Base by Base, St Patrick Circles Them All
December 7, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Portland St. Patrick’s run to the Division 4 baseball title this spring was fueled by its ability to manufacture runs – and some of those statistical performances will be remembered among the best achieved in MHSAA history.
As a team, Portland St. Patrick was hit by 46 pitches over 38 games and also stole 170 bases to make those team record book lists. Senior Brendan Schrauben – who is continuing his career at Alma College – capped his four-season varsity career with 168 runs scored, and Graham Smith finished his with 46 hit-by-pitches – good to tie for sixth on that list.
See below for more recent record book entries in baseball, football, girls lacrosse and softball, and click on the sport headings to see those record books in full.
Baseball
Homer’s 36-6 finish in 2017 was the result of a number of record book-worthy performances. Offensively, the Trojans hit .359 with 380 runs scored, 88 doubles and 310 RBI, which all made team lists, plus their pitchers totaled 308 strikeouts. Now-senior Kyle Klepper was added for hitting two home runs in the first inning against Manchester on May 13, and Joe Roth – also now a senior – was added for a 1.69 career ERA over 132 2/3 innings pitched the last two seasons. Coach Scott Salow was added to the coaching wins list; he’s 507-152 having coached Taylor Light & Life in 1993 and 1994 and at Homer since 2001.
Football
Hudson’s 2000 team finished 9-3 on the strength of a rushing attack that now sits atop the season rushing attempts (601) and yardage (4,196) lists. Three running backs rushed for at least 1,000 yards for the Tigers. Hudson ran for a season-high 476 yards against Dundee and for at least 440 yards in two more games.
Richmond’s Anthony Tavano got on the single-game receiving touchdowns list with four thrown from quarterback Chase Churchill in a 57-7 win over Armada on Sept. 1, 2016. Tavano played this season at University of Mount Union in Ohio.
Muskegon Catholic Central’s Tommy Scott made a series of scoring lists in helping the Crusaders to a perfect season in 2014. Scott scored 216 points on 36 touchdowns, including 34 rushing touchdowns. All three totals made MHSAA record lists, and his 99-yard kickoff return against Munising in the Division 8 championship game tied the longest in MHSAA history. In addition, teammate Nate Jones was added for returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the first quarter of a 2015 playoff win over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart. Muskegon Catholic Central as a team was added for scoring 651 points in 2014 and 612 in 2016, both over 14 games. Scott is playing at Saginaw Valley State, and Jones is playing at Hillsdale College.
Bath’s Zach Parry and Gavin Parry became the latest to tie the record for longest pass play when Zach connected with Gavin on a 99-yard touchdown toss on Sept. 29 against Dansville. However, the Aggies won the game 20-12.
Girls Lacrosse
A trio of Dexter players were added for their accomplishments this spring. Junior Skylar Waddington was added three times for 11 goals in a game against Ann Arbor Skyline on May 4, 86 goals total over 16 games and 97 points as well this spring. Junior Marin Waddington also was added for goals this spring, tallying 50 in 16 games, and sophomore Bruna Meister was added for making 17 saves against Saline on May 10.
Softball
Fenton’s Logan Carter capped her career this spring on career lists with 50 doubles, 32 home runs and 172 RBI over the last four seasons. She also earned eight more entries for single-game multiple home runs, single-game RBI and twice for home runs in a season – with a high of 15 in 33 games this past spring. Carter, a catcher, is continuing her career at Western Michigan University.
A potent Lowell offense made the team record book lists with 67 doubles, 33 triples and 278 RBI this past spring as the team went 24-14. Then-junior Mackenzie North was added for 16 of those doubles, plus for home runs in an inning and consecutively when she hit a pair in the first inning against Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills on April 24 – and she also drove in six RBI that game. Teammate and then-sophomore Madison Jordan became the first to be listed in the MHSAA records for triples in a game with four against Ottawa Hills on April 18, and she also was added for six RBI in an inning and 11 overall in that game, plus for six RBI in the April 24 win and for 16 triples overall last season. Her season triples rank eighth on that list. North has signed to continue her career after next season at Jackson College.
PHOTO: Portland St. Patrick’s Brendan Schrauben rounds third base during last season’s Division 4 championship game against Hudson.
Ace's 13 listings lead Hudsonville's 50 added to Softball Record Book
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 9, 2023
A total of 50 entries covering the last three decades of Hudsonville’s successful history have been entered in the MHSAA softball record book, with 2011 grad Sara Driesenga leading the way with 13 listings.
