By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – A pair of southwest Michigan teams will trek to Battle Creek today to play in the state semifinals at Bailey Park.
Top-ranked Brandywine will face No. 10 ranked Allendale in today's Division 3 baseball semifinal at 5 p.m.
The game will be played at C.O. Brown Stadium.
In Division 4 softball, the No. 8 ranked Cassopolis Lady Rangers will take on No. 3 ranked Bay City All Saints at 6:30 p.m. on Diamond 3.
Brandywine vs. Allendale
This will be the first trip to the state semifinals for the Bobcats since 1992.
Brandywine (31-8) was defeated by Saginaw Nouvel in the semifinals, 5-5. The Bobcats also made trips in 1987 and 1973.
In 1987, Brandywine defeated Pewamo-Westphalia 2-1 in the semifinals and then went on to claim the school's only state championship with a 8-5 win over Coleman.
In 1973, Brandywine, then a Class B school, lost to Romeo in the semifinals, 3-1.
Allendale (27-3) is making its first appearance in the semifinals.
Allendale reached the quarterfinals last year, losing to Kalamazoo Christian 14-2.
The Bobcats advanced to Battle Creek with a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Lansing Catholic.
Allendale reached the Final Four with a 9-3 victory over East Jordan in the quarterfinals.
Pitching, defense and hitting have been the trademarks of the Brandywine team all season.
The Bobcats are led offensively by Noah Udell, who is hitting .500 with 40 stolen bases. Udell has also scored 47 runs.
Other top hitters include Jesse McCombs, Will Coar, Dan Reidenbach and Cameron Ondresky, all of whom are hitting over .400.
Brandywine as a team is hitting .410 on the season.
McCombs, who hits behind Udell in the No. 2 spot, has swiped 28 bases and has crossed the plate 39 times. He also leads the team in extra base hits with 16.
On the mound it has been Jake Harris and Reidenbach leading the charge through the state playoffs after the Bobcats lost pitcher Taylor Ort to a broken wrist prior to the district tournament.
Harris, who started in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, took an 8-3 record into that contest with an ERA of 1.95. Harris had struck out 85 while walking 48.
Reidenbach, who got the win in relief, is now 11-2 on the year. Entering the quarterfinals, he had an ERA of 3.03 with 93 strikeouts and 59 walks.
The Falcons will send either Devin VanderMolen (7-0), Phillip Tolman (7-1) or Cody Westerhuis (5-3) to the mound today to try and stop the powerful Brandywine offense, which has now scored 341 runs in 39 games.
Offensively for Allendale, VanderMolen was hitting nearly .500 with 17 RBIs and 41 runs scored. Tolman is also hitting over .400 with 35 RBIs, 37 runs scored and a team-high five home runs.
The winner will advance to the finals on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against either Beaverton (24-3) or Grass Lake (32-6). Beaverton and Grass Lake play in the first semifinals at 4 p.m. on Nichols Field.
Cassopolis vs. Bay City
Bay City (33-7-1) is no stranger to the state finals.
Bay City has been to the semifinals nine times and won three state titles.
All Saints reached the semifinals six straight years from 1986 to 1991, but their last appearance came in 2003.
The Cougars won state championships in 1999, 1991 and 1988.
Bay City advanced to the semifinals with a 9-0 win over New Lothrop in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Through 40 games this season, Becca DeWyse was the top hitter for the Cougars with a .512 batting average, 58 RBIs, 22 doubles and four home runs. She leads the team in every category.
Other top hitters include Louise Rezmer (.410) and Stephanie Herman (.367).
Rezmer is also the team's top pitcher with a record of 28-6 and an ERA of 0.53. She has struck out 366 batters and walked just 50.
The Lady Rangers will be looking to continue their hot hitting.
To advance to the semifinals, Cassopolis defeated Mason County Eastern 11-6.
The Lady Rangers finished with 11 hits.
Cassopolis is led offensively by Samantha Vlasicak, who is hitting .440 with 44 RBIs.
Symone Pompey, the team's second leading hitter, is also the top pitcher for the Lady Rangers with a record of 23-8 and an ERA of 1.60.
Kayla Green has also had a solid year in the circle for Cassopolis with a record of 10-1 and an ERA of 1.20.
The winner will advance to the finals on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against either Homer (20-14) or Bellaire (33-7). That semifinal will be played at 6 p.m. on Diamond 1.