy each had a pair of hits and while Rasor and Stevens split four RBI against Lumen Christi. Tammerine was the winning pitcher with relief help from Brendon Masters.

“Last year, we had six seniors and three of them are playing college ball,” Stevens said. “They were athletes. … No one had us going this far.”

Whiteford had four seniors on the roster this year – Rasor, Shea Ruddy, Giesige, and Aiden Cousino.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Whiteford baseball wins Regional, falls in quarterfinals