Records Report: Stiles Strikes Out 25

September 14, 2012

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Four pitchers combined for 49 strikeouts when Bath's baseball team faced Pewamo-Westphalia through 40 mph winds on April 16.

The first hit of the game didn’t come until the 11th inning, and the lone run wasn’t scored until the 13th, when the Bees finally claimed a 1-0 victory.

Despite an incredible performance, senior Nick Stiles didn’t get that pitching win. But he did strike out 25 batters over the game’s first 10 innings, good to tie for eighth-most in an extra-inning game in the MHSAA record book.

Reliever Ryan Orr came in and struck out six over three innings to get the victory in relief. And opposing pitcher Cam Trierweiler finished with a mere 15 strikeouts over eight no-hit innings before he also was relieved.

Below are highlights from recent submissions to the MHSAA record books. Click to see the baseball record book, or the headings below to see records listings for those sports.

Softball

  • Manistee standouts Haley Maser and Megan VanderWeele were added for their doubles last season, 17 and 16, respectively. Maser hit .471 and VanderWeele .451 for the spring.
  • Manchester’s Katie McClure became the latest of nine entries who have struck out 21 batters in a seven-inning game, having doing so while giving up just two hits in a 7-0 win over Michigan Center on May 14. Only two others have struck out more in a seven-inning game. McClure also made the list with 16 doubles this spring, as she hit .441.
  • A number of listings for New Baltimore Anchor Bay were added, including those for season (34 in 2008) and career wins (101) and career strikeouts (902) for former hurler Olivia Nicholas, who totaled her numbers from 2007-2010.

Football

  • Macomb Lutheran North senior J.J. McGrath wasted little time creating his first individual highlight of this fall. He connected on a 57-yard field goal – third-longest in the MHSAA record book – to help his team to a 24-21 win over host Yale on opening night.

Girls lacrosse

  • Recently-graduated Midland Dow goalkeeper Meridith Murley had the third-most saves for one game, 22, in a 15-6 win over Flushing on May 8.
  • White Lake Lakeland senior Nichole Laflamme capped her three-year varsity career this spring with 93 goals and 107 points, both among the top 10 in those respective categories. She scored seven goals in a game five times this season, and sophomore teammate Dominique Zigo did so once on the way to 82 goals and 97 points – which also made the records listings.

Records Report: VanNoord Goes National

May 2, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Holly VanNoord capped her Hudsonville Unity Christian soccer career last spring by helping hoist the team’s third MHSAA championship trophy won during her brilliant four seasons in goal.

But her accomplishments as the team’s keeper made more than just MHSAA history. Her 75 career shutouts also are a national record and top this week’s "Records Report."

Click on the sport headings below to see the entire MHSAA record book for each. 

Girls Soccer

  • Unity Christian’s Holly VanNoord had an MHSAA single-season record 24 shutouts as a junior in 2011 and finished with 20 more last season – to go with 16 as a freshman and 15 as a sophomore. She finished with a career goals-against average of 0.25 in helping Unity Christian to MHSAA Division 3 titles in 2012, 2010 and 2009 and the runner-up finish in 2011. The Crusaders gave up a total of seven goals last season. VanNoord's career shutouts broke the MHSAA record by 11 and the national record by three. She was a freshman on Liberty University’s team in Virginia last fall.

Girls Lacrosse

  • Ryan Skomial’s junior season at Hartland ranks as one of the best in MHSAA lacrosse history. She totaled 162 points last spring – good for third on the single-season points list. Her 99 goals ranked fourth and her 63 assists fifth in those respective categories. Hartland fell to Birmingham United 12-11 in overtime in the MHSAA Division 1 Final.

Softball

  • Beaverton’s Alix Price tied an MHSAA record with 18 triples last season as a junior – equaling the total hit by South Haven’s LeAnn Covey in 1993. Heading into this season, Price had a career batting average of .544 – good for ninth-best in MHSAA history – and the fourth-most career triples, 33. Teammate Kayla Balzer also made the record book for her two home runs in consecutive at bats April 21, 2012, against Unionville-Sebewaing.
  • Coincidentally, Farmington Hills Mercy’s Alex Sobczak joined 11 others with three homers in three consecutive at bats, also hit on April 21, 2012, in her team’s win against Pinconning.
  • Hudsonville Unity Christian was added 12 times for achievements mostly during its strong seasons of 2006-09, when the team averaged 28 wins per spring. The 2007 team gave up only 24 runs and the 2006 team gave up just 26. Kara Dornbos made the season strikeouts list with 402 in 2009, and Ashley Wagner and Marie Prins both made lists for doubles – both had 16 in a season, and Wagner finished with 44 for her career.

Football

  • Napoleon’s Rod Rhoad launched a school-record 75-yard punt against Vandercook Lake on Sept. 26, 1975 that stands as a school record to this day – and qualifies as the 12th-longest in MHSAA football history.
  • West Bloomfield’s Chance Monarch was the third-leading tackler in Oakland County last fall with 128, according to the Oakland Press, and 29 of those were for losses – good enough to rank fourth in that category in the MHSAA football record listings.
  • Saugatuck’s Ethan Colton already was in the MHSAA record book for his 2,613 yards rushing in 2010. A large chunk of that came in seven straight 200 yard-plus games from Oct. 1 through Nov. 12 – which tied Issac Harper of East Lansing for the longest string of 200-yard rushing games.
  • Evan Pohlmann played a big part in Menominee advancing to last season’s Semifinals, booting 53 extra points to join a long list of successful kickers.

Volleyball

  • White Cloud’s Maria Feldpausch joined a list of those who have had 48 assists in a match during the rally scoring era, but hers came in only three games as he team swept Central Montcalm on Sept. 5.

PHOTO: Holly VanNoord led her team to a win over Flint Powers Catholic in last season's MHSAA Division 3 Final at Williamston High School.