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New Lothrop Junior Makes His Mother Proud On The Ball Diamond

NEW LOTHROP - Brady Birchmeier had no idea how he would get through his team’s two games with Ovid-Elsie on Monday. After all, his mind was elsewhere. His mother was having surgery.

“I thought going into the games it would be on my mind and that it might affect how I’d perform,” the New Lothrop junior admitted.  “I’m used to her being at every game. But it actually helped me keep focus and made me play better. I know she would be proud of me.”

With the season the 22nd-rated junior in Michigan has been having, it was actually difficult to play much better. But the Bowling Green commit managed to do something out of the ordinary even for him in leading the Hornets to a pair of victories.

Birchmeier went a combined 7-for-7 with two grand slams and 13 RBIs in the doubleheader sweep, in the process breaking the school’s all-time record for home runs in a season.

“I think this was my most memorable game,” Birchmeier said. “The only way it might have been better was if I pitched.”

That will take place tonight. But Monday’s game was about hitting and the 6-3 230-pounder was at his best.

The two-hole hitter for New Lothrop hit a second-pitch fastball for a single in the first inning of game one to start off the day. Later that frame, Birchmeier came to the plate with the bases loaded. After fouling off four pitches when down in the count 1-2, Birchmeier belted a home run over the center-field fence for his 11th round-tripper of the year, topping the school mark of 10 by Quinton Taylor, a current assistant with the Hornets.

“As soon as I got back to the dugout he came over, gave me a hug and congratulated me,” Birchmeier said of Taylor. “It feels nice to be on the record board.”

It was just the start of the celebration about to take place.

In plate appearance three, Birchmeier hit a first-pitch curveball for a single in what proved to be his final at-bat of the game.

But there was much more to come in the nightcap.

The right-handed hitting junior lined the first offering he saw in game two down the right-field line for a double and followed that up with a single on the initial pitch of his second AB of the contest.

Another single in his third trip to the plate gave Birchmeier his sixth hit of the day, but the 17-year-old was far from finished.

With his squad three runs away from a run-rule victory, Birchmeier came to the plate with the bases juiced in his next at-bat.

“The first pitch was kind of high and I fouled it straight back,” Birchmeier reflected. “The second pitch was just below my knee and I took it to left field. It found its way over.”

His teammates were quick to join in the fun.

“Most of the time when I hit a home run our team doesn’t go out on the field, but they knew the circumstances and how the day was going for me,” Birchmeier said. “All of them greeted me and gave me a hug. What a nice feeling.”

Head coach Ben Alsmay had nothing but high praise for his junior standout.

“While his mom was having surgery all day, he seemed locked in,” Alsmay said “Every ball he hit was hit hard.”

That is something Birchmeier has been doing all year. After Monday’s performance, Birchmeier is batting .605 (49-81) on the season with 22 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 64 RBIs while scoring 54 runs. 

“He is the greatest high-school hitter that I have ever coached and an all-timer in our area for sure,” Alsmay said. “I think he is surely one of the top 10 hitters in Michigan this year.”

He has not done too bad on the mound either this season with a 6-0 record and 0.98 ERA. The hard-throwing righty has 60 strikeouts in 33 innings while allowing 18 hits and 10 walks.

With a week remaining in the regular season, Birchmeier has now surpassed personal goals established before the year began.

“I wanted an ERA below 1.50 which I do have,” Birchmeier said. “I set goals of 10 home runs, 50 RBIs and a batting average above .500.

“I’ve felt really confident at the plate this year,” Birchmeier added. “Last summer I was striding a lot and had trouble hitting the curve. This year I’ve been focused on hitting it hard. My stance is wide and there’s not much leg kick. That’s helped me see the ball better.”

That was evident on Monday. Doing it with what Birchmeier was going through with his mother made it even more impressive.

“A few of my teammates are close family friends,” Birchmeier related. “Some of them said keep doing this for your mom. She’d love it.”

And while the day at the ballpark was hard to top, Birchmeier was even more pleased with what he found out with his mother.
“The surgery went well,” Birchmeier said.

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