Preps!
EAST LANSING – In the last game of the evening at Michigan State’s Secchia Stadium, Richmond completed the final knockout of a highly-ranked team, dusting off No. 3 Escanaba in a 6-2 semifinal win, earning the right to face unranked Vicksburg in Saturday’s Division 2 state championship.
Richmond only got as high as honorable mention this year.
“We wanted the final to be two teams that weren’t ranked just to prove people wrong, those who doubted us,” said Richmond’s Lindsay Schweiger. “And the Vicksburg win was a crazy game. For (No. 2) Ladywood to score right away and Vicksburg to battle back, that just shows you anything can happen, so it should be a good game. I have so much faith in our team for Saturday.”
Richmond (31-9) and Escanaba (35-3-1) were even at 2-2 after three innings, both scoring one run each in the second and third innings. Richmond then broke the game open with three runs in the fifth.
Emma Caperton led off and reached first base on an infield hit. Then Amy Thueme was safe at first on an error. As the ball got loose, she ran to second base, allowing Caperton to score on the throw to second. Schweiger then hit an RBI single to score Thueme, before Schweiger scored two batters later on an RBI single by pitcher Erin Shuboy.
“When I was up to bat I knew I had to put the ball in play and no matter where it was, move the runner,” Schweiger said. “Usually I can’t hit left-handed pitchers but for this game I didn’t even think about where she was throwing it from. I just attacked the ball and it worked out.”
Richmond has a strong tradition under the direction of 38-year coach Howard Stuart. Three times the Blue Devils have been state runners-up, but the last two were 1998 and ’99. This team is currently in the hands of a freshman pitcher and catcher (Kennedy Caperton).
“This team has been pulling for each other all season,” Stuart said. “We have some losses because I put them in every possible situation we could possibly be in. Everything I could do to make this team tougher I did. And they are tough.
“She’s been working hard and she throws the ball well,” he said of Shuboy. “The kid comes from natural stock and she’s a good athlete. She’s a solid pitcher.”
Shuboy added: “This is unreal. I’m really excited that we made it this far. We took it one play at a time and got through the hard situations. We took advantage of the good pitches.”
Scores/schedules: Michigan baseball, softball, soccer state finals