D3 Baseball: All Eyes on Saturday
June 15, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – As Lansing Catholic finished off its 8-1 MHSAA Semifinal win over Mancelona on Friday, the Cougars quietly shook hands, congratulated each other, and moved on.
A more boisterous celebration might’ve been expected, given the team advanced to its first championship game since 1996.
But this group of Lansing Catholic athletes is used to winning and being around champions – the Cougars boys track and field and girls golf teams won MHSAA titles this school year along with a boys individual cross country championship, and the football team played in the Division 5 Final at Ford Field.
“It’s a very calm team. For the most part, they stay pretty even-keel,” Lansing Catholic baseball coach Mike Scott said. “They gave themselves the opportunity to get to the state finals, and they were just shaking hands after the game and wondering who we had in the next game.”
That said, expect a much more emotional reaction if the Cougars can beat reigning champion Madison Heights Bishop Foley in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. championship game.
Lansing Catholic will enter that contest with innings left for both of their top pitchers. Junior Dillon Rush will be fresh after last throwing in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, and senior Mike DeClarke has four innings left after striking out five and giving up five hits against the Ironmen (29-6).
DeClarke also had the hot bat Friday, with three hits and two RBI. But eight Cougars hit safely and five drove in runs as the team extended its lead in workmanlike fashion.
Lansing Catholic (31-6) has had high hopes quite a few seasons recently – this is the third time in eight it has reached the final week of the tournament, although this was the first Semifinal appearance since 1997.
“(The difference is) the confidence we’re going to do well when we go out there,” DeClarke said. “We have confidence in every one of these 15 guys who step on the field. We all trust each other no matter who’s out there.”
Mancelona, ranked No. 10 and a return guest at the Semifinals, pushed its run across in the sixth inning. Junior Kevin Schepperley had two hits to lead the Ironmen. Click for a full box score.
Madison Heights Bishop Foley 6, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic 2
Top-ranked Bishop Foley (37-3) rode a five-run second inning into the championship game.
Five Ventures had multiple hits, with sophomore Garrett Schilling also driving in three runs and striking out seven while tossing all seven innings.
Senior pitcher Josh Buchalski and junior centerfielder Alex Valasek both had two hits and an RBI for Nouvel (29-10). Click for a complete box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic junior Eric Plaehn drives a pitch during Friday's Semifinal win over Mancelona. (Middle) Bishop Foley pitcher Garrett Schilling threw a complete game in beating Saginaw Nouvel.
Multi-Sport Standouts Again Helping Watervliet Diamond Teams Shine
May 22, 2023
Watervliet has two seniors who have made a positive impression in the classroom, on the athletic playing fields, and in the community over the past four years – and this spring, they’ve helped their respective teams to back-to-back-to-back baseball and softball league championships.
Tyson Williams and Samantha Dietz have been a great example of scholar-athletes at Watervliet High School over the past four years. Williams will earn his 11th varsity letter this spring, and Dietz will earn her 12th. Both are outstanding students as well; Williams has a 3.98 GPA, while Dietz has a 4.13 as they rank ninth and third, respectively, in their senior class.
Both have been exceptional role models for future Panthers; they both spend many days and hours at the elementary schools having lunch, reading, or just hanging out with the elementary students at recess. Both student-athletes are National Honor Society and student council members.
Their teams have achieved plenty during their four years at Watervliet, including combining on a couple of memorable accomplishments – notably, the baseball and softball teams went a combined 73-1 in league play over the last three seasons, and this winter saw the girls and boys basketball varsities both win 20 games for the first time.
Williams is headed to Hope College in the fall to play football. As the quarterback at Watervliet for four years, He threw for more than 5,000 yards and 52 touchdowns. He also led the team in scoring and rebounds this past basketball season and helped the team to a 20-win season after last year's 19-win campaign. Williams was named first-team all-state by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.
In baseball, the Panthers recently clinched the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore title for the third-consecutive season, and the team has gone undefeated in league play during his 10th, 11th and 12th-grade seasons (with his freshman season canceled due to COVID-19. As of May 15, Williams had pitched a total of 132 career innings and tallied 188 strikeouts, with a 24-6 record, three saves and a 1.77 ERA.
Dietz will continue at Arizona State University this fall. She was a member of the volleyball team which won two SAC division titles, two District titles, and a Regional championship. during her volleyball career, she tallied 1,433 kills and earned all-state honorable mention as a sophomore and made the first team as a junior and senior. During basketball season, Samantha was a part of a back-to-back-to-back SAC Lakeshore championship teams that finished a combined 25-1 in league play and won the program’s first District title since 2006. Dietz scored 1,279 career points and grabbed 1,009 career rebounds. She earned honorable mention all-state twice, and made the first team once.
In softball, Dietz has been a part of the SAC Lakeshore championship team for three seasons (with her freshman season also canceled due to COVID). She is in the MHSAA record book for stolen bases, with 74 in 2022 and 62 in 2021. Her teams also have won back-to-back District titles.
PHOTOS From left, Samantha Dietz and Tyson Williams. (Photos courtesy of the Watervliet athletic department.)