Record-Setting Slugger Powers Mercy
August 15, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Farmington Hills Mercy softball team enjoyed one of the winningest seasons in MHSAA history this spring bolstered by one of most accomplished hitters ever to step into the batter’s box in this state.
The Marlins finished 43-2 – tying for third-most wins in a season – and won their first MHSAA title, clinching in Division 1. Meanwhile, senior Abby Krzywiecki hit a single-season record 20 home runs to go with 18 more listings in the MHSAA record book as she finished her high school career.
Her 82 runs this spring are tied for eighth-most, her 48 career home runs are second on that list, her 94 RBI this season sit third most and her 238 career RBI place second on that list. She was named Miss Softball as the top position player in 2016 and will continue her career at South Alabama.
Two teammates also made the MHSAA records this spring; junior Sophie Van Acker with 82 hits and sophomore Anna Dixon with 72. The team’s 510 hits were second-most in MHSAA history and only two off the record.
Click to see where all three rank in the MHSAA softball record book, and see below for other recent additions in softball, baseball, girls soccer and boys lacrosse. (Click on the sport heading to see those record books in full.)
Baseball
Traverse City West celebrated its most successful season this spring, including its first trip to the MHSAA Semifinals, and tied for seventh-most wins in a season in MHSAA history with a final 41-3 record. The Titans also made the team record lists with 431 hits, 427 runs, 361 RBI and a .369 team average, and their 70 times hit by pitch were second-most for one season. Individually, senior Alex Strickland was added for 74 RBI this spring and senior Nick Brzezinski for 73 hits, 68 runs and eight triples. Brzezinski will continue at Aquinas College this fall.
Austin Putman earned two record book entries with three home runs against Suttons Bay on May 12. The Charlevoix senior not only made the list for most homers in one game, but also for most in consecutive at bats tying for eighth on that list by hitting them in three straight plate appearances as his team won 7-4.
Dearborn Fordson senior Hassan Jaafar made his way around the bases quite a bit during a 13-12 win over Dearborn Henry Ford Academy on April 13. Jaafar stole seven bases, tying for second most in one game and ending up just one shy of tying the MHSAA record.
Boys Lacrosse
Detroit Country Day’s back-to-back MHSAA Semifinal runs the last two seasons were led by a foursome of standouts who are now all over the MHSAA record book for the sport. Emilio Sosa graduated in 2015 and now has five entries including 181 goals, seventh most. Cooper Belanger was a senior this spring and is listed 10 times, most notably for 317 career points, which rank sixth on that list, and 149 career assists, which rank fourth. David Pohl’s three entries before graduating in 2015 included tying for second-most assists in a game, nine, against East Grand Rapids his senior season, and 116 career assists that tie for eighth. And goalie Jackson White finished up this spring with 11 entries including four seasons on the single-season saves list – his 257 in 2015 rank second – and 872 career saves, which also rank second. Sosa played this spring at Kenyon College in Ohio, and Belanger is slated to begin his collegiate career this fall at Colgate in New York.
New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s William Moses joined the single-game scoring list in April. The recent graduate netted eight goals in a 16-1 win over Warren Mott to break his school’s record by two goals.
Fenton goalkeeper Abby Quesnelle earned her second entry for shutouts in one season with 13 this spring as a junior in 24 games to go with 15 shutouts as a sophomore in 2015. Fenton reached the Regional Final in Division 2 before falling to eventual MHSAA champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Her team may have fallen 3-0, but Jennifer Gutierrez did her part to keep Caro close to Millington on May 4. The recently-graduated keeper had an MHSAA record 50 saves for the Tigers as the Cardinals put 53 shots on goal.
Softball
Lauren Kanai was perfect in her team’s 17-0 five-inning win over Greenville on May 19 – the Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior pitcher tossed the perfect game in part by striking out 14 of 15 batters faced to make the MHSAA list for most strikeouts in a five-inning game. She also had two RBI.
Howell’s Veronica Pezzoni is a perfect 75 of 75 on stolen base attempts over the last two seasons, good for the fourth-longest streak in MHSAA history. The senior-to-be needs only 25 more without getting caught to set the MHSAA record. Junior teammate Jordan Humitz also made the MHSAA records with 13 home runs this spring. Howell as a team made lists in multiple categories over the last two seasons – with 454 hits, 93 doubles, 339 RBI and a .400 team batting average in 2015 when it finished 32-9-1; and for 493 hits, 93 doubles, a .415 average and 330 RBI this spring in finishing 30-11.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Mercy's Abby Krzywiecki steps in against Macomb Dakota during this spring's Division 1 Final.
