![Watervliet celebrates its first Finals championship in any sport Saturday at McLane Stadium.](/sites/default/files/2024-06/240615_D4b_2H.png)
Watervliet Baseball Cements 'Legendary' Status with School's 1st Finals Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 15, 2024
EAST LANSING — The terms “legendary” or “historic” often can be exaggerated, but that forever won’t be the case with the 2024 Watervliet baseball team.
Going into Saturday’s Division 3 Baseball Final, Watervliet not only hadn’t won a baseball state championship, but longtime athletic director Ken Dietz said the school had never won a state championship in ANY sport.
That isn’t the case anymore, as Watervliet took its community on a historic ride and punctuated it with a history-making 9-1 title-clinching triumph over Jackson Lumen Christi at McLane Stadium.
Whether it’s parades or festivals over the summer in the community, or for future reunions, the team will never be forgotten in the southwestern Michigan town.
The championship also was the perfect gift for Dietz, who is retiring after nearly four decades of service.
“The whole town turned up, and we appreciate all the support,” said Watervliet head coach Josh Tremblay.
The seeds were sown for Watervliet after it lost in the Quarterfinals last year. With only two starters not returning from that team, the Panthers knew 2024 had the potential to be special.
“We lost a game we probably shouldn’t have last year, and we know it,” said Watervliet senior Alex Hicks. “We had a lot built up inside of us that we were going to take it this year. We knew we had the core, and we were ready to go.”
The Panthers finished the job in East Lansing by doing what they did throughout the MHSAA Tournament – pitch well and play great defense.
Watervliet (31-7) allowed just seven runs over the entire tournament and didn’t make an error in the Final, while Lumen Christi made five.
After senior Wyatt Epple allowed just two runs in a Semifinal win over Detroit Edison, sophomore Caleb Jewell did even better in the title decider, allowing just one run, striking out six and walking none in a complete-game effort.
“We knew we had a lot of guys returning with experience,” Tremblay said. “We had really high expectations. We knew our pitching and our defense was good. We got our bats hot at the right time, and we’re really hard to beat when we have all three working.”
Offensively, junior leadoff hitter Owen Epple led the way with two hits and three RBI, while No. 9 hitter and senior Chase Tremblay had two hits and two RBI.
Lumen Christi, which was making its first trip to a championship game since 2015, finished 30-11.
“It’s a special season for these guys,” Lumen Christi head coach Phil Clifford said. “We won the Catholic League and lost in the state finals. You can’t script it any better than that other than winning this game. I’m really proud of everyone.”
Watervliet broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning with three runs. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single to right by senior and No 8 hitter Caden Burdick, and then Tremblay hit a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 lead. Epple then followed with an RBI single to center.
Lumen Christi got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, cutting its deficit to 3-1 on an RBI single with two outs by junior Nathan Hinkley.
In the sixth, the Panthers added a run on a sacrifice fly by Hicks for a 4-1 lead. It was the fourth RBI sacrifice fly of the weekend for Hicks.
The Panthers then got precious insurance runs in the seventh, scoring five to take a 9-1 lead. The big blow was a two-run double by Epple that made it 8-1.
Lumen Christi also helped Watervliet’s rally by committing three errors in the final inning.
PHOTOS (Top) Watervliet celebrates its first Finals championship in any sport Saturday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) The Panthers’ Wyatt Epple (10) and Lumen Christi catcher Kash Kalahar follow one of his drives. (Below) Sam Crago (12) slides into home safely for Watervliet.
![Lamphere baseball](/sites/default/files/2021-05/210527_Lamphere_2H.jpg)
Balanced, Gritty Lamphere Back Among Baseball's Best
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
May 27, 2021
Two walk-off home runs defined the success of the Madison Heights Lamphere baseball team’s regular-season championship run this spring.
The next two games will determine the success of the Rams’ postseason.
Lamphere – 22-3 and ranked No. 7 in Division 2 this week – is in the midst of one of the program’s best seasons, as the Rams captured the Macomb Area Conference Gold title outright posting a 13-2 mark. On May 19, Lamphere faced St. Clair Shores Lakeview in the last division game of the season. If Lakeview had won, it would have created a shared title with Lamphere (the teams also shared in 2019). But with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Nick Krstich, a junior catcher-third baseman, hit the first pitch he saw for a home run to give Lamphere a 4-3 victory and the outright championship.
“It was probably the greatest moment in my baseball life, and I’ve been playing since I was 8 (years old),” Krstich said. “It took me a few steps to realize it was out. All game they were starting me off with a curveball. They brought in a new guy. He threw a fastball, and it was in my happy zone. As I came around third, all the guys were waiting for me and they all jumped on me as I crossed the plate.”
