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Highlight Reel: Thursday Baseball/Softball Semis

June 16, 2016

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director 

The first day of the MHSAA Baseball/Softball Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Old College Field began under rainy conditions Thursday, but finished under a flourish of sunshine as four teams punched their tickets into Saturday’s Finals.

Below are links to video highlights from Saturday’s games. Click on the final scores to watch games in their entirety and purchase DVDs. 

Baseball

Division 1

Warren DeLaSalle 3, Traverse City West 1

West Scores First - In the third inning, Traverse City West gets on the board with an RBI single by Gavin Gamhausen to score Nick Brzezinski. 

Saline 5, Hartland 3

Eagles Take The Lead - Hartland scored twice in the fifth inning to take a 3-2 lead, with John Baker delivering an RBI single. 

Hovde Delivers - With the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Saline's Richard Hovde delivers a two-out bases-loaded single to drive in two runs, which proved to be the winning margin.

Division 2

Holland Christian 4, DeWitt 3 

DeWitt Goes On Top - DeWitt took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Donovan Tarn doubled into the gap to score Michael Stygles.

Schut Scores Game Winner - In the seventh inning, Holland Christian's Cam Schut scores from third on a sacrifice fly by Josh Sterenberg. 

Linden 5, Dearborn Divine Child 2

Chalk Chaser - Ryker Rivera hits the third base line with this run scoring single in the fourth inning to give Linden a 4-1 lead. 

Koan Drives Two Home - Linden gets on the board in the third inning with this two-out, bases loaded single by Nick Koan.

Softball 

Division 1

Macomb Dakota 4, Midland 2 

Dakota Double - The big hit in the Division 1 Semifinal between Macomb Dakota and Midland was this two-run double by Dakota's Julia Salisbury in the third inning to give the Cougars a 4-0 lead.

Gross Triples & Scores - Midland countered with two runs in the top of the fourth on this triple by Julia Gross to plate one run, and Gross then scored on a throwing error. 

Farmington Hills Mercy 9, Mattawan 6

Swinehart Has A Big Game - Mackenzie Swinehart of Mattawan went 3 for 4 against Farmington Hills Mercy, scoring twice and driving in a run with this third-inning triple. 

Three-Run Double For Padula - Farmington Hills Mercy scored five times in the second inning against Mattawan, the big hit this bases-clearing double by Cari Padula.

Division 2 

Vicksburg 7, Livonia Ladywood 5

Helping With A Homer - Livonia Ladywood starting pitcher Rozlyn Price helped her own cause in the third inning with a two-run home run to center field against Vicksburg. 

Bulldogs Begin Their Rally - Vicksburg started its rally back with two runs in the third inning. Alicia Cagney singles home the first run.

Richmond 6, Escanaba 2 

Eskymos Take Advantage - Escanaba tied the game at 2-2 in the second inning when Kathleen Ross scored on a Richmond error.

Richmond Tacks One On - Rachel Leach finishes the scoring for Richmond against Escanaba with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning, one of her two hits in the game. 

PHOTO: An Escanaba runner tries to beat a throw to second base during her team’s Semifinal against Richmond.

Otisville-LakeVille First SBP Using Pixellot

January 31, 2017

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director 

A challenge to schools wanting to stream live video of their athletic events to their communities is being able to adequately staff those productions.

“We had signed up for the School Broadcast Program over a year ago and we were really excited to get our games out to the community, and when it came to it, we just couldn’t get the manpower to run the equipment,” said Drew Johnson, the athletic director at Otisville-LakeVille High School in Genesee County. “That first day, we had everything lined up, we were ready to go, and two of our three kids missed school that day for being sick. It was just a hassle.

“So when we heard about Pixellot, it was a quick and easy decision.”

Just three weeks ago, LakeVille became the first school in Michigan and one of the first in the country to install a Pixellot unit in its gymnasium, automating the process of streaming live video on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network.

Pixellot is a unit equipped with four High Definition cameras that cover the length of the playing surface and then focus in on the ball and player movement to deliver the action.  The unit communicates with the scoreboard to insert a time and score graphic on the screen. Ambient audio is picked up by the device, but the play-by-play of an in-person announce team can also be patched in.

All that has to be done from a school’s perspective is type in the event schedule, and promote the fact that the games are available on MHSAA.tv. Pixellot does the rest. The unit can also be set up to isolate a camera on a fixed location, which allows for activities like wrestling to also be streamed.

“We’re going to do everything that takes place in our gym,” Johnson said. “We’re also excited about being able to record our practices as well.”

Johnson added that the school will look into installing additional Pixellot units at its middle school auditorium for musical events and LakeVille’s outdoor athletic fields in the future. 

In its eighth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. 

The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.  

All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.

Here’s the schedule of events School Broadcast Program members plan to stream over the next week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv. 

Tuesday, Jan. 31

Wednesday, Feb. 1

Thursday, Feb. 2

Friday, Feb. 3

Saturday, Feb. 4

Monday, Feb. 6

Tuesday, Feb. 7

Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.

The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. Some schools also will be selling Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.

Fans also can access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.

A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for another year with highlights of selected games last week produced by members of the Association’s School Broadcast Program.

This week’s highlights package consists of clips from last week’s Bark River-Harris at Powers North Central boys basketball game in which the Jets set a state record for consecutive boys hoops victories, an ice hockey game pitting Detroit Catholic Central at Brighton in a battle of two of the top teams in the state and a demonstration of Pixellot in action during a boys basketball game with Millington at Otisville-LakeVille. 

Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.

PHOTOS: (Top) A laptop shows the variety of angles for the Pixellot and the calibration of its four cameras. (Middle) This Pixellot hangs at midcourt at Otisville-LakeVille High School.