Aces Lead Holland Christian, Linden in D2
June 16, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Mike Mokma had four innings Thursday morning to scout DeWitt’s lineup as he watched his school’s first MHSAA Semifinal from his post at first base.
As if the Holland Christian ace needed help, he also appears to take exceptional mental notes.
Mokma moved to the mound for the fifth inning, relieving teammate David Williams, and struck out five of nine batters he faced over three innings as the Maroons rallied to claim a 4-3 win over DeWitt and their first championship game berth.
Mokma, a senior who has signed with Michigan State University, improved to 14-0 this season and almost surely will get the call at McLane Stadium to pitch Saturday’s 9 a.m. Final.
“(Coach Jim) Caserta said entering the fifth inning to get ready, to start being ready mentally. Just staying in the game with every pitch, knowing what the hitter’s doing,” said Mokma, who struck out the side upon entering in the fifth inning with a runner on and a run just scored for DeWitt.
“The momentum swung from them to us,” Mokma added, “so it was good.”
Holland Christian (35-6), ranked No. 3 at the end of the regular season, will face No. 5 Linden on Saturday. Caserta, who led Holland West Ottawa to the Division 1 title in 2003 and is in his third season with the Maroons, will have the opportunity to become the first coach in MHSAA history to lead two programs to baseball titles.
His team advanced with a late and opportunistic rally after DeWitt took a 2-0 lead during the bottom of the fourth inning.
Holland Christian came back with two runs in the top of the fifth to tie the score. DeWitt scored its second go-ahead run in the bottom of that inning off Williams, leading to the pitching change.
Holland Christian tied it up again in the top of the sixth as junior Brady Brower singled home senior Josh Sterenberg, who had moved to third base on a passed ball. After Mokma retired DeWitt in order in the bottom of the sixth, Sterenberg had a hand in the winning run as well with a sacrifice fly to drive home junior pinch runner Cam Schut, who had made it to third on an error.
Mokma retired DeWitt’s final three batters in order to end the game.
“We had confidence in David. He’s been throwing great, so we felt coming in he was a little more rested than Mike was,” Caserta said. “(Mokma) could’ve started the game, but Mike will do what we need for the team. He’ll start, he’ll relieve; he’ll do what we need. He’s also carried us at the plate all year.”
Williams, who will play next season at Xavier University, gave up only one earned run over his four innings before moving behind the plate when Mokma came on in relief. DeWitt had only five hits, including two by sophomore catcher Kade Preston.
DeWitt junior Michael Stygles gave up only one earned run throwing all seven innings for the Panthers (30-10-1), who made their second Semifinal appearance in three seasons and graduate only two starters from Thursday’s lineup.
“It’s great to see the kids accomplish what they set out to do, especially when you set your goals this high,” DeWitt coach Al Shankel said. “To get here was great. We wanted a couple more.
“We felt we could get to their starter, and we started hitting the ball pretty hard off him. Credit to them that they went to (Mokma), because I think that would’ve continued.”
Linden 5, Dearborn Divine Child 2
While the rain began to fall harder Thursday, Linden’s spirits soared as it earned its first championship game berth since 2004 with a comeback win over the five-time champion Falcons.
Junior pitcher Lucas Marshall allowed only one earned run and struck out four in tossing a complete game for the Eagles (29-9-1), who increased their postseason run margin to a combined 23-3 over six opponents.
“It just shows that we’re not really the little guy anymore,” Marshall said. “We’re here to play anybody; it doesn’t matter. We’re going to give them our best game.”
Divine Child (27-16) scored the game’s first run in the top of the first inning. But Linden came back with three in the third inning and two in the fourth to put the game away.
Sophomore Nick Koan had a two-run single, the only player on either team to drive in more than one run. Junior Nick Gurney gave up only six hits for Divine Child.
“These guys are just blowing me away,” Linden coach Steve Buerkel said. “Because we lost a strong senior class last year. We had six kids that went on to play college baseball. We returned two starters. … We’ve just got a lot of kids that have a lot of heart and never give up and play hard.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland Christian's Chris Mokma lays down a bunt during his team's win over DeWitt at McLane Stadium. (Middle) Linden's Lucas Marshall prepares to unload a pitch during Thursday's Division 2 Semifinal win over Divine Child.
St. Francis Makes Good on Great Expectations by Completing Repeat Run
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2026
EAST LANSING — Repeating as an MHSAA Finals champion in baseball might be more difficult than any other sport given its fickle nature.
But from the start this spring, Traverse City St. Francis appeared capable.
After claiming the Division 3 title last year, St. Francis returned both its best pitchers and a core of eight seniors from the 2025 squad.
It’s no wonder why a repeat was expected by many – and the Gladiators fulfilled those expectations Saturday.
St. Francis (34-5) finished its mission with a 9-0 victory over Kalamazoo Christian in the Division 3 Final at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium.
“Yeah, we had confidence the entire season,” said Gladiators senior Lanse Vos. “We knew there was a good group. Having this group again, we’ve grown up together. We only expected this. Our goals were only this.”
Vos was a big reason why St. Francis repeated, allowing just three hits and no runs in six innings of work in what was an unexpected start until Thursday’s Semifinal against Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest – which he also began on the mound.
With St. Francis holding an 11-1 lead over Lutheran Northwest, Gladiators head coach Tom Passinault pulled Vos before he exceeded the 49-pitch limit that would have prevented him from throwing Saturday.
The plan worked out brilliantly for St. Francis, which got to start Vos and bring on senior Tyler Endres in the seventh inning to close the game.
“We watched Kalamazoo Christian on Thursday, and they are a tremendous fastball-hitting team,” Passinault said. “Since we had Lanse available, he is our best combination of fastball and off-speed. He had them on their front foot all day. It was a huge bonus to be able to throw him today.”
Vos also was instrumental to the team’s offense, contributing two hits and four RBI.
A week earlier, it didn’t look like the Gladiators would even make it to East Lansing when it trailed Sanford Meridian 10-7 going into the last inning of their Regional Final.
St. Francis rallied to score four runs in the seventh to win, and never looked back.
“Once we got here to East Lansing, I just thought we were rolling,” Passinault said. “We were playing great baseball.”
Making its first trip to a Final, Kalamazoo Christian finished 26-9.
“There’s a lot to be able to reflect on and enjoy,” Kalamazoo Christian head coach Russ Meyer said. “But it stings now. They believed in it. They believed they had a chance to be in this game. It just didn’t happen to go our way.”
The Gladiators jumped all over Kalamazoo Christian early, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings to take a 4-0 lead.
St. Francis scored the first pair on a walk with the bases loaded and an RBI sacrifice fly by freshman John St. Peter, and added the next two in the second inning on a two-run double by Vos.
The Gladiators added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Vos, and then put the game away by scoring four in the bottom of the sixth inning – the big blow of that rally a two-run single by senior Evan Belanger.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City St. Francis' Tyler Thompson (2) runs back to his dugout after crossing the plate during the Division 3 Final on Saturday. (Middle) The Gladiators' Lanse Vos delivers a pitch during his winning performance on the mound.