Woodhaven Adding to History-Making Spring
June 5, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Brownstown Woodhaven baseball coach Corey Farner was reading last month about Homer breaking its 2005 record for consecutive innings without giving up a run, and he had an idea.
"I started thinking to myself," Farner recalled, "'we've had quite a few shutouts in a row where we're at,' and I went back and double checked."
What he uncovered was an unknown chapter to one of the state's best high school sports stories this spring.
Homer had broken its previous record of 44 straight shutout innings with 48 consecutive during April and the first week of May. When Farner checked May 15, Woodhaven was at 43 straight shutout innings, beginning with the second of a game May 1 against Wyandotte Roosevelt.
When the Warriors gave up their next run during the fourth inning May 17 against Melvindale, the shutout streak had reached 60 – surpassing Homer’s 48, and also 45 straight Frankfort had strung together to break the original 2005 record earlier this spring.
"You would think there was some pressure on them going through the season, and there really wasn't," Farner said of his players. "I'm naïve, but I think they were completely unaware of anything going on with the 60-inning streak, and most of them didn't know we broke it until I told them after the (Melvindale) game. I didn't let them know what was going on because, frankly, I didn't know until five hours before that."
The scoreless inning streak set Woodhaven apart among candidates to be named MHSAA/Applebee’s "Team of the Month" for May. But again, that’s been but one highlight of what might already go down as the best season in program history.
The Warriors are 30-5 and won their fourth straight Downriver League title. They entered the postseason ranked No. 9 in Division 1 by the state baseball coaches association. And then they claimed their first District title in program history with a sweep of Monroe and Temperance Bedford on Saturday.
Success is nothing new to Woodhaven under Farner, who came over from Taylor Kennedy four seasons ago and has led the Warriors to a combined record of 118-24 to go with those four league titles.
He’s developed a program with impressive depth. Six pitchers took part in the scoreless streak – seniors Drew Szczepaniak, Justin Charron, Alonzo Chavez and Jacob Outland and juniors Colin Czajkowski and Kyle Ray – and all six have at least three wins on the mound, led by Szczepaniak (8-1, 0.98 ERA, 100 strikeouts) and Czajkowski (5-0, 1.23 ERA). Szczepaniak will continue his career next season at Western Michigan University, and Czajkowski has committed to sign with University of Michigan.
The offense actually jumpstarted the team’s roll this spring, and Charron leads with a .466 average followed by Czajkowski (.412), Szczepaniak (.381) and Ray (.378).
The team is led in part by seven seniors, half of whom came up to varsity as sophomores, and Farner could tell something was special with this group. The Warriors already have made a season’s worth of history for most, but have the opportunity to make more at Saturday’s Regional at Southgate Anderson, where they’ll take on Dearborn Edsel Ford and then with a win face either reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 10 Saline or Plymouth.
“This year, something was different,” Farner said. “The team chemistry is a lot better. The leadership is a ton better than it’s been in the past. It’s very difficult to try to develop leaders – it’s something they have to do and make that decision – and we have a good senior class that hold everybody accountable.
“And for them, there’s wasn’t a ton of pressure on them. They knew what they could do, and they just went out and were able to execute it.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2017-18
April: Detroit Catholic Central boys lacrosse - Report
March: Brighton hockey - Report
February: Marquette girls and boys skiing - Report
January: Sterling Heights Stevenson competitive cheer - Report
December: Cadillac boys bowling - Report
November: Ottawa Lake Whiteford football - Report
October: Beaverton volleyball - Report
September: Shepherd girls golf - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Woodhaven's Drew Szczepaniak makes his move toward the plate this season. (Middle) The Warriors take a photo after a sweep of Taylor Kennedy on May 15. (Photos courtesy of the Woodhaven baseball program.)
Garden City Tackles Turnaround Together
May 17, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Few would argue that the formula for a successful high school baseball team usually includes hard throwers, slick fielders and a lineup stacked with guys who can move runs across the plate.
But team chemistry is an often-overlooked part of that formula that this spring has meant everything to Garden City, one of the best turnaround stories in the state this season and the MHSAA/Applebee’s Team of the Month for April.
