Baseballs.
Royal Oak 4-3, Birmingham Groves 3-4: In game one, Nate Higley and Andre Martin each went 1-for-2 with a run scored for Birmingham Groves. Chaise Ford pitched 1 and 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. …
In game two, Andre Mailing was the winning pitcher for Birmingham Groves (20-7). Leo Dudas had a three-RBI double in the first inning. John Kowalchuk was 2-for-2 with a double.
Detroit City FC play the Michigan Bucks on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, MI, during the U.S. Open Cup.
Troy Athens 11, Birmingham Groves 1: Lanie Ellinger threw the complete game for Athens and tossed 11 strikeouts and three hits for Athens (13-11-1). Ellinger also had a single, double and home run at the plate. Rachel Van Proeyen hit a home run, two singles and scored two runs.
Warren Woods Tower 5, Centerline 4: Madison Glass went 2-for-3 while Samantha Morin went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI for Woods Tower (15-10, 7-3 MAC). Kylie Ray threw seven strikeouts on the mound to seal the victory.
Game 1: Farmington High 10-9, Farmington Hills Harrison 1-2: In Game 1, Arty Bentley had a hit and two RBIs for Farmington (23-7, 12-2 OAA White), Lance Loveett went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored. Steve Shetterfield pitched the complete game with three strikeouts while allowing four hits. In Game 2, Jordan Hoake went 3-for-4 while Matt Lane went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Farmington. Elliot Edsel struck out five and surrender one hit in the closing three innings.
May 16
Birmingham Detroit Country Day 17, Southfield Christian 8: Stephen Riesen pitched 2 2/3 innings for Country Day (19-5). Ben Yared was 2-for-2 with two doubles and three RBIs. Alec Jbara was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Jon Campbell was 3-for-3 with four RBIs.
Birmingham Groves 13-5 Birmingham Seaholm 2-1: Groves (22-7, 10-3 OAA White) won the first game in five innings. John Kowalchuk went 2-for-2 with a double and a home-run, driving in two RBIs and scoring three runs himself. Chaise Ford and Zavier Warren both went 2-for-3 with doubles. Max Novick went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. He also threw a complete game, allowing four hits, two walks, six strikeouts. In the second game, Andrew Martin went 1-for-2 and also pitched a complete game, striking out five, walking one. John Kowalchuk also added a double.
Detroit University Prep Science and Math 13, Ecorse 3: Marcus Woodford pitched five innings with seven strikeouts for University Prep Science and Math (7-5). On base, Woodford was 1-for 3 with two RBIs. Byron McCants, Justin Holloway and Johnny Ballard each went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Jalen Rose was 2-for 3 with one RBI.
Howell 4, White Lake Lakeland 2: Spencer Ford pitched a complete game for Howell (23-6), giving up four hits and striking out seven.
Livonia Clarenceville 15, Dearborn Heights Robichaud 0: Adam Sade had three hits and a walk. Nick Snage earned the win, pitching a complete game, allowing two hits and striking out eight.
New Boston Huron 4, Flat Rock Community 1: Drew Leininger and Noah Gamble each had two hits for Huron.
North Farmington 2, West Bloomfield 1: Bryce Veasley pitched a complete game for West Bloomfield (16-11, 6-6).
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 3, Royal Oak Shrine 2: Matt Pezolt pitched a complete game, striking out 10, walking four and allowing no earned runs for Notre Dame Prep (10-15). Brian Blakeslee and Andrew Carpenter each went 2-for-3 with a run. Will Gurzik and Tom Cavannaugh also each went 2-for-3 for Pontiac. Andrew Jager threw a complete game for Shrine, striking out two and earning all three runs. Notre Dame Prep advances to Catholic League Semi-Finals.
Sterling Heights Stevenson 14, Grosse Pointe South 3: Sterling Heights clinches its seventh straight MAC Red title with win. Luke McGuire pitched a complete game, earning three runs on five hits and striking out five. Frank D’Ascenzo, Todd Taperd and Mario Camilletti each had three hits. Tyler Menrath also added two hits and three RBIs.
Watervliet 11-10, Lawton 1-3: Garrett Matthews pitched four innings and earned the win in the first game. Watervliet improves to 11-15.
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore 158, Portage Central 161, St. Joseph 169, Niles 192: Lake Shore won the Berrien Hills jamboree. Mitchell Strouts led the field with a 36.
Rochester Adams 315, Howell 316, Ann Arbor Skyline 318: Adams, Howell and Skyline beat out a field of 19 teams to place first, second and third (respectively) at the Dearborn Elite Invitational.
Lakeland 1, Hartland 0: Teresa Menzel pitched a complete-game shutout for Lakeland, allowing only one hit. Brooke Beale had the lone RBI, and Elizabeth Langley also added two hits. Hartland’s Madelin Skene pitched also pitched the distance, earning the lone run on five hits and five walks.
Madison Heights Lamphere 12, Royal Oak 2: LeeAnna Radick pitched five innings with 10 strikeouts and one walk for Lamphere (9-7). Radick had a three-run homer and a two-run double. Alexis Wark was 2-for-2with two doubles and three runs scored. Royal Oak is 7-8.
Novi 5, Livonia Churchill 3: Sophie Rallis hit a two-RBI single and Allison Purtell added two doubles. Madison Budde earned the win for Novi (22-9).
St. Catherine of Siena 13, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 11: Payton Porter pitched five innings of relief, earning two runs on three hits and striking out five. Genna Skalski went 5-for-5 with six RBIs and Morgan Schimeck also added three RBIs.
Watervliet 18-16, Lawton 6-1: Mahkala Clay had three RBIs on the day. Ariana Rowe also added a double, a home run and two RBIs.
Armada 5, Imlay City 1: Starr Howland scored for Imlay City (3-11, 3-8 BWAC) on an assist from Rachel Kulin.
Belleville 9, Redford Union 1: Erin Sanchez had Union’s only goal.
Fenton 20, Holly-Brandon 4: Fenton had 14 different scorers and won 20 of 25 draws.
Detroit Western poses with the PSL championship trophy after Monday’s win over Renaissance at Wayne State.
Winning plays.
The reason Western International won its ninth straight Detroit Public School League baseball title in the Mega Division on Monday at Wayne State was its ability to make winning plays in an 8-6 victory over Renaissance.
A suicide squeeze by Logan Foster opened the gates for a four-run fifth inning that gave Western the lead for good.
With the Phoenix opening the seventh with two hits, rightfielder Enrique Sawicki threw a seed on one hop to third base, getting the lead runner and changing the tone of the game.
“He broke the cardinal rule there … you don’t make the first or last out at third base or home plate,” coach Juan Carlos Sanchez said. “I got on him (Sawicki) early because the first run of the game he kind of made an easy throw into the infield, and I thought if he had come up throwing there we had a chance. He has the best arm in the outfield.”
