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Bridgman Bats Earn Homes in History

July 25, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A pair of Bridgman underclassmen helped the Bees to their first MHSAA team record book listing for softball this spring, while also earning individual entries as well.

Sophomore Sydney Payne had seven RBI during a win over Benton Harbor, and freshman Madelyn Oman had six in a win over New Buffalo as Bridgman made the team RBI record list with 275 over 39 games. Payne and Oman’s record entries also were firsts for the school on the sport’s individual lists.

The Bees finished 25-14 this season and advanced to their Division 3 District Final.

Click the heading below to see where they rank in the softball record book as a whole and also for more recent record additions in that sport and baseball. 

Baseball

Canton became the 21st team to make the all-time best ERA list for clearing 1.70, posting a 1.69 in going 34-6 this spring. Seth Marano led the way with a 0.66 ERA in going 7-1, while Dean Dawson and Turner Donlin also were 7-1 on the mound.

Pellston senior Maxwell Cleaver entered a May 15 game against Boyne Falls and hit a home run, and then hit home runs in his first two at bats May 17 against Newberry. His three straight homers made the list for most in consecutive at bats.

Holt tied for 12th in MHSAA history with a 1.48 team ERA this spring in finishing 30-8. The Rams were led by senior Jesse Heikkinen (who will play at Michigan State and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers), who finished 8-1 with a 0.97 ERA.

Potterville’s Sam Traver finished his four-season career in 2015 among all-time leaders in wins, ERA and strikeouts. For his career he was added for 34 victories (against 14 losses), a 1.16 ERA, 531 strikeouts over 311 2/3 innings pitched and 11 shutouts – the strikeouts rank seventh on that list and the shutouts tied for 10th most. He also was added for ERAs of 0.28 in 2015 and 0.82 in 2014, 178 strikeouts in 2015 and six shutouts that season. He recently finished his second season at Grand Rapids Community College.

Softball

Madison Jones finished her Romeo career this spring among the MHSAA’s all-time great power hitters, adding 15 home runs to individual records listings of 18 in 2015 and 11 last year. She finished with 47 home runs, tied for fifth most all-time, and also tied for second with 10 RBI in a game this season against Howell. She also earned listings for a .528 career average and 170 career RBI. She’ll continue her career at Oakland University.

Audrey Petoskey also finished off a four-season slugging career this spring, coming in seventh all-time with 43 home runs for Milford. She added 13 this season and also was listed for 10 in 2016 and 12 in 2015, plus for hitting back-to-back home runs three times during her career. Petoskey will continue her career at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee.

Lauren Kanai and Alex Herold helped Ada Forest Hills Eastern to a 28-10 record this season especially with their bats. Kanai was added for 10 home runs and 20 doubles, while Herold was added for 72 hits, 21 doubles and a 20-game hitting streak. Herold also made the doubles career list with 34, while Kanai made career lists with 52 doubles, 155 RBI and 202 hits. Kanai will continue her career at Taylor University in Indiana.

Howell posted one of the strongest offensive seasons in MHSAA history in 2017, and a number of record book entries have followed. The Highlanders finished 38-3, scoring 466 runs (fourth all-time) with 513 hits (third), 102 doubles (third), 38 triples (fourth), 388 RBI (third) and a team .441 batting average (sixth all-time). Veronica Pezzoni capped her three-season varsity career making single-season lists with 67 runs, 76 hits and 15 triples and career lists with 187 runs, 207 hits, 25 triples, a .542 batting average and for streaks of 84 straight stolen bases and hits in 38 consecutive games. Teammate Emma Johnson earned entries this spring with 69 runs and 71 hits and career listings for 172 runs and 34 doubles over her four-year career. Maddie Gillett (23) and AJ Militello (16) were added to the single-season doubles list for their work this spring. Pezzoni will continue at University of Tennesee-Martin, while Johnson will play at Hillsdale College.

Byron earned a number of record book listings for offensive production this spring, scoring 406 runs with 437 hits, 95 doubles, 293 RBI and with a .437 batting average. Junior Alexis Andrews finished her season on a 31-game hitting streak and hit 10 home runs, while sophomore Greta L’Esperance enjoyed a 28-game streak and batted .691 while scoring 74 runs. Parker Viele hit 18 doubles this season and finished her four-year career with 911 strikeouts; she’ll continue at Lake Erie College in Ohio.

PHOTOS: Sydney Payne (left) and Madelyn Oman both made the single-game RBI list in helping Bridgman to a team record book listing. (Photos courtesy of Bridgman High School.)

