Forest Hills Eastern, Standish-Sterling Celebrate 5-4 Wins to Set Up Saturday Matchup
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2025
EAST LANSING – Seeing its championship hopes slip away, Ada Forest Hills Eastern turned to a pair of juniors Thursday to give it a boost.
A relief effort from Colton Brinks and a timely hit from Ben Fausey allowed the Hawks to fight past Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in a Division 2 Semifinal, 5-4, at McLane Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University.
The win moved Forest Hills Eastern to Saturday’s Division 2 Final at 11:30 a.m., where it will face Standish-Sterling. The Hawks will be seeking their second title in program history, with the last coming in 2022.
“It’s just playing another game, that’s it,” Forest Hills Eastern coach Ian Hearn said of advancing to the MHSAA Final. “We really haven’t focused on the magnitude of the possibility of winning. The game is the same, people change, so we’re just going to keep approaching it the same way.”
The Hawks (41-1) held a 4-0 lead after one inning, but saw Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (26-13) slowly crawl back.
In the fifth, up 4-3, Hearn went to Brinks on the mound in relief of starter Cam Pallo with one out, and the junior got out of a bases-loaded jam.
“He has done that multiple times and been very successful,” Hearn said of bringing in Brinks. “I don’t want to say (OLSM) was starting to time (Pallo) up or whatever, but he was starting to get tired. He was hard with his fastball, and his slider and curve ball. So, everything was firm, firm, firm. Colton came in a little bit more over the top and was able to change a lot of speeds and hit his spots. It typically takes a moment to adjust, so we’ve been fortunate that Colton has been able to get us a lot of soft contact.”
The Eaglets would tie the game in the sixth inning on an error, but Eastern responded in the seventh when Fausey hit a leadoff double. Senior James Dempsey then laid down a bunt that forced a St. Mary’s throwing error and allowed Fausey to score to give the Hawks the lead back.
“My first three at-bats, I was getting some nerves out, but I know I am a good hitter,” Fausey said of his double. “I was hunting a fastball on the first pitch, and thankfully I was on time.”
In the bottom of the seventh, the Eaglets put the first batter on base, but Brinks forced a double play, followed by a flyout to end the game.
“I’ve done this in every single playoff game except for one, so I am kind of getting used to it,” Brinks said of locking up the game late.
Forest Hills Eastern didn’t waste much time getting on the scoreboard, as it posted four runs in the first inning. The first two Hawks were walked, followed by a bunt single from Dempsey.
Brendan Thompson, another senior, then came through with a two-run single up the middle to make it 2-0. Junior Kenric Penkevich brought in another run on a fielder’s choice, then Pallo had an RBI single to cap the scoring in the first.
“I think our guys came out very motivated, with a lot of positive energy,” Hearn said. “It was very good to get started with the lead, that’s for sure.”
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s had its first five batters retired before junior Tyler Shubnell laced a double to left field. Shubnell would advance to third on an error from a pickoff attempt, then score on a balk to make it 4-1 through two innings.
Junior Luke Crighton took the mound for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in the second inning and retired the first eight batters he faced. Ultimately, he held the Hawks scoreless for five innings.
“He’s done that all year for us. He’s really a superb two-way guy,” St. Mary’s coach Nick Di Ponio said. “He does it at the plate, does it on the mound, does it defensively, does it running the bases. I can’t say enough good things about what he means to this team.”
The Eaglets manufactured a run with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning as junior Andrew Tribul drew a walk and then was singled over to third by senior Wyatt Borbi. Shubnell then reached base on an error that allowed Tribul to score, making it 4-2.
OLSM got within a run in the fifth as a leadoff single from Anthony Elezaj was followed by two walks and a wild pitch to make it 4-3.
In the sixth, Forest Hills Eastern stranded the bases loaded, and St. Mary’s tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Shubnell hit a leadoff single and would score on a throwing error with two outs, putting the score at 4-4.
“He swung really, really well today,” Di Ponio said of Shubnell. “He squared up the bat well and helped get some big runs for us.”
Brinks got the win in relief, his ninth of the season. Crighton finished with eight strikeouts and one run allowed over six innings of relief.
Standish-Sterling 5, Mason 4
The third time proved to be the charm for Ryan Raymond and the Standish-Sterling baseball team.
