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Sault's LaCross Ties National HBP Record

June 9, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Nick LaCross got on base more than half the times he appeared at the plate for Sault Ste. Marie this spring, with an on-base percentage of .531.

He had 29 hits – and also was hit 29 times by pitches, setting an MHSAA record and tying the national record set in 1965.

LaCross, a junior, was hit by pitches three times in two games. Teammate Travis Zaborowski joined him on the hit-by-pitch record list, also getting hit by pitches three times in a game. As a team, Sault Ste. Marie tied for 11th on the MHSAA single-season HBP list with 53.

Click to see all of the MHSAA record book for baseball and below for the rest of this week’s record additions for girls basketball, boys basketball, boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball and wrestling.  

Girls Basketball

  • A pair of the state’s most successful coaches over the last two decades were added to the coaching list with more than 300 wins to their credit. Houghton’s Julie Filpus has a 345-55 record since taking over in 1999 and led teams that made MHSAA Semifinals in 2006 and 2013 and won the Class C championship in 2005. Houghton finished 19-6 this season.

  • Doug Harkema led Bellevue to a 16-5 finish in 1993, then took over Holt the following fall and won 290 games toward his career record of 306-186. His teams have won nine District titles and reached Regional Semifinals four seasons. The Rams finished 15-8 this winter.

Boys Basketball

  • It took 25 years to get his due in the MHSAA record book, but Blissfield’s Greg Denecker has been added for 1,006 rebounds during his career stretching from 1987-90. His total ranks 11th and would’ve ranked seventh when he graduated from high school. Denecker went on to play at the University of Findlay.

  • DeShawn Brocks led Detroit Westside Christian Academy to a 13-7 record this winter supplying both offensive and defensive prowess. The senior scored 21 points per game, and also made the MHSAA record listings with 102 steals. He had a season-high 11 steals in a 70-48 win over Detroit University Prep Science & Math; that total made the single-game MHSAA list for that category.

  • Owosso senior Jalen Weekley finished his career among the sharpest shooters in MHSAA history, drilling at least 70 3-pointers for the second time in three seasons to finish his career with 192. Weekley had a high of 72 as a sophomore, his first season on the varsity. He will continue his basketball career this fall at Mid-Michigan Community College.

Boys Lacrosse

  • Zachary Montgomery nearly outscored his team’s opponent himself on April 21, putting eight goals in the net to lead Spring Lake to a 22-9 win over Lowell. Montgomery also had an assist in the game and was one of his team’s leading scorers this season.

Girls Soccer

  • Danielle Eastman finished her Brooklyn Columbia Central career in Saturday’s Division 3 District Final – and among the leading scorers in MHSAA history. Her 84 points this season – on 63 goals and 21 assists – tied an MHSAA record set in 2014 by Leland’s Libby Munoz. Eastman finished third on the career points list with 216 over her four-season varsity career, with her 63 goals this season and 167 for her career also ranking third on those lists. She scored in 26 straight games including all 23 this season and dating to the final three of 2014. Eastman has signed to continue at Siena Heights University.

Softball

  • Brooklyn Columbia Central’s Abbey Hatler had a strong performance against East Jackson on May 3 – in fact, she had an incredibly productive inning. Hatler finished 2 for 2 in the game, scoring three runs, and drove in six – enough to make the MHSAA list for RBI in one game. She also became the first entry for RBI in one inning – all six came during the first, when she had a grand slam and a double.

Wrestling

  • New Baltimore Anchor Bay coach Jim Morisette won the 600th match of his career this season as his team finished 37-1, its best record in his 24 seasons of guidance. Morisette is 609-200 total after coaching Algonac from 1986-89 and then at Anchor Bay beginning with the 1991-92 season. The Tars advanced this winter to the MHSAA Division 2 Semifinals, losing by just a point to eventual runner-up Hartland. 

PHOTO: Sault Ste. Marie's Nick LaCross reacts after getting hit by a pitch this season, one of 29 pitches that made contact with him as he tied a national record. (Photo courtesy of Sault Ste. Marie athletic department.)

Cole Sets Grand Haven at Record Pace

August 6, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Grand Haven’s Katie Cole was only a sophomore last season when she set the Buccaneers into the MHSAA Class A Volleyball Semifinals.