Western avenged a rare PSL loss, 2-1, to Renaissance earlier in the season. The Cowboys improved to 10-1-1; Renaissance fell to 8-3.
“It’s tough to talk about it now,” Renaissance coach Leon McKissic said. “They were the better team today.”
The Phoenix took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Caleb Nelson after pitcher Daniel Little singled and was sacrificed to second.
The Cowboys had a chance to score with the bases loaded and two outs, but Sawicki flied to leftfield.
Renaissance made it 2-0 in the second on an RBI single by second baseman Jordan Christian.
Little continued to gain momentum, striking out the last two in the bottom of the second to keep the lead at two runs.
Renaissance kept tacking on runs, with Jamal Abdul Jr. knocking in Malik Abdul with a double in the third to give the Phoenix a 3-0 lead.
Western finally responded, loading the bases and scoring its first run when Jackson walked William English. A sacrifice fly by Sawicki made it 3-2.
Aaron Betancourt tripled to the deepest part of centerfield to make it 4-3 for the Cowboys.
Renaissance tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single by Nelson. Brian Jackson gave the Phoenix a 5-4 lead on a single and an error by the rightfielder to score the run.
Western finally got to Jackson with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, the key blow being a perfect suicide squeeze by Logan Foster and a two-run single by Christian Gutierrez to give the winners an 8-5 lead.
“I was going to call one earlier, and I wanted to make sure my runner on third was paying attention,’’ Sanchez said. “Earlier the runner wasn’t paying attention. Logan’s our best bunter. It was a perfect time. You couldn’t ask for a better situation.’’
Jackson was replaced by Malik Abdul with two outs.
Osborn’s Anton Brown hits a bases-clearing triple to start the scoring in the first inning during the Knights’ three-inning rout of Henry Ford.
■Detroit Osborn 18, Detroit Henry Ford 4 (3 innings): The Knights (9-0) took advantage of the Trojans’ shoddy fielding to unseat the defending East-West Division champions.
“This has been a long time coming, about 27 years,” Osborn coach Keith Powe said. “We’ve been close the last three years and not been able to finish the job. Today, due to our great leaders on the team, Juwan Thomas, Teionta Waters, Demarkus McGinnis, we’ve been able to rally the guys, stayed focused in the classroom and worked hard on the field to get here. It’s total team chemistry.’’
Henry Ford (7-2) took a short-lived 2-0 lead thanks to an error and three stolen bases, but the Knights got the two runs back and more, putting up 10 runs in the bottom of the error-filled first.
Henry Ford committed four errors in the bottom of the first, and the Knights had three players score twice.
Anton Brown hit a bases-clearing triple to start the scoring. Between the stolen bases and errors Thomas, Jayson Marland and Curtis Chatfield had run-scoring hits.
In his second plate appearance of the first inning, Michael Tobias hit an inside-the-park home run.
When the dust settled, the winners had a 10-2 lead over the defending champs.
Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.
Read our daily reports of metro Detroit-area high school sports action at usatodayhss.com/market/detroit.
Please call in your spring sports results to the Free Press at 313-222-6660 or 800-678-6728 after 6 p.m. weekdays or 3 p.m. Saturdays. Results can also be e-mailed to preps@freepress.com anytime.
Softballs are seen during the 2016 Michigan Softball Academy Home Run Derby on Thursday in Ann Arbor.
Birmingham Groves 4, Birmingham Seaholm 2: Andre Mailing threw a complete game, giving up five hits and walking one for Groves (23-7, 11-3 OAA White). Max Novick was 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Zavier Warren was 4-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.
Dearborn Edsel Ford 1, Redford Union 0: Trevor Blatterline threw seven shutout innings for the complete game win. Backed by a solid defensive effort, Edsel Ford scored its lone run of the game off a single from Zack Mihalik.
Rochester 7, Oxford 2: Ben Nuss and Mario Scribner each had one hit while Nuss drove in both runs for Oxford (5-10).
Watervliet 10, Sparta 5: Ryan Chisek, Cameron Rendo, Cubby Aldrich and Garrett Matthews combined on the mound to scatter five hits for Watervliet (12-15) with Rendo getting the win. Bryant Kieft and Tyler Brant each had a double while Kyler Kiekenapp recorded a single.
Allen Park 13, Lincoln Park 1: Hailey Genaw gave up four hits, one run and no walks for Allen Park (20-2). She also had two doubles and had a game-high five RBIs.
Hartland 11, Livonia Churchill 4: Anna Kemp allowed four runs over six innings and struck out six for Hartland. Amanda Mourad, Delaney Greene, Madelin Skene and Brianna Robeson combined for nine hits and three RBIs.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 5, Warren Regina 4: In the semifinals of the Catholic League playoffs, Caley Gleason picked up her 20th win of the season, giving up four earned runs on nine hits. Gleason helped herself at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 and scoring a run. Molly Dulapa went 1-for-3 and scored two runs, including the game winner.
Novi 8, Lakeland 6: Madison Budde picked up her 18th win of the year, striking out three and walking three for Novi (23-9). Hope Kapelanski had three hits and three RBIs. Lakeland fell to 25-8.
Oxford 2-4, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 0-0: In Game 1, Kaitlyn Bean had 14 strikeouts while allowing seven hits and two walks for Oxford. Bean also went 1-for-3 while recording a run batted in. In Game 2, Hannah Vachon had 11 strikeouts and allowed two hits for Oxford. Allen went 2-for-4, Vachon went 2-for-3 with a run batted in and Logan Douglas went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Plymouth 12, Brighton 11: Marissa Cirino had four goals, and Michelle Cirino had three for Plymouth. Natalie Nowicki and Cathryn VandenBosh had two goals apiece.
Drew Simpson had a hole in one on the 120-yard sixth hole at the Springdale Golf Course in Bloomfield Hills.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook players mob Jordyn Finney (obscured, center) after he singles home the winning run in the Cranes’ 4-3 victory over Auburn Hills Avondale.
Right before Jordyn Finney came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded in a tie game, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook coach Andy Fairman called him aside to give him some advice.
“I’d been struggling at the plate the last couple of games and he just told me go up there and have fun,” Finney said, “because at the end of the day that’s what this game’s all about — having fun — so that’s what I did and that’s what happened.”
Finney was definitely having a lot of fun moments later, at the center of a wild celebration just beyond first base. His clean single through the infield drove home Ken Schumacher from third base, giving Cranbrook a 4-3 comeback win against Auburn Hills Avondale.
The Cranes (12-16) were solidly connecting with the ball all day and got a strong pitching performance from starter Max Musyj, who scattered three singles and struck out nine. But when Musyj left the mound after six innings, Avondale had a 3-2 lead.