After coming up shy two of the last three seasons in Semifinals, the Panthers punched their ticket to their first MHSAA Final on Thursday with a 5-4 win over Mason.
“It feels really good,” Raymond said. “We didn’t play our best game. Give Mason a lot of credit. They battled. We made a few errors and we are going to have to play clean on Saturday, but it feels really good to be in the Finals.”
The game was scoreless for four innings, but the Panthers (36-5-2) got a momentum-swinging play when Mason (31-7) was threatening in the top of the fifth.
With a runner on and one out, the Bulldogs had a single go into right field. However, Mason’s lead runner got caught in a rundown and eventually was tagged out, and the trailing runner then got caught in a rundown of his own and was tagged out to end the inning.
“It’s one of those things where you try to prep your guys, and every pitch we need to stay as focused as possible,” Mason coach Kohl Tyrell said. “It’s one of those things where we just got a little too aggressive. We tried to hold (the lead runner) up, so it backfired and he got caught. It’s a great teaching moment for us. Sometimes those teaching moments come in wins, sometimes they come in losses.”
That defensive play sparked the Panthers, as they would go on to score all five of their runs in the bottom of the inning.
“I think that defensive play where we turned a very awkward double play, I think that got us all out of a tense funk,” Raymond said. “It loosened us up a little bit.”
Playing looser, Standish-Sterling utilized its bunting to get the offensive surge. Senior Kasen Wendel put a perfect bunt single down the third base line to load the bases. Junior Ben Briggs then followed with a bunt of his own, which forced a Mason error at home plate and brought two runs across for the Panthers.
“We play small ball. I think that is the way the game should be played,” Raymond said. “You see how it works when it is executed correctly. My boys are good at doing that, because we work on it a lot.”
A sacrifice fly from senior Trace Collins was followed by a two-run single from senior Brock Bartlett to cap Standish-Sterling’s scoring.
Mason didn’t go quietly, as it posted two runs in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from junior Travis Davis and a Panthers error. In the seventh, Mason scored another two runs thanks to another error while Standish-Sterling was attempting what would have been a game-ending double play.
“That’s this team,” Tyrell said of Mason battling to the end. “That’s why this is super emotional. It’s not the outcome, it’s hard to leave a team like this. The boys wanted it, and the fight never stops. They’re Bulldogs.”
With the tying run at second base, Raymond turned to senior Sam Briggs to record the final out, which he did by forcing a ground ball. Briggs got the save in place of starter Preston Kann, who pitched 6 2/3 innings and struck out seven in a winning effort.
“I am fortunate to have a lot of good arms, but two exceptional ones,” Raymond said. “They are both touching 90 (mph), but they are pitchers and they are baseball players. That helps a lot. They put a ton of time into their sport. Sam and Preston are dudes when it comes to pitchers.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ada Forest Hills Eastern players celebrate their Division 1 Semifinal win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s on Thursday. (Middle) Standish-Sterling’s Brock Bartlett (15) applies a tag on a Mason runner attempting to get back to second base.
Michigan's Minor Leaguers Making Up for Lost Season
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 28, 2021
Nick Plummer doesn’t necessarily view this summer as a make-or-break season, but he does realize the clock is ticking in his bid to make The Show.
Now in his fifth season in the St. Louis Cardinals chain, the former Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice star, like all minor league baseball players, suffered a setback when the 2020 minor league season was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. While some were called into alternate-site camps during the abbreviated Major League Baseball season, the majority simply sat out a year. The loss means players this summer are scrambling to recapture lost momentum and get careers back on track.
In a sport where development is the key to climbing the competitive minor league ladder, Plummer, one of a number of former Michigan high school standouts striving this summer in professional baseball, admits he needs to make significant progress playing for the Cards' Double-A affiliate in Springfield, Mo.
“Not playing in 2020 was a big deal for everyone,” said Plummer, the state’s 2016 Mr. Baseball Award honoree. “But I feel good about this season. Each year you need to develop and learn leadership and maturity.
“I worked on the mental side of baseball as well as working out (in Rochester). I tried to make the best of things, but it was tough.”
