Homer, Liggett Set Up Saturday Meeting
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2019
EAST LANSING – Jacob Wilson just wanted to start jumping up and down Friday after his game-winning single sent Homer to the MHSAA Division 3 Baseball Final.
But before he could fully celebrate, he had to make it to first base, something he admitted he had to be reminded to do.
“The coach told me to (run to first),” Wilson said.
He made it without issue and was mobbed by his teammates as Homer defeated Pewamo-Westphalia 2-1 in nine innings at McLane Baseball Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University. The Trojans advanced to Saturday’s Final against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, which defeated Gladstone 5-0 in the other Semifinal.
“What an unbelievable setting, and to have a 2-1 walkoff in the bottom of the ninth at Michigan State, that’s stuff you dream of at the beginning of the season,” Homer coach Scott Salow said. “It was an unbelievable ballgame. Two great teams.”
Wilson’s hit down the third-base line ended a game dominated by pitching and defense, as he and Pewamo-Westphalia starter Brendan Thelen kept hitters off balance for the majority.
In the ninth inning, however, Homer was able to load the bases with no outs, and Wilson drove in Zach Butters for the walk-off win.
“I was up to bat and I was looking at my teammates while they were on base, and they were just looking at me smiling, giving me a thumbs up,” Wilson said. “I just had faith in myself that I could get it down.”
Butters’ run was the first since the second inning, and ended one of the few Homer threats. Thelen threw 7 2/3 innings prior to reaching his pitch-count maximum, striking out five and allowing three walks, two hits and one run. He allowed just one Homer runner to get to third base.
“Their coach, Scott Salow, has a great program, and he said that’s the best pitcher they’ve seen all year,” Pewamo-Westphalia coach Mark Rademacher said. “They only got two hits on him, and he said that’s the best pitcher they’ve seen. Brendan rose up to the occasion. He kept us in the game when we were leaving guys stranded on base, and our defense was helping him out. It was just a great performance on his part.”
Wilson put together a gem of his own, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings, also leaving the game because of his pitch count. He pitched out of a jam in the sixth inning, as Pewamo-Westphalia had a runner at third with one out. Wilson was able to get a strikeout and a popout to end the threat.
“Just survive,” Salow said of Wilson. “I don’t know how many chances they had with leadoff guys on. It seemed like we were fighting fires most of the game, especially in the middle innings.”
Pewamo-Westphalia opened the scoring in the second inning, as Aaron Bearss drove in Ethan Thelen with a single.
Homer responded in the bottom of the second, as Kyle Compton stole home on a designed play. Wilson, who was on first, purposefully fell on a steal attempt, forcing a throw to first and allowing Compton to head home.
“We spend a lot of time on our first-and-third offense, trying to put balls in play without the aid of a bat,” Salow said. “It’s a play that we practice all the time, and it worked out almost to perfection.”
Compton finished with two hits and two walks for Homer (32-3). Butters picked up the win in relief, striking out one and allowing two hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Tanner Wirth and Ethan Thelen each had two hits for the Pirates (31-3).
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 5, Gladstone 0
Alec Azar had all the run support he needed before he stepped on the mound.
The Liggett senior pitcher threw his first pitch with a 2-0 lead, which was more than enough as he put together a dominant outing to lead the Knights into the Division 3 Final, their first since 2016.
“That’s what I like about being away,” Azar said. “You get ahead, and then I can come out on the mound and get really comfortable and throw my game.”
Azar carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished the game with 12 strikeouts and two hits allowed.
“He was lights out,” Liggett coach Dan Cimini said. “I told him this was going to be his last start as a senior at Liggett and I need his best, and he gave us his best. He almost had a no-hitter, threw the ball really well, had his best stuff, great slider, fastball. He just did everything he could for our team today to get us a W.”
Logan King hit a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the first inning, which Gladstone coach Kelly Shea said stunned his team. The Braves remained stunned as Azar struck out the first four batters he faced.
“Our pitcher got them with two ground balls to start the first inning, and I thought we’re going to get out of the inning,” Shea said. “Then they had a kind of so-so base hit, then he hangs that next pitch and they pounded it over the fence. It kind of took the wind out of our sails, and we never got back.”
Azar added two hits at the plate, while Nick Post had two hits, including an RBI double for the Knights. King finished with three RBI on the day.
Carson Shea, who started on the mound for Gladstone, broke up Azar’s no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning. Jared Crow added a double for the Braves in the seventh.
PHOTOS: (Top) Homer’s Zach Butters heads home for the game-winning run in Friday’s first Semifinal against Pewamo-Westphalia. (Middle) Liggett's Alec Azar makes his move toward the plate.
