Bath Ace Leaves Legacy of Perfection

August 13, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Ryan Orr’s 34-3 pitching record over four seasons for Bath’s varsity baseball team is impressive on its own. 

But it’s only the start on the legacy he’s left all over the MHSAA baseball record book.

Orr graduated this spring holding or sharing five pitching records, while also placing in three offensive categories.

The Bees ace holds records for longest string of perfect games – remaining flawless over three starts against Vestaburg, Saranac and Laingsburg from April 8-22 in 2013 – and career ERA with a 0.24 over 258 1/3 innings pitched. That string of perfect games also ties for longest no-hitter string and puts him tied atop the career perfect games list, while his 0.09 ERA this spring tied for first in that single-season category.

Orr also tied for fifth with 16 career shutouts and seventh with five career no-hitters. His four walks this spring were second-fewest in one season – to the three walks he allowed in 2012. Orr also ranks fourth in career hits with 205 and tied for 11th in runs scored with 173, and is listed as well for 104 career stolen bases. He will continue his career this fall at Kalamazoo College

Click to see more of how he ranks against MHSAA baseball's best, and read on for additional recent entries into the MHSAA records. Click the headings below to view each sport’s listings in their entirety.

Baseball

  • Saline’s Michael Hendrickson finished an impressive pitching run this spring with a 0.22 ERA and seven shutouts in only 63 innings pitched – his ERA ranks seventh and the shutouts tied for ninth-most in one season. He also ranks 11th with a 0.97 ERA over 145 career innings pitched. Saline made the team records lists with 419 hits, 80 doubles, a .375 average, 1.36 ERA and 330 strikeouts this season in finishing 32-8.

  • May 12, 2005, was a record-setting day for Sanford Meridian’s Rob Marks. He slugged back-to-back grand slams in the first inning of a 16-0 win over Farwell, becoming one of two listed for back-to-back grand slams and tying the record of eight RBI in an inning.

  • Two more Bath graduates also were added this week – Sam Zeeb for his 47 stolen bases in 2009 and 116 over his four-year career and Scotty Kirkpatrick for his 122 walks drawn from 2008-11. Kirkpatrick’s total ranks second only to Brighton star Drew Henson’s 129 from 1995-98.

Football

  • West Bloomfield senior quarterback Robert Powell, Jr., threw his way into the MHSAA record listings in only nine games last fall – making the single-season yardage (2,323), completions (150) and attempts (275) lists.

Boys Lacrosse

  • Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s presence in the MHSAA listings was bolstered by some of its top achievers from this season and dating back to the sport’s first with MHSAA tournament sponsorship. Taylor Ghesquiere was added for 243 career goals including 72 this season, and 293 career points including 89 this spring (he will continue his career this fall at Division III Wesleyan University in Connecticut). Dean Stanton was added for 161 goals from 2006-09, including 68 in 2008, and 85 points in 2009; while Andrew Stanton was added for 108 assists from 2007-10 including 50 in 2008, plus 2011 career points. Andrew Miller’s 2005 stats are presently unavailable, but he was added for 119 career assists over his final two seasons – 2006 and 2007 – and 201 career points over those two as well. Current senior-to-be Johnny Wagner was added for his 90 points this season, and Miller and Andrew Stanton also were added for individual game accomplishments. Former goalie Andrew Wells ranked with the second-most career saves, 603, from 2006-09, plus three times for single-season saves; Jon Harlan also made the single-season list for his 201 saves in 2006.

Boys Soccer

  • Grand Rapids South Christian goalkeeper Aaron Bosch helped the Sailors to the 2010 Division 3 championship with near-flawless play in net – he tied for the MHSAA record of 22 shutouts and second-longest streak of 13 straight clean sheets. South Christian gave up only one goal in seven tournament games – to Galesburg-Augusta in a 5-1 Regional Final win. He now plays at NAIA Northwestern College in Iowa.

  • Monroe keeper Brandon Roeske put together a 12-game shutout run last fall that tied for fourth-longest in MHSAA history, and finished also tied for fourth with 18 shutouts for the season and ninth with 39 shutouts during his four-year career. His 659 career saves also rank ninth on that list. He’ll continue his career this fall at Division III Finlandia University.

Softball

  • Utica Ford advanced to the MHSAA Semifinals this season for the first time, a crowning achievement for one of the top hitters in school history. Catcher Gabby Schefka graduated after putting her name into the MHSAA records in six categories – single-season (19) and career doubles (58), single-season (11, twice) and career home runs (30), for two consecutive home runs and seven RBI, both in a win over Sterling Heights Stevenson on April 30. Teammate Carly Asoklis also had seven RBI in that game, and Gabby Dobroczynski had six RBI against Birmingham Groves on May 4.