Cranbrook rallied in its half of the seventh with three hits, a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk, and a fielder’s choice with an error which brought pinch-runner John Angileri home with the tying run.
Musyj said it was the team’s only last-gasp win this spring.
Cranbrook’s Max Musyj allowed three hits and struck out nine in six innings.
“That was unreal; that was a great experience for all of us,” he said. “I just want to congratulate Jordyn Finney on that hit; that was massive. I don’t think we’ve had any (walk-off wins); I think we’ve had a couple walk-off losses, actually. It was great to get one for the boys.”
“That’s kind of the crazy thing about this game; it’s that anything can happen,” Finney said. “We just faced a lot of adversity and we overcame it. I think that had a lot to do with how we bond together as a team and how we trust each other. “
Avondale (20-6, ranked No. 9 in Division 2) wrapped up the Oakland Activities Association’s Blue Division title last week with a three-game sweep of Troy Athens but hadn’t played since, and head coach Tom Kurczewski said his team looked a little flat despite putting two runs on the board in the top of the first.
Avondale’s Dan Ozerities beats the throw home on a double-steal to give the Yellow Jackets a one-run lead in the sixth inning.
“I think it wasn’t much of an offensive game from either team,” he said. “I thought our pitcher did a good job and their pitcher was doing a good job. We manufactured a few runs on their errors but it just wasn’t our day. A couple of those balls in the seventh inning could have been outs, too, but once they had their chance to win, they took advantage.”
Cranbrook scored twice in the bottom of the second on four hits off starter Brad Kavka, but Kavka settled down and only allowed one more hit until Jack Murphy and Schmacher blooped singles to start off the seventh.
“He was throwing good, he was throwing straight, he was hitting a lot of his spots, keeping hitters off-balance with his curveball and his change-up,” Finney said of Kavka. “We just tried to put the ball in play, and when it happens, it happens.”
Kurczewski hopes his players can learn from the loss.
“We’ve got a lot of games left. We play two (Thursday) and two Friday, we’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “Maybe this will be the eye-opener.”
PSL baseball championships: Western wins close call; Osborn cruises
Marshall Howard IV, who played at Novi High, worked out at Lake Orion High on Thursday. He’s trying to make the new minor league team in Utica.
They are all chasing the same dream.
The football player from Notre Dame with the rebuilt left elbow, trying to switch sports and become an outfielder. The catcher from Southfield Lathrup, who bounced around to four colleges before he ended up in an operating room, and now he is feeling strong and hopeful with a rebuilt shoulder. The tall, lanky pitcher from Albion College who plans to go law school, one day, but that can wait.
It is Wednesday morning, and there are 72 players with 72 stories spread over two baseball fields at Lake Orion High School. Most are in their early 20s, just out of college. They stretch and run and field and pitch and hit their hearts out, trying to impress one of the coaches from the United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL), a fascinating baseball experiment about to debut in Utica.
An MLB scout grimaces when a player starts jogging down the first-base line. “You are trying to make a team, right?” the scout asks.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then, why can’t you run 90 feet?”
The kid looks stunned.
“Someone is watching all the time,” the scout says. “Remember that.”
This is independent baseball. A giant step above your average high school ball, a slight step below Class A. It is the land of in-between. A place for the guys who have slipped between the cracks. Maybe they weren’t tall enough to get drafted, or fast enough, or they just didn’t impress the right person at the right time. Maybe they had an injury. Or maybe they were late bloomers or played out of position in college.
“Our niche is going to be the Passover Kids, is what we call them,” says Brian Berryman, who once played at Michigan and was drafted by the San Diego Padres but now is in charge of league baseball operations. “The kids who didn’t get picked up for one reason or another.”
This idea certainly is unusual: one league, three teams, with all games played at the same stadium. The Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers, the Eastside Diamond Hoppers and the Utica Unicorns will play all of their games at 2,000-seat Jimmy John’s Field in Utica. The players will be housed by host families or at an apartment complex, four to a room. Spring training will start next week at the Brother Rice baseball field in Troy. The season will start May 30, and the players will be paid $600 to $1,000 per month. The goal is to get the Passover Kids another look, another chance to make the minor leagues.
“It’s just a chance to continue to play,” said Matt Temrowski, a tall, lanky pitcher from Grosse Pointe South, who recently graduated from Albion. He played in his final college game May 6. Law school is in his future, but it will have to wait until he puts away his cleats for good. “This is a great opportunity,” Temrowski says. “There are a lot of great guys out there, a lot of great coaches.”
Detroit Tigers love having Cameron Maybin on field, in clubhouse
Independent challenges
Down the leftfield line, behind the fence, Darla Johnson sits and watches her son, Marshall Howard IV, who is trying out as a catcher. “We know we make him nervous, but if he makes it on the team, it will be more people than the three of us, yelling and screaming,” she says, looking at her daughter and her son’s girlfriend. “I already told the people at work that I’m buying tickets for everybody to come out.”
Howard, 22, played at Novi High and at Kentucky State. “He’s been pursuing this aggressively since college,” Johnson says of her son. “We have paid for him to go everywhere, fly here and try out, fly there and try out.”
Independent baseball leagues and teams have a long history of coming and going, starting and flopping. There even is a website that tracks it all, which is called “The Indy Graveyard.”
Last year, Howard played in the Ozarks Professional Baseball League in Missouri, which quickly flopped.
“We didn’t get paid,” Howard said. “They didn’t have enough money to keep the league going. You just kind of roll with the punches, just make sure you are ready when your number is called.”
Failed independent leagues and teams usually are doomed because of financial problems, bad organizations or the lack of marketing. But this league has one thing going for it. The stadium is beautiful and can be seen from busy M-59 — thousands drive by it every day. And this league is filled with highly respected baseball people.
“I’m seeing a lot of kids who are chasing the dream,” says Paul Noce, who used to coach at Hillsdale College and will manage the Eastside Diamond Hoppers. “I see a lot of talent, really. The caliber of play is going to be way up there.”
Seidel: Finally, Ausmus shows some emotion — and it sparked Tigers
Staying on the field
One of the most interesting players on the field is Michael Deeb, who played middle linebacker at Notre Dame, although way more on the scout team than in a game. After suffering an injured elbow, Deeb gave up his football career and accepted a medical hardship, so he has decided to give baseball a try.
“I just love the game,” says Deeb, who is 6 feet 2 and 240 pounds but hasn’t played in an official game since high school, four years ago in south Florida. “I love to compete. I think I have a high ceiling, and I believe in myself.”