Rochester Adams, Detroit Catholic Central Set Matchup for 2026 Season Finale
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2026
EAST LANSING — Thirty years after leaving Battle Creek following the second of two straight state championship game losses, Rochester Adams head baseball coach Andy Lamkin was back at the MHSAA Semifinals on Friday with his team.
The head coach of those teams that lost in Class A championship games in 1995 and 1996, Lamkin is in his second stint as Adams head coach (he took the program back over in 2024) and probably experienced some full-circle emotions entering Friday’s Division 1 Semifinal against Brownstown Woodhaven.
“It’s a different perspective this time, I’ll definitely let you know that,” Lamkin said. “It’s good that other people have an opportunity to share what I was able to feel 30 years ago. To me, that’s what I’m reflecting on, is everybody else and the parents and the kids that have this opportunity.”
On Saturday, Adams will get an opportunity to achieve what the 1995 and 1996 teams did not – win the school’s first baseball title.
The Highlanders earned that opportunity with a 10-4 win over Woodhaven, after jumping out to a 7-0 lead and not looking back. They will face Detroit Catholic Central at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Division 1 Final, which will close the 2026 baseball season.
Adams had a big inning early, producing a five-run rally in the second. Senior Rino Watters gave the Highlanders a 1-0 lead on an RBI single following a double by senior catcher McCallister Doelle, and then with the bases loaded, senior Dominic Dumitrescu cleared them with a double to make it 4-0.
Senior Matt Toeppner then followed with an RBI single to center to give Adams a 5-0 lead.
The Highlanders added two more runs in the third inning on RBI singles by senior Johnny Safadi and Dumitrescu to grab a 7-0 lead.
Dumitrescu, the team’s No. 9 hitter, had four RBI and Safadi had four hits to lead a 15-hit attack.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had four RBI,” Dumitrescu said.
Woodhaven got on the board in the fourth inning on an RBI single by junior Amauri Gutierrez after a triple by sophomore Tristan Spencer.
Adams got that run back in the fifth, but Woodhaven scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Adams lead to 8-3 on RBI singles by Gutierrez and Spencer.
In the sixth inning, Adams took a 9-3 lead on an RBI sacrifice fly by Doelle, and then Adams went up 10-3 in the seventh on an RBI sacrifice fly by Toeppner.
The Highlanders have two players, Andrew Wozniak and Quinn DeCourcy, whose dads were on the 1995 team that lost in the title game. Now, their sons will get a chance to earn what eluded them.
“Now we’re back carrying on the legacy,” Wozniak said.
Gutierrez had two hits and two RBI in defeat for the Warriors (34-6-1).
“We started chipping way a little bit,” Woodhaven head coach Corey Farner said. “The problem was we couldn’t slow them down. At the end of the day, you can’t win when you give up 15 hits.”
Detroit Catholic Central 6, Mattawan 1
Ever since October, Catholic Central head coach Ryan Rogowski said there has been one date his team constantly talked about.
“June 13,” Rogowski said, referring to the date of Saturday’s Division 1 championship game.
Catholic Central will indeed get to play on the last day of the season.
“There are 16 seniors who are just incredible,” Rogowski said. “We have one game left. They have worked so hard for this.”
The biggest reason Catholic Central (28-12) earned a chance at winning its first Finals championship since 1999 was senior left-hander Andrew Mahoney, a Cincinnati signee.
Mahoney tossed a three-hitter against Mattawan, allowing one run and striking out 15 batters.
Catholic Central also had an efficient offense, putting together an 11-hit attack led by a three-hit performance by senior Nick Garnick.
“I was just ready to do damage and ready to attack,” Garnick said.
Catholic Central took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Garnick scored from second base on a wild pitch.
In the fifth, the Shamrocks gained separation, scoring five times to take a 6-0 lead. Catholic Central took a 2-0 lead on an RBI single to center by junior Kyle Davis, went up 3-0 when Davis scored from third on a balk, and grabbed a 4-0 lead on an RBI single by Garnick.
Sophomore Luke Fairchild then lined a two-run double over the center fielder’s head to make it 6-0.
Mattawan did have an immediate response, scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a wild pitch and putting runners on first and third with one out.
But the Shamrocks got out of the jam with no further damage to hold on to a 6-1 lead.
Mattawan (29-9) was making its second Semifinal appearance in four years, but just couldn’t make enough contact against Mahoney to advance to what would have been its first championship game.
“You’re not going to win many games when you strike out 15 out of 21 outs,” Mattawan head coach Brett Vaughn said. “He threw really well. We scouted the (heck) out of him and knew that was what we were going to get. Our approaches to the plate weren’t very good and again, striking out 15 out of 21 outs isn’t going to win you a lot of games.”
PHOTOS (Top) Rochester Adams players celebrate after crossing the plate during Friday’s Semifinal win over Brownstown Woodhaven. (Middle) The Shamrocks’ Cam Swearingen (4) follows a drive against Mattawan.