Decatur eliminated by Saginaw Nouvel 4-2

Published 9:05 am Monday, June 17, 2019

EAST LANSING — A four-run fifth inning spelled doom for the Decatur baseball team in the Division 4 state semifinals at Michigan State University on Friday.

The Raiders led 1-0 on a Jakob Southworth first-inning solo home run through the first three innings.

Southworth was also cruising along on the mound until the fourth when Saginaw Nouvel exploded for four runs and went on to knock the Raiders out of the state tournament 4-2.

The Panthers, who were 15-16-1 entering Saturday’s championship game, were defeated by Petersburg Summerfield 9-0.

In the fifth, Nouvel scored four runs on six hits.

The Panthers scored all four of their runs with two outs. The big blow was Brady Alverson, who delivered a base-clearing double.

Decatur (32-7) finished the game with five hits, including two from Southworth. On the mound, Southworth worked into the seventh inning, allowing four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.

Payton Hoekstra recorded the final out for the Raiders.

Nouvel, which entered the state tournament with a 9-16-1 record, entered the fifth inning against Southworth with just one hit.

Five of the six hits came with two outs.

The Raiders would try to get back into the game with a run in the bottom of the sixth when Benjamin Cervin stole home on a pickoff attempt at second base.

The Panthers’ Jacob Burr would slam the door on Decatur to send Nouvel onto the state championship game.