Driesenga’s most notable was her 0.15 ERA in 2010, which is tied for 10th lowest. Danielle Freeman, a 2013 grad, was added 10 times, including for 85 hits (tied for 10th) in 2012.
Others making lists one or more times were Kenzie Ritsema, Kelly Zackrison, Bethaney Murphy, Grace Sommers, Sydney Burns, Aleigha Talsma, Erica Bosman, Sarah Nederveld, Arinn King, Brooke Agers, Marleah Stapf and Lexi Agers.
Driesenga went on to star at Michigan, Freeman was a standout at Evansville, and Ritsema was a standout at Western Michigan. Zackrison played at Michigan State, Murphy at Saginaw Valley State, Talsma at Campbellsville (Ky.), King at Hope College, Brooke Agers at Muskegon Community College and Stapf at Florida International.
See below for more recent record book entries in softball:
Softball
A trio of Beaverton standouts over the last two seasons were added. Alexis Grove led with seven entries including 75 hits, 66 runs and 18 doubles last spring as a senior and 42 doubles and 158 RBI over her four-year career despite the cancellation of the 2020 season. Sawyer Gerow was added for 19 doubles as a senior last spring and 39 over her four-year career, and Molly Gerow was added for 72 hits in 2021. Grove is continuing her career at Northwood.
A pair of Otisville LakeVille Memorial players were added for accomplishments during the 2022 season. Jayla Thompson strung together a 24-game hitting streak beginning May 1 and continuing through her team’s District title run, and she also hit 12 home runs over 36 games. Teammate Mallorie Nevadomski became the third player to be listed for being hit by two pitches in the same inning, which occurred during the first inning of an April 11 game against Mt. Morris. Thompson is a junior this spring, and Nevadomski is a sophomore.
Fowlerville’s Tori Briggs earned her first record book entries last season as a sophomore. She tied the record for most triples in a game with four against Lansing Eastern, and also was added for 20 doubles over 34 games played.
Sabrina Lee was hit by pitches an incredible 33 times over 106 games and three seasons during her Rochester Adams career that ended last spring, and that’s with 2020 being canceled. She sits atop the career HBP list. Additionally, Adams coach Fran Scislowicz was added to the career coaching wins list with 756 since taking over the program in 1988.
Watervliet’s 36-5 run in 2022 included several performances that made record listings including for 476 hits, 438 runs, 349 RBI and 237 stolen bases as a team, and a .401 team batting average. Five players also earned individual entries, led by Samantha Dietz, who was added for 67 runs scored and 71 stolen bases in 74 tries – the latter tying for ninth-most stolen bases in a season. She also was one of four players added for driving in six runs in one game, joined by Abigail Whorton, Addison Riley (twice) and Grace Chisek. Chisek also was added for 75 hits, 75 runs scored, 12 triples and a 26-game hitting streak, and Maddie Flowers made the runs scored list with 73. Riley graduated last year, Dietz is a senior this spring, and Whorton and Chisek are juniors.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix played a record-setting game against Comstock on April 9, 2021, and Gracie Goschke played a major part. She was added for three home runs in a game, including two grand slams, two home runs and six RBI during the second inning and 10 RBI total that afternoon. A sophomore then, Goschke is a senior this season.
East Kentwood finished a combined 50-28-1 over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, with three players teaming up to earn the program’s first record book entries. Aalana Kimble, a senior this season, tied for second all-time last spring as a junior with 18 triples and also made the records with 71 hits last year and 66 runs and 81 hits as a sophomore. Kelsey Depault was added for 81 hits and 19 doubles in 2021, and Emily Visser – now a junior – was added for 77 hits last season and 17 doubles in 2021. Depault graduated last spring and is playing at Northwood, and Kimble has signed with Saginaw Valley State.
Big Rapids reached the records in five team categories during the 2022 season, with 473 hits, 91 doubles, 344 RBI, 401 runs and a .424 batting average over 39 games. Marissa Warren led the charge, making the records with 70 runs, 79 hits and 21 doubles. She’s a junior this season.
Natalie Wandrie reached the record book six times last season as a junior at Indian River Inland Lakes, most notably for a .717 batting average that ranks sixth all-time for a single season. She also entered this spring on the career home runs list with 23, and hit 15 as a junior. She will play both softball and volleyball at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky.
PHOTO Hudsonville’s Sara Driesenga gets ready to pitch during the 2009 Division 1 championship game. (MHSAA file photo.)