Rewind another month to April 23, shortly before the start of the league season, when Lamphere played traditional power Detroit Country Day. In a wild affair, junior Aiden McGinnis, a spot starting pitcher who works mainly in relief, came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied at 13-13. McGinnis sent an 0-1 pitch over the left field fence for a 14-13 victory.
“That got us going in the right direction,” Lamphere coach Adam Wooley said. “That was cool. It showed we could play with anybody.”
Wooley is in his 20th season as the program’s head varsity coach and his teams, for the most part, have been competitive. His best were headed by players like Greg Fettes, Ryan Horvath and others a decade ago. In 2010, Lamphere reached the MHSAA Division 2 Regional Finals before losing to eventual champion Dearborn Divine Child. The next season expectations were greater with the return of Fettes and Horvath, but Lamphere lost to Country Day in District play.
Full, clear video of @NickKrstich walk off HR to clinch outright MAC Gold title on Thursday for @LHShardball @statechampsmich please feel free to repost. pic.twitter.com/sQEQWQsbqs
— Lamphere Baseball (@LHShardball) May 22, 2021
“We had seven players who went on to play in college from those teams,” Wooley said. “We have five on this team. We won Districts in 2012 and 2014, and again in 2019. It probably sounds worn out, but I thought we’d be good this year. We had eight starters back (from two years ago) and they had had success. They were anticipating getting back together.
“I’m a lot different coach than I was 10 years ago. I was like a Kirk Gibson then, intense. Now I’m more like a Miguel Cabrera, more laid back.”
Wooley has 16 on his varsity roster, including nine seniors. There are no superstars – just a bunch of good players who pull for each other and have played a lot of baseball together over the years.
Wooley said he and his program hit a downturn for a few years following the 2014 season. Coaching had become a drudgery, not something Wooley looked forward to after teaching class (at Lamphere). Simply put, he got stale.
“I questioned myself,” he said. “It was getting to the point where I was getting frustrated. Then in 2017, I went to an aspiring principal program, as part of my wanting to become an administrator. I had a chance to look at myself. It made me look at my core values. Core values? What are they? I needed to change.”
Wooley redefined his role as a coach. He built his new approach on what he calls the three pillars of his program – trust, commitment and grit.
“The mantra is family,” he said. “We give up so much to be a part of this. You have to understand that we are working toward the same goal. That grit piece? I’m from Madison Heights. No one has succeeded in this town without hard work.”
After last season was cancelled due to COVID-19, Wooley knew there would be a transition period so he intentionally started the season late (April 9) to give his players time to get back to basics. And he’s convinced that extra time spent practicing paid off.
Lamphere’s strengths are hitting, one through nine in the order, and pitching. The players are patient at the plate, and they’re not afraid to fail.
One of Lamphere’s top players is Jake Malak, a pitcher-catcher-outfielder, who will play at St. Clair Community College next season. Malak is batting over .400 and is 4-0 as the team’s No. 2 starter.
The third starter is Dylan Chargo, who’s 3-0 with an ERA below 2.50. He’s batting .350 with 10 extra-base hits.
Defensively, Lamphere makes the routine plays. K.J. Whitman covers a lot of ground in center field, and shortstop Noah Hurst earned the nickname “dirtball” because he’s always diving for ground balls and dirtying his uniform.
And Wooley has the luxury of rotating three catchers on a weekly basis – Chargo, Malak and Krstich.
Malak is one of the leaders and, like Krstich, was a starter on the football team. Malak comes from a family of catchers. His father, Ricky Malak, was a catcher at Madison High. His grandfather, Ronald Malak, also caught and his cousin Billy Malak was a catcher-third baseman on the Madison Heights Bishop Foley teams that claimed a Finals three-peat with Division 3 titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“I love catching,” Jake Malak said. “I like being the leader on the field. I honestly love everything about it. You’re always doing something.”
To stay on top of his game during the cancelled 2020 season, Malak continued to do “something.” He worked with his father one-on-one on catching drills and hitting. Malak also joined a health club nearby to maintain his conditioning.
On Tuesday, Lamphere will play Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in a Division 2 District opener at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Cranbrook handed Lamphere its only nonconference loss, 9-4. The winner will play Country Day on June 5 in a District Semifinal. Should Lamphere win, the Rams will likely play the host team, top-ranked St. Mary’s, for the championship that same afternoon.
It’s a daunting task but one the Rams have been preparing for since the start of the season. And should they reach the District Final and play St. Mary’s which, by virtue of its title in 2019, is the reigning Division 2 champion, Lamphere would be a decided underdog.
So be it.
“Hey, it’s baseball,” Krstich said. “Anything can happen.”
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Aiden McGinnis (22) and his Lamphere teammates have had plenty to smile about this spring. (Middle) KJ Whitman makes his move toward the plate Friday against Madison Heights Bishop Foley. (Photos courtesy of Allison Minowa and the Lamphere baseball program.)