Pair Powers Mercy Softball to Semifinals

July 16, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Farmington Hills Mercy advanced to this spring’s Division 1 Softball Semifinals on the bats of two powerful hitters – one a senior recently recognized as the best in Michigan this season, and the other a junior likely to be a candidate for the same award in 2016.

Alex Sobczak earned the Miss Softball position player award from the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association and finished her fourth and final varsity season with five career totals in the MHSAA record listings – a .524 batting average, 40 doubles, 40 home runs, 210 runs scored and 112 walks. Her 40 home runs are fifth on that career list and include 17 she hit as a sophomore to tie for third on the single-season list for that category. Sobczak, Mercy’s catcher and leadoff hitter, will continue her career at the University of Michigan.

Teammate Abby Krzywiecki finished her third varsity season making the single-season home runs list with 12 and moving up the career list with 28 to tie for 19th with one more spring to play. She’s also in the MHSAA records four times with at least six RBI in a game plus hit three home runs in a game including two straight in a May 16 win over Mattawan. A first baseman, she’s approaching the career records lists in hits, RBI, batting average and doubles, and hit .574 this season.

As a team, Mercy again made MHSAA lists with 28 home runs this season and 254 RBI over 31 games.

Click the “Softball” heading below to see that sport's record listings in full, and read on for more of this week’s additions in baseball, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse.

Baseball

  • Montague’s 21-9 finish this season included a handful of performances notable for record book inclusion. Junior Jacob Buchberger hit .583 with 11 triples to make those individual lists, while junior Cameron Brayman also made the triples list with eight – those two played large roles as the team finished with 20 triples to tie for third as a team on the single-season list. Junior pitcher Andrew Bobian joined an elite group, walking only five batters in 61 innings pitched. He finished 5-5 despite a 2.52 ERA.

  • Mitchell Weber joined a group of players tied for 12th-most doubles in one season, hitting 21 in 37 games this spring. A senior, Weber hit .505 and will play next spring at Kellogg Community College.

  • Kaydon Reimer made the single-season hit-by-pitch list with 15 as a junior for Hale, and finished his career in 2014 having been hit with 35 pitches total over four seasons to rank 11th on that career list.

Boys Lacrosse

  • Nicholas Lucci continued his climb up the MHSAA career records lists in goals, assists and points with his best season this spring. The Bloomfield Hills junior had 69 goals and 43 assists for a combined 112 points – which tied for ninth on the season points list. He also made the single-game points list with 10 three times and the single-game goals list with eight against Walled Lake Central on March 25. His 221 career points rank 12th with a season to play.

Girls Lacrosse

  • Amy Longe finished her four-season varsity career at Hartland as one of the leading scorers in MHSAA history and with 12 entries in the record book. She made the single-season goals list for the second time, this time with 80, and moved up to third on the career goals list with 254. She again made the single-season points list with 112 and moved up to fourth on the career list for that category with 319. Teammates Annelise Kulpanowski and Maddie Thornley both also made records listings multiple times for single-game assists and single-game saves, respectively.

  

Softball

  • Caledonia as a team and freshman Samantha Gehrls among standouts created plenty of buzz this spring as the team advanced past the regional round for the first time, finishing Division 1 runner-up. Gehrls made the record book with seven RBI in a game against Jenison on April 22, and her 15 home runs on the season tied for eighth all-time. Total, Caledonia hit 49 homers – tied for second most by a team, drove in 322 runs to rank sixth on that list and made the team hits list with 429 over 39 games.

  • Hudson’s Shian Beekel finished her career with a power-hitting season this spring for the Tigers, driving 23 doubles, which tied for seventh-most for one season. Beekel hit .494 total and also knocked eight home runs. 

  • Clinton Township Clintondale set a team record for wins in finishing 21-4, and senior Morgan Duda played a starring role. In addition to posting an 11-2 pitching record, she scored the third-most runs in MHSAA history (79), finished the seventh-longest hitting streak (32 games dating to 2014), made records listings with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, and eight RBI in one game and posted the eighth-highest batting average (.692). She will continue her career at Division II University of Minnesota-Crookston.

  • Skylar Reed joined an impressive list of Howard City Tri-County players in the MHSAA records with 16 doubles this season, and Alexis Holappa made the list for RBI in a game for the second time, with six April 1 against Evart. They were joined by an older entry now verified – Theresa Dillon had 102 walks from 1983-86, the eighth most now and third most for a career when she graduated. As a team, Tri-County had 397 hits and 249 RBI this season in finishing 16-22. 

PHOTO: Abby Krzywiecki (left) and Alex Sobczak teamed up to lead Mercy to a Division 1 Semifinal against Caledonia in June.