But that was only one bar she raised with two seasons remaining in her high school career.

Cole also set an MHSAA rally-scoring era record with 1,797 assists over 155 games as she and Chelsea’s Marry Kelleher (1,757 in 2014) both bested the previous record during the same season – Cole by 229 assists.

She averaged 11.6 assists per game while tallying all but 90 of her team’s total as Grand Haven finished 53-9.

Click to see the volleyball record book in full and read below for more recent submissions in baseball, boys basketball, football, girls soccer and softball.

Baseball

  • Matthew Rivera established himself as a top hitter over the last four seasons, making the MHSAA records with a career average of .482 and a single-season average this spring of .625 that ranks seventh all-time. But most impressive might have been his hits in 12 straight at bats against Ellsworth, Pickford, and Boyne Falls over four straight games from May 1-8, which tied for the fourth-longest hit streak over consecutive at bats. Rivera also earned a listing with six stolen bases in a game against St. Ignace on May 21.

Boys Basketball

  • Onaway 6-foot-5 senior Pat Dunn capped his career this winter with a stellar season averaging 15.2 points and 15 rebounds per game. He made the MHSAA record listings with 316 rebounds total, breaking that school record and also his school’s record with 76 blocked shots. He will continue his career at Adrian College.

  • Cooper Heminger is among Perry school record holders including for blocking 12 shots in a 58-49 win over Lake Fenton on Feb. 18, 2014, and that total also made the MHSAA list for blocks in a game. Heminger, a 6-5 forward, graduated this spring.

Football

  • Former Genesee standout Don Robinson already was listed for a 95-yard kickoff return in 1983, and has been added for a 99-yard run that same season, Sept. 30 against Webberville. He went on to play at Eastern Michigan University.

Girls Soccer

  • Leland’s Libby Munoz continued this spring her move up the MHSAA girls soccer scoring lists and ranks among all-time leaders with another season to play. She scored 58 goals, tying for fourth-most in one season, to go with her 64 from 2014, and her 164 career goals over three seasons ranks fifth, 31 behind record-holder Jordan Newman of Lake Fenton (2011-14). Munoz finished with 75 points total this spring, sixth-most for one season, and her 219 tie for fourth on the career list, 71 behind Laura Heyboer of Hudsonville Unity Christian (2005-08). Munoz also was added in girls basketball, having made 15 of 22 free-throw attempts in a Jan. 14 game against Buckley.

Softball

  • Harrison pitcher Allison Lipovsky finished her high school career not only as the most celebrated pitcher in school history, but among the highest achievers statewide of all time. She built a 91-32 record over four varsity seasons and made the MHSAA records nine times – her 23 no-hitters rank eighth on that career list and her 1,363 strikeouts are 11th-most over a career. She also tied for 18th with 29 career home runs and sits eighth with 110 career walks at the plate. She has signed with Grand Valley State University. In addition, Harrison as a team was added for its 452 strikeouts total this spring.

  • Milford sophomore Audrey Petoskey took a big step up the home run records ladder this spring, making the single-season list with 12 and joining the career list with 20 homers and two more seasons to play. Total, she hit .476 in 36 games this season.

  • Mattawan finished 31-13 and made the MHSAA Division 1 Semfinals this spring on the strength of one of the most impressive offensive seasons in the sport’s history. The Wildcats made six team categories in the MHSAA records with 416 runs scored, 491 hits (third all-time), 97 doubles (second), 48 home runs (third), 359 RBI (second) and a .415 team batting average (eighth all-time). Junior Amber Mazahem twice hit homers in consecutive at bats and finished with 13 total, while sophomores Joanna Bartz and Alexis Taube hit 12 and 11, respectively. Taube also made the record book with homers in three consecutive at bats, 71 hits total and 17 doubles, and junior Genny Soltesz was added after scoring 66 runs.

  • Lauren Aldrich capped her four-season Perry career among MHSAA leaders in home runs and walks with 24 and 112, respectively. The walks are tied for sixth most. Aldrich already was listed in the records for 10 home runs as a sophomore in 2013.

PHOTO: Grand Haven’s Katie Cole sets for a teammate during last season’s 3-2 loss to Novi in their Class A Semifinal match at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.