By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Michigan Center — This particular spot in the postseason may be somewhat unfamiliar for the guys on the Michigan Center baseball team, but this opponent will be all-too familiar.
At 12:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals will resume play in the 2017 postseason with a regional semifinal against Leslie High at Napoleon.
“They are one of the best hitting teams we’ve seen all year,” skipper Matt Desmarais said. “We know they are going to put the ball in play and swing it well. Our pitchers have to pound the zone, and our defense has to be ready at all times.”
Desmarais spoke as if he had seen Leslie a time or two this year. In fact, Saturday will be the fourth meeting this spring.
The Cardinals won the first meeting 11-10 before dropping the next two by 8-5 and 9-8 scores.
“Very familiar with one another,” he said with a laugh.
Still, despite the scores from earlier this year, he’s not anticipating much of anything this time around.
“It’s hard to tell how the game may go,” Desmarais said. “We haven’t seen their best pitchers, and they haven’t seen ours.”
Leslie will see one Saturday as Desmarais said he’s starting Jake Nichols in the semifinal.
Nichols is 8-2 on the season.
“He throws strikes,” Desmarais said. “But he trusts the defense behind him. That’s the key.”
That’s one key.
The other is how Center has been playing of late.
The guys in red and white are 18-17 entering the regional semifinal.
That above-.500 record comes despite an 8-14 start to the year.
Saturday marks the first time the Cardinals have played in a regional round since 2014.
“Really looking forward to it,” Desmarais said. “It was the last week of school amd a few other thigns this week, so we’ll be ready to go. Not many people would have picked us to be in this spot. To be here is pretty awesome. We feel we can compete with anyone.”
The winner of the semifinal faces either Homer or Delton-Kellogg in the regional final.
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports.
He’s also a Real Estate agent with Real Estate One, specializing with buyers and sellers throughout Michigan, from the Jackson area to metro Detroit. You can reach him at mmoore@realestateone.com or by calling (313) 770-6365 with any inquiries.
