Mid-Michigan well represented on All-State baseball team – The Morning Sun

Beal City senior Cayden Smith won the state championship for the second consecutive year in 2024, pitching a perfect game en route to a 10-0 victory over Norway. (Sun photo by JIM LAHDE)

All that and more, All-State.

The Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association recently announced its 2024 All-State baseball teams and Central Michigan was well represented.

In total, nine Central Michigan players earned All-State honors this spring. Two-time Division 4 state champion Beal City earned three awards and second-place Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Academy earned four.

So without further ado, here’s a look at the players who received All-State honors.

Department 1

Logan Borodychuk, Mt. Pleasant, Sr.

Over the past four years, Borordychuk has had one of the most successful careers in Mt. Pleasant High School history, capping it off this spring with a second-team All-State selection in baseball.

Borodychuk, who will play football at CMU in the fall, was selected to the All-State second team as an infielder for the Oilers after posting a .423 batting average with 19 runs scored and 32 RBIs. He hit 11 doubles and stole 12 bases while going 7-3 with a 2.69 ERA on the mound. In 59.3 innings, he allowed 20 earned runs and struck out 66 against some of the state’s best opponents.

Last fall, he led the Oilers to their third consecutive SVL title and a 9-2 record as quarterback. He also scored his 1,000th point with the varsity basketball program this spring.

Department 3

Ryan Louch, Clare, Jr.

Louch had a sensational season for the Pioneers and was named to the Division 3 All-State first team.

As an infielder, he received All-State honors.

That season, he posted a .491 batting average with 57 hits in 116 at-bats. He also hit 21 doubles and four home runs while getting 44 RBIs and scoring 57 runs. Louch also stole 24 bases in 26 attempts.

The Pioneers performed exceptionally well this season, finishing 32-6-1 on their way to conference, district and regional titles.

Department 4

Cayden Smith, Beal City, Sr.

Smith capped his successful pre-coaching career with a record when he pitched the first perfect game in MHSAA state finals history in a 10-0 (5 innings) win over Norway in the D4 state finals in mid-June.

Smith was named to both the 2024 Dream Team and the D4 All-State First-Team as a pitcher by the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association.

The CMU baseball recruit went 10-0 on the mound with a sub-0.50 ERA. In 62 innings, the hard-throwing right-hander struck out 112 hitters. Smith struck out eight in his perfect game in the state finals. In 2023, he also picked up the win on the mound in Beal City’s 2-1 state championship victory over Plymouth Christian.

At the plate, he had a batting average of .446 with 56 runs scored and 30 stolen bases at the regional championships.

Beal City finished 34-6 this season and won the D4 crown for the second consecutive year.

Jack Fussman, Beal City, Sr.

Fussman had a phenomenal postseason this year, earning a first-team D4 selection as the Aggies’ outfielder and was also selected to the All-State team last year.

He led the Aggie offense in the semifinals and finals, hitting 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two triples. He also scored two runs, including the game-winning run in the D4 state title game, won 10-0 over Norway.

At the regional championships, he posted a .388 batting average with 44 runs scored and 37 RBIs, as well as stealing 24 bases for the two-time Division 4 state champions.

In addition, he has been very successful as quarterback of the football team in recent years and reached the semifinals of the D8 last autumn, among other things.

Josh Wilson, Beal City, Sr.

Wilson had a great career for the Aggies on the football, basketball and baseball fields over the last four years. He capped his career by being selected to the All-State first team as a first baseman in the D4 in 2024.

This is the third consecutive season he has received All-State honors in baseball.

He hit .455 with 34 runs scored, 53 RBIs and 10 doubles in the regional round.

He was also excellent on the mound, going 8-3 with an ERA under 2.50 that season.

Wilson earned the 5-1 semifinal win over Vermontville Maple Valley by allowing one unearned run on three hits, allowing two walks and making eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Aidan Halliday, Mt. Pleasant SHA, Sr.

Halliday ended his stellar career at Sacred Heart Academy in style when he was selected to the All-State first team as a first baseman in D4.

Over the past four years, Halliday has been a mainstay for the Irish in football, basketball and baseball at the collegiate level. He became a star on the football field as a freshman and has been a star in each of those sports for four years now.

The football freshman from Northwood posted a .414 batting average with 13 doubles and three triples while driving in 43 runs and scoring 48 runs. He also had 18 walks and stole 23 bases while being hit by 12 pitches.

On the mound, he went 4-2 with a 1.29 ERA. In 38 innings, he allowed seven earned runs on 29 hits and had 41 strikeouts.

He was selected to the All-State second team last season. SHA went 32-4 this season and recorded 14 wins against higher-ranked opponents.

Grady Pieratt, Mt. Pleasant SHA, Jr.

Pieratt is one of the state of Michigan’s best hitters and was selected to the D4 first-team All-State as an infielder after putting up outstanding numbers against some of the state’s best competition.

Pieratt posted a .513 batting average with 58 hits in 113 at-bats. The 2024 MSAC Player of the Year had eight doubles and three triples while driving in 23 runs and scoring 66 runs. He also stole a school-record 60 bases without being caught, surpassing his father Scott’s previous school standard of 52 set in 1996.

With one year left, Pieratt is on track to break numerous school records in 2025.

Connor Stempky, Mt. Pleasant SHA, Sr.

Stempky was selected to the All-State first team as a catcher for the second consecutive year in 2024. The 2023 MSAC Player of the Year was named team MVP for the fourth consecutive year as he played a big role in Sacred Heart’s stellar 32-4 season.

That season, he had a batting average of .469 with 11 doubles and five triples. He scored 52 runs and 47 hits while walking 30 and taking nine pitches. He also captured 12 bases.

Over the last two seasons, the Irish won 63 games behind the plate. Stempky also batted in 103 runs over the last two seasons and finished his career in the top three in career hits, career RBIs and career triples. He finished his career with a .419 batting average.

Brady Davis, Mt. Pleasant SHA, So.

Davis had a phenomenal sophomore season and was selected to the Division 4 All-State second team as a pitcher.

That season, the left-hander went 9-1 overall and finished with a 0.44 ERA. He allowed three earned runs in 47.2 innings, had 71 strikeouts and 16 walks. Davis opened the season with three and two-thirds shutout innings against D1 powerhouse Bay City Western, which was ranked No. 3 in the state at the time. He also threw a no-hitter against third-ranked Rudyard and earned wins against No. 3-ranked Laingsburg, Beal City, Big Rapids, Kalamazoo Central and Mason.

At bat, Davis had a .393 batting average with 35 hits in 89 at-bats. He batted in 28 runs and scored 25 runs while hitting eight doubles.

Sacred Heart finished the season 32-4 and was defeated in the district round by eventual state champion Beal City.