The season could mark a significant turning point in Plummer’s career. The center fielder had never hit over .228 during his four seasons, but is off to a quick start at Springfield, batting a career-high .283 with four home runs and 18 RBI over 145 at bats with a .386 on-base percentage.
Plummer, now 24, was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round, 23rd overall, during the 2015 amateur draft. He's part of an intriguing group of former Michigan prep stars trying to progress this summer.
South Haven’s Ryan Dorow is playing at Triple-A Round Rock in the Texas Rangers chain, located about 180 miles south of the parent club’s home in Arlington. A former baseball, basketball and soccer star in high school who helped those teams to a combined eight District championships, Dorow went on to become one of the greatest players in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association history at Adrian College where he hit .395 with 95 extra base hits while driving in 188 runs over 179 career games.
Dorow, a first-team all-MIAA pick all four seasons, said his goal is to simply improve each year as a pro. This season he’s hitting a combined .336 in 31 games across two levels, with six homers, 17 RBI and a .414 on-base percentage.
“You need to prove something to the organization and stay true to yourself,” said Dorow, who never hit less than .383 in any season at Adrian. “As a player you want to develop quickly, but everyone has their own timeline. You have to go out and have fun and improve.
“Coming out of high school and college, it was always in the back of my mind to play professional baseball, but you also have to understand that whatever happens, happens. I was just looking for another opportunity to play.”
Another former state prep star is making a radical switch in his opportunity in pro baseball. Grosse Pointe South’s Carmen Benedetti was the state’s 2013 Mr. Baseball, setting school records in average (.492), homers (22) and RBI (143). He became a 12th-round pick (367th overall) of the Houston Astros after batting .323 with 10 homers and 56 RBI in three years as a first baseman/outfielder at Michigan.
By his own admission, Benedetti, a three-time all-stater as a position player, was a less-than-stellar pitcher at South before throwing fewer than 30 innings for the Wolverines. But while an arm injury two years ago ended his hopes of playing in the field as a pro, the now 26-year-old Benedetti has turned to pitching this season with the High-A Ashville Tourists in North Carolina. He’s currently on the minor league injured list but was anticipating a mid-June return.
“Every year in baseball is a challenge, and I’ve just had to take (the switch) in stride,” said Benedetti, now in his fifth year in the Astros chain. “We all had 2020 off, and now we need to get the ball rolling. You still have to perform, and I’m going to do what I do. It’s a new road, but I feel like I’m lucky to get this far and now I’m just going to see another part of the game.”
Two more standouts who’ll be trying to make the most of their summers are brothers Chris and Mike Mokma of Holland Christian. Chris was taken in the 12th round of the 2019 draft by Miami while Mike – who threw a four-hitter with 14 strikeouts in an 8-5 win over Linden in the 2016 Division 2 championship game — signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers after serving as the staff ace at Michigan State.
Mike is playing with the High-Class A Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League. Chris is pitching with the Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads, who play in Palm Beach County, Fla., about 80 miles north of Miami. Chris has made eight starts, striking out 32 over just more than 41 innings. Mike started this season strong and is striking out a batter per inning over his first 10, all in relief, but has navigated some tough outings after returning from the injured list at the start of this month for the Midland-based Loons.
“The biggest goal is always development,” Chris Mokma said. “I’m still only 20, and it’ll be my first year of playing with older guys. I want to develop my pitching and my command and be able to throw any pitch in any count for a strike.
“Professional baseball has changed baseball for me a little, and now you’re just trying to evolve. If you pitch well, you move up. That’s still baseball. You can’t let the fun go away. At the end of the day you are playing a sport, but your goal is to get to the big leagues.”
There are several other former Michigan prep stars scattered throughout the minors this summer. Infielder Werner Blakely of Detroit Edison was taken in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2020 draft by the Los Angeles Angels, the highest Detroit player taken since Northwestern’s Marc Washington was selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 1982 draft.
Blakely, who will play in the Arizona Rookie League in Tempe, was ranked as the country’s 260th best high school player by Perfect Game. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound shortstop batted .467 with five homers and 38 RBI in 96 at-bats his junior year before losing his senior year to COVID.
