First-Time Finalists Ride Pitching Power
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 12, 2015
EAST LANSING – The winning pitchers in the Division 4 Semifinals went all seven innings and combined to give up just three hits on Friday at McLane Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.
A stoic Devin Comes gave up a single to the first batter, and that was all as the sophomore struck out six and walked one in leading Muskegon Catholic Central to a 4-1 victory over first-time semifinalist Ubly.
MCC (38-1-1) will play Centreville (29-1) for the title Saturday at 5 p.m. Both teams are in the Final for the first time.
Michael Kool tossed a two-hitter and struck out 10 as Centreville defeated Rudyard 2-1 in the other Semifinal.
Comes pitched sparingly as a freshman, but knew his role would increase this season. He’s 10-1 and one of a handful of quality pitchers on coach Steve Schuitema’s staff.
“We had talked,” Schuitema said. “If he threw strikes, we’d be OK. We could have played better defense. Zach Huston made some real good plays at second.
“(Comes) is so unflappable. He doesn’t get that from me. I’m a nervous wreck.”
MCC committed four errors, and even those mistakes couldn’t rattle Comes. Ubly scored its run in the fourth inning on a walk, an error and a ground out by Evan Block.
By that time, MCC had built a 4-0 lead, scoring twice in the first inning and two more runs in the third.
“That 2-0 lead relieves a lot of stress,” Comes said. “I still have to do my job.
“I’ve never been in this situation before. We have a bunch of guys who can throw. I just did my normal routine (to prepare). I just try to stay calm and throw first-pitch strikes.”
Nichols Holt’s two-run single gave the Crusaders a 2-0 lead in the first. Jacob Holt had an RBI ground out in the third inning and the fourth run scored on an error.
Zachary Winzer had three of MCC seven hits. Anthony Woodard had two hits and a walk.
Jeffrey Wright pitched well for Ubly (22-8), but didn’t receive the run support.
“Every coach dreams of playing in a championship game,” Ubly coach Jim Becker said. “We were excited, but we’re also down we weren’t able to get there. We overachieved. I expected us to be .500. All along all we wanted was to win a district.”
Centreville 2, Rudyard 1
Kool, a junior right-hander, pitched a no-hitter in the Quarterfinal on Tuesday, 3-0 victory over Climax-Scotts. He retired the first 13 batters on Friday before Owen Mills singled.
Kool struck out 10 and walked two, both in the sixth inning, when Rudyard touched him for a run.
Despite his impressive performance, Kool remained humble.
“I just play baseball,” he said. “It’s not me. It’s the team. I felt good. This is the highlight of my career.
“We’re still making history for Centreville. We’re in the state final.”
Centreville took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Kool scored on a throwing error. Nick Weber scored what turned out to be the winning run when Jalen Brown singled him home with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Rudyard (30-5) set a school record for victories in a season and was making its third MHSAA Semifinal appearance.
The Bulldogs scored in the top of the sixth inning after Kool walked the first two batters. A sacrifice bunt moved both up, and James Rosebrock singled home Cody Coffey. But Kool struck out the last two batters and retired the side in order in the seventh.
When asked if he thought about removing his ace during the tense sixth, coach Mike Webster said, “I went with my instincts and left him in.”
Webster will turn 27 on Saturday, and he said, “The kids gave me the best birthday of my life.”
Travis Myers went the distance and took the loss for Rudyard. This was coach Ron VanSloten’s last game, as he will retire after 22 seasons to spend more time with his family. He built a career record of 444-186-4.
“We had a couple of key at bats today,” he said. “(Kool) is a good dude. Except for that one inning, he comes right at you.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Devin Comes prepares to deliver a pitch during Friday’s Division 4 Semifinal win. (Middle) A Centreville player crosses the plate for one of his team’s two runs.
FHE Completes Season-Long 'Response' with Title-Clinching 41st-Straight Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – The Ada Forest Hills Eastern baseball team didn’t panic when it fell behind by two runs in Saturday’s Division 2 Final.
The Hawks simply did what they’ve done all season – they responded.
FHE overcame the early deficit and emerged with a 5-2 win over Standish-Sterling at McLane Stadium.
“Respond has been our word this year, and we’ve lived by that,” said Hawks senior Max Ferrick, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
“Any time we get down, we’re like, ‘All right, it's time to respond, it’s time to get back and do our thing.’ We know we’re better, we just have to do it.”
The top-ranked Hawks (42-1) captured their second Final over the last four years after also winning in 2022.
They also ended this season on an incredible 41-game winning streak.
“They’ve been together for a long time, and it’s a great group,” FHE coach Ian Hearn said. “We have very dedicated players that are super passionate about the game, and they can’t get enough of it. It was fantastic to win a state title with this group and all the time and effort they’ve put in.”
Second-ranked Standish-Sterling, playing in its first Final, tallied a pair of runs in the first inning to snag a 2-0 lead.
However, the Hawks countered with five unanswered runs the remainder of the game.
“The word ‘respond’ is a big word for us,” Hearn said. “Each year we have a building block and this year it was ‘respond’ for our program, and that will continue. They embraced it right away and believed in it and went all in on it. They have so much fight, and they constantly respond.”
FHE scored once in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single from James Dempsey and three times in the third inning to grab its first lead.
Ferrick roped a shot to the gap for a double that tied it 2-2. Then a throwing error by the Panthers allowed two more runs to score to put the Hawks ahead 4-2.
Ferrick added a two-out double in the fourth inning.
“It’s kind of full circle for me,” said Ferrick, who played on the 2022 team as a freshman. “But this year my brother is on the team and some of my best friends that I’ve played with my whole life. I felt like I had to do it today for my family because this team is like a family, and it really felt great today.”
FHE junior Colton Brinks was brilliant in relief of starter Landen Lindley.
Brinks allowed only two hits in 4 ⅔ innings pitched and struck out the final three batters in the top of the seventh after walking the lead-off hitter.
“I was a little nervous there with everyone on their feet and excited, but I trusted I could throw my pitches and (in) the defense behind me,” Brinks said. “I’ve been playing with them since I was little, and I guess the adrenaline kicked in and I locked in and got the last three strikeouts.
“I was in eighth grade the last time they won, and I came to that game. I’ve always dreamed of being able to do it one day, and actually being able to accomplish it is an amazing feeling.”
Panthers coach Ryan Raymond was thrilled with the game’s start, but his team was unable to manufacture quality chances the rest of the way.
“That was the only rally we really got going early, and it seemed like all our other rallies started after two outs,” Raymond said. “We were excited, ready to play and I thought our effort was excellent today. I couldn’t be more proud, and these kids battled and they fought for themselves while making school history.”
Sterling-Standish managed only five hits and left nine runners on base.
PHOTOS (Top) Colton Brinks (15) makes his move toward the plate during Forest Hills Eastern’s championship-clinching win Saturday. (Middle) FHE’s Max Ferrick (2) waits on a Standish-Sterling pitch.