  • Jackson’s Sienna Surber capped her career as one of her school’s best by making the MHSAA listings for back-to-back home runs in a game this season, seven and six RBI in one game also both this season, 19 doubles as a junior, 12 home runs as a senior, and a number of career totals – hits (201), RBI (190), doubles (61), home runs (28) and runs scored (179). Her doubles are tied for 10th most in MHSAA career history, and her RBI are tied for seventh on that career list. Surber will join Florida State University’s program as a preferred walk-on this fall, according to a Jackson Citizen-Patriot report.

  

  • Mattawan’s Abby Stoner slugged into the MHSAA records before graduating in 2013 and moving on to play at Saginaw Valley State University. Stoner hit 14 home runs as a senior and 31 over her three-year varsity career – both tied for 11th on those respective lists. She helped Mattawan to the Division 1 championship as a senior, with that team’s 35 wins, 394 hits and 249 RBI also making the record book.

PHOTO: Ryan Orr graduated from Bath this spring as an MHSAA record holder in multiple pitching categories. (Photo courtesy of Bath baseball.)

Benzie Star Receives Record Recognition

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 30, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Despite missing the majority of his senior season in 2003 with an injury, John Plumstead graduated from Benzie Central the following spring among the top rushers and scorers in Michigan high school football history – and those accomplishments now are reflected in the MHSAA record book.

Plumstead ran for 5,595 yards over 40 games and four seasons, and also scored 72 touchdowns. The career rushing yardage still ranks 15th all-time. He went on to play linebacker for Army at West Point.

See below for more recent additions to the football record book, and click the heading to see the listings in full.

Football

Berrien Springs senior Faith Kittleson drilled all nine of her extra-point attempts in her team’s 63-0 win over Parchment on Oct. 4. While that missed the list for most extra points in one game, it made the list for most consecutive extra points made in one contest. Kittleson also has been a standout on the school’s girls soccer team.

Mattawan senior Noah Janssen became the sixth player to return at least two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game Sept. 28, when he scored on a pair against Portage Northern. Both run-backs also made the list for longest kickoff return touchdown, at 98 and 96 yards.

A pair of impressive defensive performances earned Breckenridge’s first football record book entries last fall. Sophomore Luke Saunders had four interceptions during a 49-0 win over Muskegon Heights Academy on Sept. 6, including tying a record with three in one quarter. Breckenridge as a team also was added for holding Coleman to only two first downs during a 56-0 victory Sept. 20.

Warren Fitzgerald sophomore Trey West showed in the fall he was capable of scoring offensively, defensively and on special teams – and his kickoff return prowess especially stood out. He became the latest to tie the record for longest kickoff return when he scored on a 99-yarder Oct. 25 against Port Huron Northern. He tied for second-most kickoff return touchdowns in one game with two against Warren Woods-Tower on Oct. 12, and also tied for second-most kickoff return TDs for a season with four total in 2019.

Eastpointe senior Davion Watkins also joined that list for longest kickoff return, bringing one back 99 yards against Warren Fitzgerald on Oct. 18.

Quarterback Vaughn VanTil led the way for Coopersville against Fruitport during a 62-50 win Oct. 12, 2018. The then-senior made the MHSAA record book in multiple categories with seven rushing touchdowns, and was part of 431 of the 607 total yards that earned Coopersville an entry in the team record book. The seven rushing touchdowns are tied for third-most on the rushing scoring list.

Pewamo-Westphalia has had a number of individual standouts in winning MHSAA Finals titles three of the last four seasons, and not to be forgotten was kicker Alec Thelen. He made the single-season extra point list twice with 55 in 2017 and 71 in 2018, and his 154 (in 171 attempts over 31 games from 2016-18) are tied for 10th most on the career list. He’s playing at Siena Heights University.

Griffin Milovanski kicked the last two seasons on Saugatuck’s varsity and finished on the career extra point list with 83 made in 86 attempts. He also made the single-season PAT list as a junior.

Ogemaw Heights advanced as far as the Regional Finals during the last decade, doing so in Division 4 in 2012. A powerful rushing offense led the way – and led to four record book entries. The Falcons were added for 4,220 rushing yards and 5,604 yards of total offense that fall, plus 631 total yards in a Week 9 win over Alpena and 74 rushing attempts in a District Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills.

PHOTO: Benzie Central running back John Plumstead turns the corner on the way to some of his 5,500 career rushing yards. (Photo courtesy of the Benzie Central Gridiron Club.)