Also among notable Michigan players in the minors are five from the 2015 and 2016 Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Dream Teams, including four pitchers who helped the Wolverines to the 2019 College World Series finals. Tommy Henry (Portage Northern), Karl Kauffman (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice), Jeff Criswell (Portage Central) and Jack Weisenburger (Rockford) are all in pro ball.
Oakland took Criswell in the second round (58th overall) of the 2020 draft after Weisenburger was taken by the A’s in the 20th round the year before. Criswell has made one scoreless two-inning appearance for High-A Lansing (Mich.) and is on the injured list, while Weisenburger is 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 21 1/3 relief innings at Double-A Midland in Texas.
Henry was the 74th player taken in the 2019 draft and pitching for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles (Texas) of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization; he’s 1-3 in 10 starts with a 4.93 ERA and 59 strikeouts over just under 46 innings pitched this season. Kauffman was the 77th overall pick in the same draft by the Colorado Rockies. He is pitching for the Hartford Yard Goats (Conn.) in Double-A, where he’s made nine starts.
Also on the Wolverines’ World Series club was outfielder Jordan Nwogu, previously a second-team all-stater from Ann Arbor Pioneer who was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the third round (88th overall) of the 2019 draft. He’s playing with the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans (S.C.) and is off to a slow start at the plate but has stolen six bases.
Hamilton’s Grant Wolfram was nabbed by Texas in the 18th round of the 2018 draft. A pitcher, Wolfram will be spending his fourth year in pro ball with the High-A Hickory Crawdads (N.C.). He won 19 games with Davenport University and later pitched at Central Michigan. As a high school tennis player at Hamilton, Wolfram was 30-1 as a senior and named all-state. In all, he earned 10 varsity letters in tennis, basketball and baseball. He’s made eight starts with 43 strikeouts over just less than 31 innings pitched.
Pitcher Garrett Schilling had a remarkable prep career at Bishop Foley and also is playing this summer in Double-A with Hartford after being taken in the 18th round of the 2017 draft by Colorado. Schilling was an outstanding three-sport star in high school; he amassed a 36-0 record as a pitcher, was a two-year letter winner in hockey and made 7-of-11 field goal attempts as a kicker on the football team.
He helped Bishop Foley to three Division 3 baseball championships over his first three seasons from 2011-13 and a combined 146-12-1 record over four years until a line drive off his face at the end of his senior spring required season-ending surgery. Schilling went a combined 4-for-9 with five RBI in Finals wins over Bridgman, Lansing Catholic and Grandville Calvin Christian.
He wound up attending Xavier where he went from pitching seven innings as a freshman to earning 14 saves with a 1.91 ERA as a sophomore, to 15 starts and a 6-4 record and 3.57 ERA his junior year. He was a two-time all-Big East second-team selection. Schilling is carrying a 4.63 ERA with nearly a strikeout per inning in nine starts.
Sam Weatherly of Howell is pitching for the Low-Class A Fresno Grizzlies (Calif.). A first team all-stater in 2016, Weatherly was taken by Colorado in the third round (81st overall) of the 2020 draft after pitching collegiately at Clemson. He’s 2-3 with a 4.38 ERA – with 61 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched – over nine starts this season.
Former Detroit U-D Jesuit and U-M catcher Harrison Wenson is playing for his third minor league team and second organization this season, having begun in the Angels system, receiving his release from High-A Tri-City (Wash.) and signing with the Cubs’ High-A in South Bend, Ind.
A rare three-time draftee, Wenson was selected by the Tigers in the 38th round in 2013, in the 39th round by Pittsburgh three years later and then by the Angels in the 24th round of the 2017 draft. He was a member of the MHSBCA’s Dream Team as a junior and senior.
PHOTOS: (Top) Former Brother Rice standout Nick Plummer hauls his gear at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo., as a member of the Double-A Cardinals this season. (2) Plummer follows one of his drives. (3) South Haven’s Ryan Dorow awaits a pitch for his Triple-A team in the Texas Rangers chain. (4) Holland Christian’s Chris Mokma begins his delivery for the Jupiter Hammerheads. (5) Brother Mike Mokma fires a pitch for the Great Lakes Loons. (Photos courtesy of the Springfield Cardinals, Round Rock Express, Jupiter Hammerheads and the Mokma family.)