D2 Baseball: Memories Pay Off in Motivation
June 15, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Grand Rapids Christian’s line-up returned nearly intact this season after finishing runner-up in Division 2 a year ago.
And every player on the field after that 4-1 loss remembers St. Clair piling on each other in celebration of the ultimate championship.
On Saturday, the Eagles will get another chance to do the same.
Junior Alex VandeVusse and senior Kurt Hoekstra combined for a three-hitter Friday as Grand Rapids Christian advanced again with a 4-0 Semifinal win over Dearborn Divine Child at Bailey Park.
“This was always our goal,” VandeVusse said. “Last year, we remember looking and seeing St. Clair partying on the field and enjoying it, and we knew we wanted that. We were looking forward to this. We knew our goal, knew we could do it, and we came to this game ready.”
Grand Rapids Christian (35-5), ranked No. 2, will take on No. 3 Bay City John Glenn in Saturday’s 3:30 Final. Neither has won an MHSAA title; the Eagles have finished runners-up twice, and John Glenn will be making its first Final appearance.
The Eagles patiently chipped away at Divine Child (22-16), scoring one run each in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Falcons senior Justin Chandler struck out four and gave up only six hits, but they were spread among five Grand Rapids Christian hitters. Senior infielder Taylor Pruis had two and scored a run.
VandeVusse gave up three hits and struck out two before Hoekstra came on to get the final four outs on 14 pitches. Click for a full box score.
“We’re one away,” Eagles coach Brent Gates said. “We didn’t want to come here for this game. We’re here to win this whole thing.”
Bay City John Glenn 6, St. Joseph 5 (8 innings)
Senior centerfielder Aaron Martin scored on junior Zach Olszewski’s single in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the Bobcats in a championship game for the first time.
John Glenn (35-7) also needed an earlier rally after falling behind 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Senior third baseman Brendan Seymour had three RBI and drove in a run, and senior leftfielder Jack Frederick had three hits. Olszewski went the distance on the mound to get the win, striking out eight.
Senior centerfielder Joseph Fratzke and sophomore third baseman Anthony Montoya each had two hits for St. Joseph (32-10). Both were among five pitchers used by the Bears. Click for a full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Christian's Kurt Hoekstra fires a pitch as he closes out the Eagles' win over Dearborn Divine Child. (Middle) Bay City John Glenn's Zach Olszewski threw all eight innings of his team's Semifinal win over St. Joseph.
Record-Setting Offense, Pitching Ace Drive Beal City Finals Run
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 13, 2023
On the way to finishing Division 4 runner-up last season, Beal City produced a record-breaking offensive performance while following one of the most consistently successful pitching aces in state history.
The Aggies set an MHSAA record by scoring 12.5 runs per game in finishing 30-3, also making the team record book with 413 runs total, 78 doubles, 22 triples (tied for third all-time), 345 RBI and a .442 team batting average that ranks second on that list.
Brendan Martin made the career consecutive pitching wins list with 19 over his junior and senior seasons, and senior teammate Brayden Haynes earned listings for two home runs and six RBI in one inning of a win over Lake City. Martin is pitching this spring at Mid Michigan College.
See below for more recent additions to the baseball record book:
Baseball
Over a five-game stretch during April 2021, Kalamazoo Hackett Prep’s Stephen Kwapis got a hit in 13 straight at bats – the fourth-longest such streak in MHSAA history. He began with a hit in his final at bat in the first game of two that April 16 against Watervliet, then went 2 for 2 in the second game, a combined 7 for 7 during a doubleheader against Galesburg-Augusta on April 22, and finished with hits in his first three at bats April 24, 2021, against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. He piled up five doubles, a triple and four home runs, along with three singles during the streak.
Portage Central’s run to the 2021 Division 1 championship game included record-book accomplishments by three individuals. Senior Luke Leto scored 73 runs over 37 games, good to tie for fifth-most runs in a season. Zach MacDonald was added for seven triples and 15 home runs, both over 40 games, and senior pitcher Gavin Brasosky posted a 0.84 ERA over 66 2/3 innings pitched. Leto is playing at Kansas after starting his college career at Louisiana State, and Brasosky is throwing at Kansas after playing a season at Tennessee. MacDonald is continuing at Miami (Ohio).
In 2016, Concord's Charlie Ropp became the second player from his family on the single-season stolen bases list, with his 63 over 35 games ranking for third-most in his family but sixth-most statewide.
Nearly 30 years later, Jason Knowlton has received his due for a performance April 29, 1994. On that day, he connected on back-to-back grand slams for Bridgman against Eau Claire, in consecutive innings. He’s one of seven to be listed for doing so in consecutive at bats.
Three of the oldest listings in this sport were added, all from Morrice. Jim Pavlica, a junior in 1946, was added for six stolen bases in a game that season against Byron. Pavlica would go on to play in the minors for the Chicago White Sox. He would have two more stolen bases when Morrice swiped 19 total against Byron in 1947, a performance that ranks fourth on the single-game steals list. Morrice also was added for 18 steals in a 1944 game against Byron.
Over the course of 11 days last spring, two Manistee hitters made the record book for steals in a game. Junior Ethan Edmondson tied for third on the list with seven against Bear Lake on April 30. Junior Jeff Huber made the list with six against Muskegon Orchard View on May 10.
Kingsley’s Owen Graves was added to the records for his seven triples as a senior in 2021. He now plays at Aquinas College.
Brighton Charyl Stockwell pitcher Aidan Liedeke was tough to hit last spring, as he struck out more than two batters per inning. He finished with 135 strikeouts over 61 1/3 innings pitching, for an average of 15.41 strikeouts per game – third-most on that record list. A senior this school year, he’s committed to continue at Kalamazoo College.
Jack Lamb brought plenty of speed to Perry’s offense last spring as a senior, making the record book twice. He reached the single-season list with 53 steals over 33 games, and also the single-game list with six steals on May 9, 2022, against Vermontville Maple Valley.
A performance more than four decades old from a school no longer open got its due. Orlando Villarreal hit a combined .451 over the 1979 and 1980 seasons to make the career batting average list for Wyoming Park. He went on to play at Central Michigan.
Jacob Morton became the first player on record since 2017 to hit two home runs in one inning when he did so in the first inning for Adrian Lenawee Christian against Britton Deerfield on May 16, 2022. Morton is a senior this school year.
PHOTO Beal City standout Cayden Smith drives a pitch during last season’s Division 4 Final against Riverview Gabriel Richard.