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2021 MHSAA Tournament: Division 1 State Semifinal - Grand Blanc vs Brother Rice

EAST LANSING - A combination of solid pitching and hitting propels the Bobcats to the D1 State Title game.

Grand Blanc's bats came out on fire, scoring four runs on four hits in the top of the 1st inning against one of the top arms in the state.

Jonah Meleski led the game off with a double to the left center gap. AJ Maxwell followed with a single, which allowed Meleski to score via the errant throw to first.

21’ Jonah Meleski (@jonah_meleski) drills a double into the left center gap to lead off the game. @GB__Baseball sends 10 to the plate in the 1st and leads Brother Rice 4-0 pic.twitter.com/WlgctlY8uk

— Prep Baseball Report Michigan (@PrepbaseballM) June 17, 2021

After a steal by Maxwell, walk to Grand Blanc starting pitcher David Lally and a strikeout, freshman Nathan Fidelino got the first of his three hits on the day, a two-run double to left field. The Bobcats added another in the inning thanks to a bases loaded walk.

Brother Rice came up in the bottom half of the first and scored a run without a hit, thanks to two hit by pitches, a double steal and an RBI ground out.

But that run was all the Warriors could muster on the day, as the 2022 Notre Dame commit Lally settled in, allowing just four hits over the next five innings of work before Braxton McVicar came in to finish the game in the 7th inning.

Grand Blanc added two more in the second on a Dylan Bowen 2-run single, one in the fourth on a Walsh bases loaded walk, and two in the fifth on a Fidelino and Kyle Keener back to back RBI singles.

22’ Dylan Bowen (@DylanBowen603)adds to the Grand Blanc lead with a 2 run single. 2nd hit of the game@GB__Baseball leads 6-1 pic.twitter.com/Ge4JBuSw2w

— Prep Baseball Report Michigan (@PrepbaseballM) June 17, 2021

The win sets up a D1 State Title game matchup against Portage Central, who was a 5-1 winner over Midland Dow.

HOT TAKES

CO-PLAYER OF THE GAME: Junior David Lally and Freshman Nathan Fidelino each contributed in big ways. Lally dominanted for six innings on the bump while Fidelino did it all at the plate.

22’ David Lally (@davidlally55) went 6 innings on the mound as @GB__Baseball advanced to the Division 1 Final with a 9-1 win over Brother Rice. 2 pitch mix relying on CB early on before finding FB command later on in game

FB: 88-90 T92
CB: 74-77 pic.twitter.com/pJ6nj2bhvQ

— Prep Baseball Report Michigan (@PrepbaseballM) June 17, 2021

ALMOST THE CYCLE: Did I say Fidelino did it all at the plate ... well almost. The talented Class of 2024 prospect went 3-4 with a single, double, triple, and walk ... missing the cycle by a home run.

A FIRST: With the win, Grand Blanc advances to their first state championship game in school history.

LINESCORE

Grand Blanc       420 120 0 - 9 11 0
Brother Rice      100 000 0 - 1 5 2

Records: Grand Blanc 32-11, Brother Rice 29-11

Winning Pitcher: David Lally (6 innings, 1 run, 1 ER, 4 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk). Other: Braxton McVicar (1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Losing Pitcher: John Locker (1.1 inning, 6 runs, 6 ER, 6 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks). Other: Aldfredo Velazquez (1.2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout, 3 walks), Blaise Wilcenski (2 innings, 3 runs, 3 ER, 3 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks), Wyatt Ruppenthal (1 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 strikeouts, 1 walk).

Leading Hitters: (Grand Blanc) - Jonah Meleski double; AJ Maxwell 2 singles; Hunter Ames 2 singles; Nathan Fidelino single, double, triple; Kyle Keener single; Dylan Bowen 2 singles. (Brother Rice) - Alfredo Velazquez single; Carlie D'Angelo single; Alex Cheeseman single; Owen Turner single; Alex Tribul single.

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