So does Calvin Franklin, 24, a catcher from Southfield. His baseball journey has taken him from Southfield Lathrup to Alcorn State to Henry Ford to Madonna to Lourdes in Sylvania, Ohio — sometimes, not even staying at a place long enough to play a game. He vows to keep trying, “until I can’t anymore.” It has been two years since he had a torn labrum repaired. “Even being out here, making the first cut is a blessing,” he said. “If I get cut, I’ll keep trying.”
He lets out a long smile. His shoulder feels great. This feels great.
Just getting another shot.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.
Seidel: From the top down, Detroit Tigers seem to have no tension
Preps!
Baseball
Birmingham Groves 9, Detroit Renaissance 2: Joe Roberts batted 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Bralen Dennis went 2-for-3, and Doug Roach helped the cause going 1-for-2 with a double. Max Whalen earned the win on four innings pitched, allowing three hits, striking out six and earning none. For Renaissance, Daniel Little went 2-for-3, and Caleb Nelson went 2-for-4. Jordan Christian also added a double. Groves moves to 24-7 (11-3 OAA White).
Dearborn Divine Child 14, Livonia Clarenceville 3: Adam Sade went 2-for-3, and Nick Bisaro also added two hits for Livonia.
Farmington 9, Farmington Hills Harrison 1: Dan Carty earned the win for Farmington (24-7, 13-2 OAA White), pitching a complete game, allowing three hits, two walks and striking out seven. Carty, at the plate, went 1-for-3 and added two runs. Alex Manasa went 2-for-2 with a home run and two runs scored. With the win, Farmington is now crowned OAA White champions.
Grosse Pointe North 8, Utica Ford 1: North (20-7, 12-3) wins the MAC White championship. Alex VanDoorne went 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Sam Cross batted 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Troy Williams went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Ryan Mazzola earned the win, allowing only three hits and striking out six.
Lapeer 6-7, Bay City 1-4: Kevin Thompson earned the win for Lapeer in game one, pitching a complete game and striking out eight. In the second game, Dan Card earned the win in relief and also added a two-run double.
Oxford 5-7, Armada 1-3: Hannah Vachon earned the win in the first game, striking out ten and earning one run on five hits and a walk. Alex Brown went 3-for-3 with a RBI. In the second game, Kaitlyn Bean earned the win, allowing two runs on six hits, and striking out six. Lauren Donaldson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Maddie Dinges went 2-for-2.
Southfield Christian 13, West Bloomfield Frankel 4: Jake Devine and Zach Johnson each had two hits and scored two runs for Southfield (8-14, 5-3). Will Wilkinson had four steals and scored twice, and he also earned the win on three innings pitched, racking up three strikeouts.
Softball
Ada Forest Hills Eastern 17, Greenville 0: Lauren Kanai pitched a perfect game for the first time in school history.
New Boston Huron 10-11, Grosse Ile 0-1: In the first half, Camille Gray led Huron on both sides of the plate, reaching base three times offensively, and defensively, striking out 10 batters, allowing three hits over six innings. Julie Litler earned the win in the second game, walking one and striking out four over five innings of work. Liz Stockert reached base twice, once on a triple, drove in one and scored two twice herself.
Zeeland East 11-13, East Grand Rapids 1-0: In the first game, Riley Comden went 4-for-4 with a home run. Sara Medendorp also went 4-for-4 with a home run. Erin Jipping earned the win and finished with five strikeouts. In the second half of the doubleheader, Erin Jipping earned the win again, striking out four and allowing two hits. Jipping also went 2-for-3, as did Tasia Zacharko. Jeralee Huntton and Kaitlin Walcott both batted 2-for-2 as well.
Softball: Bauer’s remarkable rise leads to Stanford
Soccer
Fenton 2, Troy 0: Chloee Foor scored on a Kirty Foor assist, and Bri Costigan also scored on a penalty kick. Abby Quesnelle earned her sixth shutout of the year.
Golf
Armada 340, Almont 344, Yale 351: Matt Hammer led Armada to a BWAC Finals victory with a tournament-leading 79.
Howell 165, Grand Blanc 175: Sean Samples and Sheldon Sturos each shot 40s, and Mike Kee added a 41.
Softballs are seen during the 2016 Michigan Softball Academy Home Run Derby on Thursday in Ann Arbor.
Baseball
Grosse Pointe North 6, Detroit Western International 1: Chad Lorkowski pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeouts during their first match in the Grosse Pointe Invitational. Tristin Richardson had a double and two runs. Alex Kracht had two hits, a triple, two walks and an RBI.
Grosse Pointe North 4, Livonia Stevenson 2: Sam Cross pitched a complete game with five hits for Grosse Pointe North during their second match in the Grosse Pointe Invitational. Henry Burghardt had a single and an RBI. Pete Ciaravino and Alex Hughenin each had a single, an RBI and a walk.
Grosse Pointe North 15, Grosse Pointe South 4: Alex Kracht pitched four innings against Grosse Pointe South to win the Grosse Pointe Invitational (23-7). Alex Hughenin was 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and two RBIs. Steve Kent was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 3, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 1: Matt Pezolt pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and seven walks for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (11-17) during a Catholic High School League semifinal game. Andrew Carpenter, Cory Czajkowski and Matt Sollmer each had an RBI. Notre Dame Prep will play in the CHSL championship Thursday. Madison Heights Bishop Foley is 12-4.
Rockford’s Ben Pols pitches against University Liggett, the 2014 Division 3 state champion which is moving up to Division 1 next season.
Rockford’s Jack Weisenburger, right, is met by Khale Showers after his two-run homer against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett on Saturday.
In a way, it was a litmus test.
One which Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett coach Dan Cimini said the Knights passed, despite dropping a doubleheader at home Saturday.
Inviting No. 4-ranked Rockford in Division 1 to the east side to face the No.-1 ranked and Division 3 2014 state champs was a purposeful strategy — to see how Liggett would stack up against larger teams, since the Knights are voluntarily jumping up to the state’s biggest division next school year.
“We passed it,” Cimini said. “We got better today. Even though we lost a couple games, it’s not about the wins and losses. Our pitcher Anthony (George) gave up three runs in the first inning (second game) and shut them down the rest of the way, kept them off balance. I thought our defense was phenomenal all day, and that’s what we’re built on, pitching and defense.
“I thought it was an even game all the way around.”
A few timely hits led Rockford to victories of 4-1 and 4-2.
In the first game, the Rams’ got a two-run homer from Jack Weisenburger with Khale Showers on base in the second inning. In the third, Bryce Kelley smacked an RBI single to score Nolan Bryant, but the Rams scored again only on a bases-loaded balk call in the seventh inning.
Rockford (24-5) used four pitchers in the opener — yet except for one inning of relief for Weisenburger to get the save, Rockford coach Matt Vriesenga chose to not use his top two pitchers. Weisenburger has signed with Michigan and Kelley with Michigan State.