A year ago, the Cougars were on their way to an 8-20 finish. This spring, Garden City is 22-3 with a share of the Western Wayne Athletic Conference title and a No. 12 ranking in this week’s Division 1 state coaches poll.
“It sounds like something simple and an easy thing (to say), but team chemistry wasn’t there – it truly was an issue the last few years,” first-year varsity coach Jon Evans said. “They’d start out hot, and just out of nowhere the team would fall off the cliff. … They’d have tight ballgames, but they couldn’t win a one-run game.
“This year, it seems like the team is a lot closer. They play for each other. That’s helping us. When we’re in close games, we’re winning them now. Every day in practice, every day on the field, the kids are playing for each other.”
It’s impossible to argue with the results. Garden City equaled last season’s win total by April 8 and earned one of its best victories of the season by just a run, 1-0 over preseason Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Country Day.
Chemistry on the field no doubt has been cultivated in part from familiarity with the coach. Evans graduated from Garden City when his seniors were in junior high, in 2014, and after a year playing at Defiance College in Ohio coached the Cougars’ junior varsity the last three seasons while finishing his studies at Eastern Michigan University.
“It's nice because they know when I can say I can relate to them, they know that's true,” Evans said. “I was just in their shoes five years ago, even in the classroom, with things they go through inside the school. I had all the teachers. They have assignments, and I look at the assignment and say I remember doing this. It’s easy for me to help them, and it’s good for players building trust with their coach to know their coach just went through this.”
He took over the varsity in February and previously coached 15 of 18 players on this spring’s roster. Evans’ JV went 15-7 a year ago – a nice sign for this season and the next few to come.
He also had paid attention to behind-the-scenes workings of running a varsity program over the last few years, and all of that familiarity made for a smooth transition when he took over.
“(The success) is not because of me, but having the same coach, I saw them every game they played freshman and sophomore year and I know what their tendencies are, what’s going through their minds,” he said. “It’s tougher competition, but I know how the kids are going respond. It didn’t take a few weeks for me – I knew right away what they were going to do, and the kids knew my coaching style and knew me stepping up to varsity was not going to change who I was.”
A trio of seniors has led the way offensively. First baseman Kevin Widner is hitting .457 with a .636 on-base percentage and 15 RBI, while catcher Trevor McCorry comes in at .438 with six doubles and Jacob Grant is hitting .426 with seven extra-base hits, 17 RBI, 28 runs scored and a .614 on-base percentage. Junior second and third baseman and pitcher Jacob May is adding a .379 average, 29 runs scored and 19 RBI to the offensive output.
Grant is the ace on the mound with a 6-0 record and 1.04 ERA over 34 innings. A number of other pitchers fill out a deep staff of contributors – Widner again stands out with a perfect ERA and 19 strikeouts over 10 innings pitched.
The program had postseason success as recently as 2016, when it won a District title. There is reason to be excited with this spring’s District less than two weeks away, but the Cougars are being cautious – the District opener is against Livonia Franklin, one of just two teams to beat Garden City this season (they split; the other losses came in a sweep by Trenton), and the bracket is competitive throughout.
Evans had a feeling this group would do the little things that, combined with their talent, have sparked a memorable run. Regardless of how this spring finishes up, it’s fair to say it’s been unforgettable so far.
“I had a feeling we’d have a good year this year – it’s a talented group, and when they play hard, when they do the little things right, they succeed,” Evans said. “I saw it on JV – when they played good defense, ran the bases well, put the ball in play, those teams did well.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2018-19
March: Holland West Ottawa boys swimming & diving – Read
February: Lowell wrestling – Read
January: Farmington United gymnastics – Read
December: Warren Woods-Tower wrestling – Read
November: Rochester Adams girls swimming & diving – Read
October: Leland boys soccer – Read
September: Pickford football – Read
August: Northville girls golf – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Garden City celebrates during a win over Detroit Country Day last month. (Middle) Senior Jacob Grant fires a pitch – he’s 6-0 this spring. (Photos courtesy of State Champs Sports Network.)