Brothers Shine as Baseball Aces
April 2, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Remus Chippewa Hills baseball was in good hands over the last six seasons – those of brothers Erik and Jake Tarbell.
The pair combined to go 76-15 on the mound with 774 strikeouts from the start of Erik’s career in 2008 to the close of Jake’s last spring.
Total, Erik Tarbell finished 37-7 with a 1.68 ERA and 371 strikeouts from 2008-11, while Jake Tarbell finished 39-8 with a 1.61 ERA and 403 strikeouts from 2010-13. Erik now plays for NAIA Union College in Kentucky, while Jake is beginning his first season with Delta College.
Their career marks plus a pair of individual accomplishments were among those added to MHSAA record book listings Wednesday. Read on for more, including some top softball hitters, a 2,000-point basketball scorer, and another who frequently found the goal – with a soccer ball.
Baseball
- Saline’s three straight Division 1 runner-up seasons from 2008-10 included a number of strong performances from three-year varsity players Mark Weist and Al Zeiher. Weist in 2010 tied for the second-most hits in one season, with 78, and eighth-most doubles with 22. He also hit eight triples and .595 for the spring, finishing his career with a .492 average – to make record listings for all five categories. Zeiher pitched to a 0.45 ERA that season and 1.01 ERA over his three – his career ERA ranks ninth on that list. Saline as a team hit 93 doubles (tied for sixth), 22 triples (second) and carried a .385 average. Also, Gage Hammond was added to the record book for his nine triples in 2012.
- A trio of Gobles standouts finished their careers in 2013 with totals that made the MHSAA record lists. Seth Johnson finished his four-year varsity run with a .488 career average, 164 runs, 45 doubles, 25 home runs and 167 RBI. Teammate Cam Hansen also made the career runs list with 167, and Ty Rock made the career shutouts list with 10.
Girls Basketball
- Alissa Herlan finished a four-year varsity career at Coldwater in 2012 with 173 3-pointers – good for 16th on the career list. She connected on 67 as a senior to make the single-season list as well.
Boys Basketball
- There have been 35 players who have scored at least 2,000 points during their careers, and Spencer Krannitz is the latest to be added to the list. The 2012 North Muskegon graduate scored 2,008 points from 2009-12. He now plays at Central Michigan University.
- The Dec. 4, 2012, game between East Jordan and Mancelona was one for the record books – literally – as the teams combined for 21 3-pointers and East Jordan alone made 17 in an 82-70 victory. East Jordan’s Joe Manville was the game’s top sharp-shooter with six 3-pointers, all coming over the final three quarters.
- Chesaning’s Josh Kunik found the basket frequently from all over the floor during his high school career that ended in 2013. But he was especially dangerous from the free-throw line as a senior, making 89 of 98 attempts from the stripe for a .908 percentage – good for sixth all-time for a single season.
Boys Soccer
- Leland’s Dylan Jolliffe led his team on its second trip to the MHSAA Division 4 Semifinals in 2012, scoring 65 goals that season – good for fourth-most in MHSAA history. He scored 40 as a junior, also making that single-season list, and finished his career with 145 to tie for sixth on the career list. He currently plays at Kalamazoo College.
Softball
- Tawas’ Ivy Schaaf finished her varsity career in 2013 with 34 doubles, 20 home runs and 197 runs scored during her four seasons, including 10 home runs as a junior. All made MHSAA record listings, with the 197 runs ranking 18th. Teammates Jordyn Look and Amber Yates also made the lists with 18 doubles in a season and 39 career doubles, respectively. Tawas as a team was added for 385 hits, 80 doubles and 250 RBI, all from last spring. Schaaf is playing at Western Michigan University this season.
- Swartz Creek’s Hayley Cruthers finished her career last season with a number of season and career totals ranking among the top 20 in MHSAA history in their respective categories. Among them was a 35-game hitting streak that tied for second longest, 256 career hits (fifth), 212 career runs (11th), 72 career doubles (tied for second) and 31 career home runs (11th). She’s playing at Ball State University this season. Swartz Creek as a team hit 77 doubles last season to make that list.
PHOTO: Remus Chippewa Hills' Jake Tarbell prepares to unleash a pitch during his team's Quarterfinal game against Mount Pleasant in 2013. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
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.)