“We have quite a few pitchers and some of the guys, like Trevor Springfield and Brayden Durfee, haven’t pitched a whole lot this year,” Vriesenga said. “But we used them today and knew we’d get them some innings. They’re good enough pitchers to compete; we just have so many pitchers to get in.”
The variety of arms to look at in game one might have also led to Liggett scoring just one run despite having three innings with the bases loaded.
“Cold bats, maybe patience at the plate,” Cimini said. “I think some of us were pressing a little bit when the guys were on base, thinking they needed to do something different. We’ve left guys on base this year and always overcome it; today we didn’t overcome it.”
In game two, Rockford jumped out, 3-0, in the first inning when Weisenburger hit a two-RBI double to score Bryant and Kelley, and then came in on a single by Jacob McNamara. Then Nick Ignatoski drilled a home run over the rightfield fence to lead off the third inning.
Liggett (23-3) closed the gap in the fifth when Billy Kopicki and Connor McCarron reached base on singles, then scored on a throwing error when William Morrison hit the ball to the shortstop.
Vriesenga was pleased to have been invited to face Liggett, and make the long trip home more enjoyable with two wins.
“I love it, especially coming to a great field like this,” he said. “And we love coming over. There’s great baseball on the east side of the state, great baseball all over the place. But we want to play the best, and Liggett is one of those best teams. They said they’re making the jump to Division 1 next year, and they should because they’re a great team.”
Bryant — who made more than his share of great scoops in the hole at second base — said Liggett was good competition and he likes the concentration his team is regaining.
“At the beginning of the year we came out with a lot of energy and a lot of focus and had a great start to win our conference championship,” Bryant said. “But towards the end of conference we started losing a little bit of focus and didn’t play up to our full potential. Today I think we really came out and starting playing more like the beginning of the season and played well as a team.
“For a Division 3 program to play a Division 1 that close, in two games, that’s impressive. They had good pitching, great fielding and their hitters put the ball in play. They’re a good team.”
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s new baseball field on Saturday in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Detroit University Prep Science and Math 24, Detroit Community 8: Marcus Woodford pitched two innings with five strikeouts for University Prep Science and Math (8-6). Woodford was 3-for-4 with four RBIs at the plate. Sheldon Blythe Jr. and Eian Scott each went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Johnny Ballard was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Khalil Escoe-Brown was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Fenton 5-0, Linden 3-5: In the first game, Chase Coselman had three hits and two RBIs, and John Leaske picked up the win on seven innings pitched, two earned runs on five hits and two walks.
Lakeland 9, Oxford 4: Ben Nuss finished with two doubles for Oxford.
Lapeer 7-7, Flint Powers Catholic 6-0: In Game 1, Kevin Thompson earned a win, pitching a complete game. Owen Ruddock finished the second game with two hits and two RBIs. Hunter Smith earned the win, pitching a complete-game shutout.
Southfield Christian 10, Hazel Park 0: Jake Devine had two hits and three RBIs, and Seth Denison smacked a grand slam, driving in four RBIs. Zack Paryaski earned the win on five innings pitched, striking out four and allowing no hits.
Watervliet 9-15, Galesburg-Augusta 3-0: In the first game, Tyler Brant led Watervliet with four hits. Nick Brant also added two singles. In Game 2, Cubby Aldrich earned the win. Cameron Rendo had a triple and two singles. Alex Lefor and Nick Brant each also added two singles. Watervliet improves to 15-16.
Allen Park 17-12, Taylor Truman 0-1: In the first game, Allysa Lake went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Cary Magier went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Sammi Howell earned the win. In the second half, Howell hit a home run, and Hailley Genaw earned the win for Allen Park (17-0).
Bellevue 12, Camden-Frontier 2: Brandy Mathewson struck out seven for Bellevue (13-3). Mathewsome and Audrianna Thornton also contributed two hits each.
Coopersville 20-6, Zeeland East 0-17: Riley Comden went 3-for-4 with a home run for Zeeland in the second half of the doubleheader. Sarah Mendendorp went 4-for-4 with a home run.
Southfield Christian 12, Hazel Park 2: Grace Gilson earned the win in the first game, striking out 10 through five innings. Gilson also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, two doubles, an RBI and three runs scored. Megan Labiano went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Emma Paryaski hit two homers and a triple, driving in four and scoring twice.
Troy 12-4, Oxford 1-3: Hannah Vachon earned the win, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk, and striking out 15 batters. Lauren Donaldson went 4-for-4 with four RBIs. Kaitlyn Bean earned the win in the second game, striking out 11, and earning three runs on five hits and three walks. Madeline Morris went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Anchor Bay 5, Sterling Heights Stevenson 0: Kayla Polisano scored a goal and an assist for Anchor Bay (10-4-5, 2-3-3 MAC Red). Rachel Russo also had a goal and an assist. Sam Sieg, Jillian Alongi and Sydney Wolf each scored a goal.
Buchanan 5, Watervliet 1: Emma Krakau scored Watervliet’s lone goal on an assist from Hannah Armstrong.
Gaylord 2, Petoskey 1: Becca Ross scored both goals for Gaylord. Elizabeth Heinz blocked 20 of the 21 shots she faced.
Livonia Clarenceville 8, Romulus 0: Michelle Marzolo led Clarenceville (2-15) with five goals and an assist. Allie Snage also had a goal and an assist. Samantha Franco and Myla Hoskins each scored as well.
Millington 8, Caro 0: Taylor Wirsing recorded her first career hat trick for Millington (8-8-1). She also added two assists. Kayla Petzold scored two goals and Lindsay Socia scored one.
Redford Union 6, Redford Thurston 1: Union’s Anna Vincent had two goals.
Ann Arbor Pioneer 164, Ann Arbor Skyline 96, Ann Arbor Saline 78: Alice Hill breaks her own school record in the 800 meters with a time of 2:10.45.
Baseball bat
The Gatorade State Baseball Players of the Year were selected based on athletic production and impact in the 2015-16 season. Each winner also demonstrated high academic achievement and exemplary personal character, including volunteerism, sportsmanship and community leadership.
For a list of the other Gatorade State Baseball Players of the Year winners, click here . The Michigan winner is …
School: Portage Northern
Grade: Senior
Position: Left-handed pitcher, outfielder and first baseman
Height: 6-feet-4
Weight: 180 pounds
Athletic achievement: He led the Huskies to a 16-9 record and the Division I regional tournament, scheduled to begin June 11. At the time of his selection, Henry posted a 4-0 record with a 1.73 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings. A 2015 first-team all-state selection, he has also batted .433 with 14 RBIs, a .604 on-base percentage through 25 games, including 15 stolen bases without being caught.
Academic excellence: Henry has a 3.89 grade-point average.
