Cool like-father-like-son story emerges from Northville’s title run
Brian and Luke Dieringer won MHSAA state baseball championships for their respective high schools 38 years apart. Both wins came against Birmingham Brother Rice. Brian Dieringer is holding the ring he received following the Braves’ championship season.
On June 14, 1986, Ypsilanti High School won its final MHSAA Class A baseball championship when it edged powerhouse Birmingham Brother Rice, 6-5, at Western Michigan University.
Among the Braves’ key players was senior right-fielder Brian Dieringer, the father of current Northville High School senior third baseman Luke Dieringer.
On Saturday, June 15, just one day after the 38th anniversary of his dad’s state championship victory over the Warriors, Luke Dieringer was an instrumental player in the Mustangs’ 2-1 state title-winning victory over — you guessed it! — Birmingham Brother Rice.
“My dad has been telling me about his state championship ever since I started playing baseball,” Luke Dieringer said. “For a father and son to both win state championships against the same team 38 years apart is pretty crazy.”
Brian Dieringer, who played for legendary Ypsilanti High Head Coach Patrick Dignan, said the Braves’ victory over the Warriors was eerily similar to Northville’s 2-1 triumph on Saturday.
Similar scenarios
“It was tight the entire game … one of those back-and-forth games,” he reflected. “Then we brought in our reliever, like Northville did today, and he shut them down.”
When asked what the Braves received for winning the title, Brian Dieringer reached into his pocket and pulled out his championship ring, a copy of which was presented to each player.
“It’s my good-luck charm,” he said, smiling.
Ypsilanti High School merged with Willow Run High School in 2013. The merger resulted in the creation of Ypsilanti Community Schools. Ypsilanti High’s Braves nickname was officially changed to Phoenix in 2004.
Brian Dieringer remembered Brother Rice being the pre-game favored team against the underdog Braves in the 1986 championship game in Kalamazoo.
Underdogs prevail
“We were definitely the underdogs going in,” he said. “But we had a very good team that people may have overlooked us a little bit.
“(The 1986 game) was a lot like today’s game because I don’t think too many people outside of Northville thought we could beat Brother Rice. So it was pretty cool how it turned out.”
Ypsilanti defeated Flint Central, 10-0, in the 1986 semifinal game, while Brother Rice edged Westland John Glenn, 1-0, in the other semifinal contest.
What made the like-father-like-son accomplishment even more cool was that it happened the day before Father’s Day.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
