Royal Oak native Stephen Ruhle closes door on Leprechauns in 4-3 win – The Oakland Press

Hometown native Stephen Ruhle throws a pitch in the eighth inning of the Royal Oak Leprechauns’ 4-3 victory over the Battle Creek Battle Jacks in Northwoods League action on Friday night. Ruhle picked up the save in the victory. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group)

ROYAL OAK – After a rocky eighth inning, Royal Oak Leprechauns reliever Stephen Ruhle provided a pot of gold for himself and the fans at Memorial Park. He played on familiar ground.

Ruhle, who played high school baseball at Royal Oak Shrine, struck out his team with two batters in the ninth inning to preserve a 4-3 victory over the visiting Battle Creek Battle Jacks on Friday night.

“I started out rough,” said Ruhle, who came on midway through the eighth inning and allowed an RBI single and two walks before getting the Leprechauns out of the inning with the lead intact. “I’ve done that quite a bit this year, come out and walk the first batter and get into the game a little bit.”

He said it was important to take care of that first batter in the next frame. “I’ve done better, like the last inning I pitched. That was great. That’s just what I have to do, throw first-pitch strikes. When I do that, I’m in my zone. I think it’s a mental aspect. Everyone’s here for a reason, so I know I’m good enough, I just have to believe it.

Royal Oak Leprechauns vs. Battle Creek Battle Jacks in Northwoods League baseball action

view more

“I’ve been pitching quite a bit this week. This is my fourth outing. I was a little tense at first, then I loosened up, started letting go and that was it.”

As he collected the save in his hometown, he added: “It feels great. It feels like the old days, like high school.”

A three-run sixth inning was just what the Leprechauns needed in what was otherwise a night of strong pitching. Saborn Campbell led off with a single and was driven in by Michael Lareau’s triple to left to take a 2-1 lead. Trae Cassidy then walked and his stolen base drove in both runners on Tony Hatzigeorgiou’s hit.

“I think it all comes back to the baserunning,” Leprechauns head coach Jonathan Vance said. “We have a very athletic group of guys here, so if we can get on base and create chaos by stealing bases or having the pitcher stay close to the ball, it leads to pitches that stay over the middle and our guys can chase down hitters’ counts.”

Joe Turner, a native of Sterling Heights, was favored and pitched strongly for Royal Oak, throwing six innings with one hit, three hits and five strikeouts.

“Turner was phenomenal and Stephen finished it off in the ninth inning, which was really great to see,” Vance said.

Alex Cheeseman walked and Sabron Campbell was hit by a Royal Oak pitch in the first two at-bats of the evening, allowing Ryan Tyranski to make a sacrifice and score Cheeseman, giving the home team an early lead.

With the win, Royal Oak improved to 28-26 on the summer and 10-9 in the second half, moving the Leprechauns 2.5 games behind Great Lakes East leaders the Rockford Rivets. First- and second-half subdivision winners qualify for the Northwoods League playoffs.

As a Knight, Ruhle was a multi-sport athlete, but on the field he posted a sub-2.00 ERA and helped Shrine to multiple district titles.

Since then, he’s spent two years on the bench battling injuries at Michigan State, and is now using this summer to focus on throwing strikes and finding a new landing spot.