Exemplary character: He has served as a student senate representative and volunteered on behalf of the March of Dimes and as a youth baseball coach.
The praise: “Tommy Henry has worked extremely hard to develop into the upper echelon of high school baseball players,” said Bill Blakely, head coach at Midwest Athletics. “His statistics speak for themselves with his miniscule ERA and pinpoint control of three different pitches. At some point in the next 15 years or so, Tommy Henry’s baseball career will end, but his impeccable character will be with him for the rest of his life. And his character far surpasses his ability to throw a baseball. Everyone who interacts with Tommy Henry benefits from his presence.”
The future: Henry has signed a national letter of intent to play at Michigan this fall.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s new baseball field on Saturday in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Birmingham Groves 8, West Bloomfield 7: Chaise Ford didn’t allow a run in relief and got the win for Groves (29-7, 12-3 OAA White). Additionally, John Kowalchuk was 3-for-4 with a double and triple while George Cutler was 3-for-3 with two doubles. For West Bloomfield, Jack Berkey was 3-for-4 with a triple.
Dearborn Divine Child 14, Redford Union 0:
Fenton 11, Grand Blanc 1:
Fenton 3, Grand Blanc 2: In game two of the doubleheader, Troy Smigielski pitched six innings and allowed one earned run on four hits for Fenton.
Tecumseh 9, Ann Arbor Pioneer 4: Mitchell Sapp did all he could to give Ann Arbor Pioneer a boost, going 3-4, driving in one and scoring one run.
Alpena 3, Oscoda 0: Isabelle O’Neil had a goal and an assist for Alpena (6-11).
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 4, Walled Lake Western 3: Caley Gleason picked up the win, which was her 23rd of the season. She yielded three runs on three hits while striking out five batters.
South Lyon 10, Milford 8: Natalie Herrington recorded two runs batted in on two hits for Milford.
Westland John Glenn 12, Livonia Clarenceville 2: Clarenceville (5-19) dropped their last regular season game. Emily Schmidt went the distance for Clarenceville, allowing eight hits while striking out five.
Birmingham Marian 22, Grosse Pointe North 13: Goalie Carinne Jarvis recorded 10 saves and defensively, Marian forced nine turnovers. Nine different players scored for Marian, including Colleen Grombala, who had five goals, and Sarah Peterson, who scored three times.
A football lays on the field in view of the end zone at a high school.
The Border Classic all-star football game between top high school players from Ohio and Michigan didn’t last long.
Following its second loss, Ohio officials acted quickly to end the series after only two games.
“It wasn’t our doing, it was their doing,” said Clawson coach Jim Sparks, the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association’s chairperson for the game. “We played them and, literally, the Tuesday after the game, we got a call from them saying they would no longer continue the association with the game.”
Ohio officials told Sparks that it had nothing to do with the two losses: 27-14 in 2014 in Findlay, Ohio, and 24-7 in 2015 at Wayne State in Detroit.
“They claimed money and things like that, but we were able to manage,” Sparks said. “The ironic thing is when they approached us, Pennsylvania had backed out of the Big 33 (game), and Pennsylvania had told Ohio it was because of money. Ohio told us it was because they had beaten them so many times; Pennsylvania left because of that.”
Without an opponent from a different state, the MHSFCA will return to an East-West format for its 34th annual game, June 25, a week after the state finals in baseball, softball and girls soccer.
This year’s game will be played at Saginaw Valley State, and the MHSFCA has tweaked the selection process.
“Instead of having a certain amount of players from Class A, B, C and D schools,” Sparks said, “we require one player chosen from every one of our coaching association’s 18 regions. And each team has to have one eight-man player, as well.”
The change was made to create statewide representation and interest.
“If you were in Region 3 by Alpena, in our old format, you could go 10 years between having a player in our game,” Sparks said. “At least now everybody in that region knows it will have a player in the all-star game.”
Sparks thoroughly enjoyed the two games against the Ohio team, but the return to the East-West format will give twice as many Michigan kids an opportunity to play.
“It changes the mission of the game, that’s all,” he said. “For the East-West game, it’s more to just promote the game of high school football and to give kids an opportunity to play a game on a big stage. Not everyone can play in a state final, but you can play in an all-star game that feels like a state final.”
Check out the full rosters and coaches here.
Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1. Brian Manzullo contributed.
Brother Rice players celebrate their 5-1 victory after Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Brother Rice square off at Comerica Park during the Catholic League finals Thursday May 26, 2016 in Detroit.
Birmingham Brother Rice used three basic rules of baseball to win a fifth consecutive Catholic League A-B division championship.
“Our motto is first, throw strikes, two, catch the ball, three, put the ball in play,” said head coach Bob Riker. “That’s what we live life by.”
It translated into a 5-1 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s today at Comerica Park, boosting the Warriors to a 26-7 season record.
Senior pitcher Karl Kauffmann gave up five walks but struck out six, and added a single and scored a run for Brother Rice. He said the professional field mound made a big difference from the high school fields that teams usually encounter.
“The mound’s a little stickier than the ones we usually throw of off in high school,” Kauffmann said. “The ones were used to are dust balls but this one was firmer and I could get through pitches a lot better. You can really work off it.”
Kauffmann held Orchard Lake to two hits, the last coming from Joe Carlini in the top of the seventh and scored Harrison Salter, who had originally walked. But that wasn’t enough to overcome Rice’s 5-run fifth inning.
In that inning, after his single Kauffmann reached third base on a wild pitch, then scored when Jack Orlowski struck out. But a second wild pitch got him safely to first. Orlowski and JD Allen later scored on a bases loaded, 2-RBI single by Christian Faust. Two batters later, freshman Antonio Flores stroked a double to right field, scoring Caleb Jackson and Faust.
“This never gets old,” Riker said of five straight league championships. “There’s guys who played for me last year, but when you add one new person it’s a whole dynamic (change). When you add a guy like Tito (Flores), he’s a freshman, and you bring up a guy like (Jack) Orlowsky. I brought him up eight days ago and here he is playing at Comerica, because he’s hot right now and he got the first hit in the hole.”
Orchard Lake is ranked No. 1 in the state in Division 2 and is the defending state champs.
“They compete really, really well,” Riker said of the Eaglets. “They know how to play the game and they do things right. They’re very talented and they never give up.”
Winning pitcher Jake Lipetzky had one more shot and he made the best of it to lead Richard (17-4) to the Catholic League C-D Division tournament title.
Richard coach Michael Magier noted that Lipetzky’s velocity was down and he didn’t have good control when giving up three walks and a run to Notre Dame Prep early.
“I told him he’s got to work out of it,” Magier said. “We were really close to pulling him. I was halfway out there and I said we’d give him one more hitter and then he kind of got in a groove. So I guess patience paid off. He’s been a bulldog for us for the past two years so we were expecting him to pitch well.