Rangers Net Historic Accomplishments
April 27, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s boys tennis team finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 in the fall, led by a single star and a powerful doubles lineup whose accomplishments have been added to the MHSAA record book.
No. 1 singles champion Connor Genschaw was added to the records for his 34-4 finish, while Jack Ziegler and Peyton Herbert were runners-up at No. 2 doubles and added at 31-9 in separate entries (they went 25-6 together and 6-3 with other partners). Aidan Rynbrandt and Jacob Wiltjer were added for going 31-9 at No. 1 doubles, while Mike Battiste was part of the No. 3 pair and went 28-11 and the No. 4 pair of Tyler George and Ali Azeem made the list at 27-13.
Herbert (97-15), Battiste (94-17), Ziegler (90-22) and Rynbrandt (90-23) finished on the doubles career wins list as well. Reed Aleck, a senior in 2016-17, also was added to the career list at 80-22 after he and Justin James went 27-6 that fall.
Click to see the boys tennis record book in full, and see below for more recent entries in ice hockey, boys lacrosse, softball and wrestling. Click on the sport headings to view those record listings in their entirety.
Ice Hockey
Royal Oak Shrine Unified’s 9-3 win over Allen Park Cabrini on Jan. 20, 2017, saw a pair of MHSAA records set. Shrine’s Josef Mehall scored two goals five seconds apart during the second period – setting the record for the fastest two goals both by an individual and team – and Shrine added a third during the same minute to give it three goals over 34 seconds, which ranks fifth on that list. Mehall added an assist on that third goal, which was scored by Jamison Terbrack. Both were seniors; Mehall played junior hockey this season for the Maine Wild.
Calumet scored four goals over 1:24 against Negaunee on Feb. 8, becoming the second-fastest team to score four goals in one game. The Copper Kings did so with their first of the period 5:03 in and their fourth at 6:27. Brent Loukus, Dean Loukus, Rylan Anderson and Tyler Johnson scored during the string. Calumet went on to win 9-0.
Canton sent 104 shots on goal against Ann Arbor Huron during an 8-2 win Jan. 17, ranking as the second most shots on goal in a game. Huron senior Ethan St. Pierre set the MHSAA saves record in turning away 96 of those shots.
Boys Lacrosse
Tecumseh’s Dylan Day continued to move up the career lists in 2017, adding eight record book entries. He joined the career points list with 220 (148 goals and 72 assists) over the last two seasons and with this season yet to play and also was added for goals, assists and points (7/9/16) in a win over Temperance Bedford last May 24. Now-senior teammate Justin Weasel was added for eight goals in that game, and senior Drake Ringer was added for 42 assists last season. Now-junior goalie Kobe Jennings was added four times for saves in a game with a high of 20, and also earned the first entry for season shutouts with four. As a team, Tecumseh’s 266 goals were added, as were its 26 against Bedford in that 26-5 win.
Softball
Grosse Pointe South shortstop Grace Foster powered her way to a few more entries in the record book last season, hitting 11 home runs over 31 games – including two in an inning against Romulus after also hitting two consecutively in a game against St. Clair Shores Lakeview. The then-junior also made the records with six RBI in an inning and eight in that game against Romulus, and seven more in a game against Detroit Renaissance.
Flint Powers Catholic’s McKenna King hit 23 doubles in 2017 to make the single-season list in that category. The Chargers’ then-freshman tied for 12th most in one season.
Another freshman in 2017, Frankfort’s Haley Myers, made record lists with 18 doubles and 74 runs scored – the runs tied for 11th most. Now-senior teammate Olivia Tomaszewski also was added for 18 doubles and now-junior Natalie Bigley was added for 70 runs. Myers, now a sophomore, also was added for hitting back-to-back home runs against Lake City this April 12.
Elizabeth Evers became one of the first to be added for an accomplishment this spring. The Sterling Heights senior drove in six runs in her team’s 15-14 win over Clawson on March 23.
Wrestling
Otisville-LakeVille became the ninth on a list of teams that have scored 84 points in a dual match. The Falcons put up the perfect 84-0 score against Manistique on Jan. 13.
Gavin Morgan joined the list of record holders for fastest pins during his Mount Morris team’s invitational on Jan. 20. He pinned his Capac opponent at 160 pounds in four seconds. Morgan is a sophomore.
PHOTO: Forest Hills Central’s Connor Genschaw returns a volleyball during the LPD2 Finals last fall. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)