“I don’t know if he was just amped up, a little glassy-eyed about being here at Comerica. We had to work through it. He figured it out.”
Richard’s big hits came in the top of the fifth inning with the score tied at 1-1. Junior Zach Swain drilled a single through the left side gap of the infield with the bases loaded to score Jacob Hanoian and Josh Blaszczak. Then Josh Tufts followed with a two-RBI triple to right field to end the scoring.
“I definitely love those kinds of situations,” Swain said about having the bases loaded with two outs. “I love to come up under pressure and come out with a big hit.
“We knew it at that point, that we had the game, because Jake was pitching good, we were hitting the ball, getting people on base and were making plays.”
Magier said the championship title will help kick off the postseason.
“This was big for our school,” he said. “It’s been a while since we’ve done it (both 2006, ’07) so I’m proud of the guys, the way they came out and battled.”
Osborn Knights celebrate their 18-4 win against Henry Ford during the 2016 PSL boys’ East-West Division baseball championships at Wayne State University in Detroit on Monday, May 16, 2016.
Fenton 13-3, Ann Arbor Richard 2-6: In Game 1, Chase Coselman racked up three runs batted in on two hits, as he doubled in the first and fifth innings for Fenton. John Leaske got the win, as he allowed two runs over six innings and struck out two. In Game 2, Chase Coselman had two extra-base hits for Fenton. He tripled in the first inning and doubled in the fifth inning while also singling in the seventh.
Oxford 4, Goodrich 3: Justin Allen had a two-out RBI double in the sixth inning for Oxford. Allen and Ben Nuss each had two hits. Mario Scribner started the game for Oxford, going three innings and striking out six. Jared Dymond threw two innings and struck out two hitters while getting the win.
Utica’s Natalie Happel winces as she pulls back to avoid being hit by the ball during Dakota’s 9-1 win over Utica Tuesday at Sterling Heights Stevenson.
Ann Arbor Pioneer 7, Ypsilanti Lincoln 4: JG Nwogu hit a two-run home run to seal the victory for Ann Arbor.
Millington 4, Montrose 0: Brandon Reed pitched a complete game, one-hitter, striking out 11 in the win for Millington (15-15). Reed also went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
Novi Franklin Road Christian 0, Walled Lake Central 0: Nick Suchezky pitched a complete game for Novi, allowing only four hits and striking out five.
Watervliet 4, Hartford 2: Ryan Chisek had a double and a single for Watervliet.
Allen Park 11, Taylor Truman 1 (5 innings): Sammi Howell earned the win, allowing only one run on two hits and a walk, and struck out seven. Howell also went 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI for Allen Park. Hailey Genaw went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.
Bellevue 16, Potterville 3
Prep softball districts: Macomb Dakota too much for Utica, 9-1
: Brandy Mathewson got the win for Bellevue, striking out six through five innings. Mathewson also had three hits, including a home run.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 5, Zeeland East 1: Erin Jipping struck out eight for East.
Mattawan 10, Stevensville Lakeshore 3: Emily Koperdak earned the win, allowing three runs on seven hits over seven innings of work. Koperdak also had a three-run double.
Novi Franklin Road Christian 4, Southfield Christian 0: Kayla Nannoshi pitched a complete game, striking out five. Nannoshi also added a two-run single.
Oxford 7, Waterford Mott 0: Hannah Vachon earned the win for Oxford, pitching five innings, allowing one run and striking out eight. Kaitlyn Bean notched the save.
Watervliet 7, Watervliet Grace Christian 5: Karlee Liles earned the win, pitching a complete game, striking out eight and allowing five hits.
Ada Forest Hills Eastern 8, Ionia 0: Rylee Michaels scored two goals for Forest Hills. Lexy Quoss, Emily Hickox, Emily Hermann, Anna Keller, Emily Zheutin and Emmy Reed all scored one goal each. Goalkeepers Sarah Pupel and Braeleigh McCoy combined for the shutout.
Holly 4, Clio 0: Kristin Hansel finished with two goals for Holly.
Livonia Clarenceville 2, Dearborn Henry Ford 1: Michelle Marzolo scored both goals for Livonia.
Millington 6, Mt. Morris 1: Elizabeth Selich scored two goals for Millington.
New Baltimore Anchor Bay 5, Port Huron 0: Casey Couturier scored two goals for Anchor Bay (11-5-5). Ashley Foster, Sydney Wolf and Haley Finazzo each scored goals also.
St. Catherine of Siena Academy 8, Westland Lutheran 0: Mary Hermann finished with a hat trick, and Bianca Ivejaz added two goals as well.
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 4, Kimball New Life Christian 2: Lauren Turner scored a hat trick for Parkway Christian.
Stevensville Lakeshore 4, Three Rivers 0: Nataly Stampfly scored two goals for Lakeshore.
Gaylord 330, TC West 335, Cadillac 343: Gaylord won the Big North Conference Championship behind Nick Rowley’s 77.
Preps!
Michigan high school sports results from Wednesday, June 1.
Stevensville Lakeshore 5, Edwardsburg 1: Natalie Stampfly had four goals in the second round of the Division II districts (7-9-2).
Milford 3, Plymouth 2: Natalie Herrington came up big at the dish and in the circle, reaching base three times while scoring one run and driving in two for Milford. Additionally, she hurled seven innings and allowed two earned runs on eight hits.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 3, Rochester Adams 2: Madeleine Fazio went 2-for-4 with one run batted in while Paige Greenwell finished 2-for-3 with an RBI single for Notre Dame Prep. Additionally, Caley Gleason picked up her 25th win, giving up two unearned runs on six hits.
Dearborn Edsel Ford 15, Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech 0: Aric Ramos had an inside-the-park grand slam, and Darek Hausz and Connor Clark combined to throw four innings of shutout ball for Edsel Ford.
Riverview Community 15, Romulus Summit Academy 2: Shane Conn and Griffen Mayes scored the lone runs for Summit in the play-in game for a first-round district contest.
Ann Arbor Pioneer 15, Northville 6: With the victory, Pioneer advanced to the MHSAA regional final.
Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse 8, Port Huron 2: In districts, Brooke Nadolny led the L’Anse Creuse offense with two hits, including a double and three runs driven in. Additionally, Sammi Mills had three hits, including a double, while recording the win and nine strikeouts.
Millington 12, Montrose 0: Hallie Maurer and Taylor Wright each hit home runs as Millington pounded out 15 hits in pre-district play. With the victory, Millington improved to 35-1.
MLB postseason baseballs.
Baseball
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 15, University Prep Science and Math 0: Anthony Gunn pitched a no-hitter for Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in three innings during the district 87 semifinals. Sean Fannon was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two doubles.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 10, Detroit Edison Public School Academy 0: Anthony Gunn pitched six innings allowing one hit and struck out 12 for Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (27-4) during the district 87 championship game. Sean Fannon was 3-for-3 with two doubles and five RBIs. Will Morrison was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
Softball
Detroit Henry Ford 16, Detroit Mumford 13: Tori Guyton had four strikeouts for Detroit Henry Ford during the district 58 semifinals. On base, Guyton had one hit. Charlyn Giles had two home runs and two RBIs. Tiera Thomas was 5-for-5 with a home run, three singles and two doubles. Chazmyne McAlester had two hits and one RBI.
Detroit Henry Ford 14, Detroit Cesar Chavez 13: Tori Guyton had four strikeouts for Detroit Henry Ford (4-7) during the district 58 championship game. Cherokee Franklin’s hit assisted Deshawn Chandler with the game-winning run. Tiera Thomas was 4-for-4 with a single, double, triple and an RBI. Charlyn Giles had two hits and two RBIs.
Baseball
Birmingham Detroit Country Day 13, Clawson 2: Andrew Toma allowed no earned runs, one walk and three strikeouts for Country Day during the District 61 semifinals. Will Krushena was 4-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and three RBIs. Aaron Benson was 3-for-4 with a double and a grand slam.
Birmingham Detroit Country Day 14, Macomb Lutheran North 5: Jeremiah Tyler pitched six innings allowing two earned runs, three walks and three strikeouts for Country Day (27-8) in the District 61 championship game. Steve Mann was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. John Malcom was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Mike MacLean was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Birmingham Groves 2, Birmingham Seaholm 0: Andrew Martin pitched seven innings with three hits and two strikeouts for Groves during the District 26 semifinals. Joe Roberts and Connor Bradbury each had singles.
Birmingham Groves 8, Birmingham Brother Rice 6: Max Novick pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing six runs, including three earned runs, four hits and three walks for Groves in the District 26 championship game. Novick was also 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Chaise Ford had the save and scored three runs. John Kowalchuk was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Andrew Martin was 2-for-4 with a double.
Washington Redskins and former Spartan quarterback Kirk Cousins talks with LSJ lead preps reporter Brian Calloway during the Lansing State Journal Greater Lansing Sports Awards Show show Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at the Lansing Center.
LANSING – Kirk Cousins flashed back to the trying moments of his early NFL days. He’d gone from an adored star starting quarterback in college to an often-criticized backup.
A phrase often used by both Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo continued to flow through the former Michigan State quarterback’s mind.
“Tough times don’t last,” they’d tell him, “but tough people do.”
“I think for me, I had to live that reality the last couple of years,” Cousins told a room full of high school athletes Tuesday at the Greater Lansing Sports Awards banquet. “In my third year in the NFL, I got the chance to play. And I didn’t play very well, and I was benched.”
That was 2014. A year later, Cousins earned the starting quarterback job over Robert Griffin III and led Washington to a 9-7 record and the NFC East crown. That perseverance also landed Cousins a one-year, franchise-tagged contract of nearly $20 million for the upcoming season.
“I definitely feel a sense of urgency now as a starting quarterback to make good on that opportunity and have some sustained success,” said Cousins, who threw for a single-season franchise high of 4,166 passing yards and 379 completions.
“We talked about that at Michigan State. It feels very similar to my early years starting at Michigan State. We’re trying to build something. We had a taste of success last year. By no means was it as far as we want to go. Now, the challenge is, can we do it again?”
Cousins used his road from struggle to success as a message to the crowd of nearly 1,000 high school athletes.
“Understand that things aren’t always going to go your way,” he said. “When they do, accept it with humility and responsibility. And when they don’t, don’t just be a victim, choose to find a way to fix it. And that was my situation.
“If things didn’t go my way, I didn’t say, ‘Poor me,’ and blame the coaches or blame the situation or blame teammates. No. It’s take ownership for your mistakes, I’ve gotta fix it. And when you do that, usually good things happen in the long run.”
Cousins spoke for about a half hour to the crowd of athletes and their parents at the event, sponsored by the Lansing State Journal. Here are some excerpts:
“Was I surprised of how that comment blew up? I was shocked. To tell you the story, it happened, I go into the locker room, I talk to the media, I head out to the car. I had several family and friends at the game, and they said, ‘Your video’s everywhere, it’s all over social media.’ I said, ‘What video? What did I do?’ And they said, ‘Well, your You Like That thing.’ And I said, ‘That was on camera?’ I didn’t even know that was being taped. … I got home and assumed like many things on social media that, in a matter of hours, this is going to die. And it didn’t. And the next day it was still going and still going.”
“It’s been a thrill to watch teammates play in the NFL, watch Le’Veon Bell become THE player in the NFL – which is no surprise. I had a front-row seat to watch him do that when he was back at Michigan State. When I arrived at Michigan State in 2007, they hadn’t been a bowl game in several years. And coach Dantonio just instantly kind of turned the program in the right direction. It took time, but it’s very gratifying to see that success and watch from a distance. Every Saturday, I turn on the Spartans and watch the whole afternoon and cheer them on. Just to see the success and the consistent winning and a program that’s doing it the right way, it’s so gratifying. I’m so proud to say I’m a Spartan. Believe me, around the NFL – I’m talking coaches, scouts – when you say you’re from Michigan State, it’s instant respect. They know the program coach Dantonio has built, from the strength staff to the academic staff to the coaches themselves. It really says a lot to say you’re a Spartan around NFL circles. That’s the kind of respect I think coach and myself and many of the people involved in it were trying to build.”
“I think it’s very important as an athlete to remember that, while sports are a big part of your life and it’s a big part of what you do, it’s not your identity. It’s not who you are at the end of the day. I think it’s helped me tremendously, even as a professional athlete now, to understand that playing football and playing quarterback is what I do, but it’s not who I am. One day, football is going to end, and my life is going to be about so much more than just how many touchdown passes did I throw and did we beat Michigan and things like that.”
“I challenge you to be a great decision-maker. What I mean by that is to understand that every decision you make has consequences. There’s a tomorrow for every today, and you have to live with the consequences of the decisions that you make – good or bad. You can’t do it all in college. For me, I made a decision that school and football were going to become the ultimate priorities for me. I wanted to excel at both, and as a result, at times, my social life got put on the shelf. I’ve absolutely at times regretted that. I look back and say, ‘Man, I probably didn’t have as much fun in college as I wish I did.’ I didn’t socialize as much or have as many of those life-long friends from college. But, football and school were the priorities. I made a decision to focus on that, and I knew there was going to be a consequence for that.”
Contact Chris Solari at (517) 377-1070 or csolari@lsj.com.
