Howell Ace Waits Turn, Makes History
June 14, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Given Josh Vyletel’s numbers this spring – most notably, his 15-2 record – Howell's senior ace had to have a pretty big junior year as well.
That's the natural thought, especially as this history-making baseball season approaches its final weekend with the Highlanders headed to the MHSAA Semifinals for the first time.
But in fact, he threw only seven innings and spent the rest of 2011 cheering on his older teammates.
“I just played my role as a junior and watched the seniors play. But when I had a chance, I took advantage of it,” Vyletel said. “I was only a junior. My chance was this year."
And he’s run with it all the way to Battle Creek. The Highlanders senior receives a Second Half High 5 this week for leading his team into the MHSAA Semifinals for the first time, and will get the ball Friday against Warren DeLaSalle.
Howell is 30-10, and Vyletel has won half of the team’s games including matchups with No. 1 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice and No. 3 Northville, and against rival Brighton in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. He’s thrown 12 complete games with an ERA of 2.00 and 73 strikeouts in 98 innings pitched.
To hear Vyletel tell it, that's all because of the defense around him and the bats getting him that key run in what have been a series of close games. He's quick to deflect the credit, as a humble standout should.
But he's also played a significant part
“He was one of my top one or two on JV two years ago, but last year he barely saw the field,” said Howell co-coach Jason Ladd, who with former Hartland coach Mike Weatherly took over the program this spring. “We played Traverse City Central (this spring), and he won one of those games, and he threw a shutout against Brother Rice. That let us know he was the real deal. We didn’t know he’d be that good, but we knew he’d be pretty good.”
The best sign came in a two-inning appearance last season when the left-hander struck out five of six Hartland batters he faced.
During the offseason, Vyletel picked up a slider and a new way to throw his change-up to add to his curveball and a fastball that he sped up to nearly 80 miles per hour. Among those he worked with was former Climax-Scotts standout Travis Wade, who reached the Houston Astros’ Triple-A team in 2002. “If you have command of two (pitches), you can be a success. Command of four speaks volumes,” Ladd said.
Vyletel has always been one of the better pitchers in his grade, but never the best. But in this season's doubleheader against Hartland, he ended up with wins in both games (after weather delayed the second game).
Last weekend, he drew Holt and a matchup against Kansas City Royals draft pick Justin Alleman in the Regional semifinal. Vyletel got hit hard over his four innings. But the Highlanders came back from a 7-1 deficit, and Vyletel came back to win the Regional final over Dexter.
He's a Tigers fan to the core and a Justin Verlander fan too. "My initials are J.V. I've got to represent it," Vyletel said.
And tied for the 10th-most wins in MHSAA history for one season, there's no doubt he's an ace now -- regardless of the credit he deflects or anything that happens this weekend.
“We just started winning,” Vyletel said. “And winning is all that’s been on my mind.”
Click to read more about Vyletel's future plans and favorite pitches.
PHOTO: Howell's Josh Vyetel threw a shutout against Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in March that set the tone for one of the winningest seasons in MHSAA history.
Small Ball Drives St. Patrick, Plymouth Christian Capitalizes on Big Rally
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2025
EAST LANSING – It may be an old-fashioned style of baseball, but Portland St. Patrick isn't complaining.
While many teams may prefer to slug it out en route to a Finals championship, the Shamrocks are literally content to taking it a step at a time. Case in point was Friday's 7-0 win over Norway in a Division 4 Semifinal at Michigan State's McLane Stadium.
St. Patrick bunted seven times, with at least six contributing to runs as the No. 1-ranked Shamrocks danced into Saturday's 5 p.m. championship.
It's not always the case, but moving runners along – any way possible – is part of the team's strategy, sophomore shortstop Jerryd Scheurer said.
"For us it's like hitting a home run. It's part of what we do every day," said Scheurer, who scored three runs. "Our dugout loves it. The team gets hyped up when we do it."
Combine an outstanding three-hit shutout from junior pitcher Brady Leonard, five Norway errors and just enough clutch hits to complement the small-ball approach, and St. Patrick will play in its first final since 2017's 6-2 win over Hudson. It will be the Shamrocks' fifth trip overall to the championship game.
St. Patrick improved its record to 33-1. The team's only loss was 10-5 to Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, which halted a 26-game winning streak in the second to last regular-season game. That loss was avenged by the Shamrocks 5-4 in 12 innings in the Regional Final.
St. Patrick coach Bryan Scheurer said the team isn't necessarily wedded to the idea of a bunt-at-will approach, but they'll pick spots and utilize the weapon as best as possible.
"It's about the situation being part of what we do," he said. "When we get people on, we want to move them along. It's something the players buy into. Maybe it's not glorious, but they not only accept it, they embrace it."
The strategy was never more evident than during a three-run third inning that snapped a scoreless tie. The Shamrocks sent eight batters to the plate, managed only a double and a single – neither of which drove in a run – and still managed to score the three runs.
The rest was left up to Leonard, who surrendered only three singles, two to Owen Baij. Norway (28-5-1) managed to get only two runners on base in the same inning once. Leonard said there was no secret to what was working for him.
"Everything," he said. "I try to trust my stuff and know it'll get us here. I thought I pitched well."
Norway coach Troy Adams said the loss represents a key teaching moment.
"I didn't do a good job of preparing them for a brand of baseball you don't normally see, and that's on me," Adams said. "They get baserunners on and put you in a bind. We've got to get better at certain things we don't do. But hats off to St. Patrick. It took the No. 1 team in the state to eliminate us again."
Norway lost in last year's Final to back-to-back champ Beal City 10-0.
Plymouth Christian Academy 9, Petersburg-Summerfield 1
Plymouth Christian (29-7) bunched six hits with three errors, a sacrifice fly, two wild pitches and a walk to score seven runs in the third inning. The outburst turned a 2-0 lead into a 9-0 margin.
Luke Janigian threw a two-hitter for the win while also contributing an RBI in that third inning. Josh Yeager and Carter Dattilio also drove in runs with singles. Janigian struck out nine and walked two.
The win furthered an outstanding tournament showing by Plymouth Christian's pitching staff, which has allowed only five runs over six games with three shutouts.
"We didn't know much about them, but Coach said just get ahead early and command your pitches," Janigian said. "A shout out to the boys in playing behind me. When you throw strikes, good things happen."
Plymouth Christian coach Eero Perkola said the team relies on a substantial level of experience.
"Our 1 and 2 (starters) throw strikes, and we also have a couple crafty lefties in the bullpen," he said. "They trust the defense wholeheartedly. They just let the defense work, and especially in Division 4, that's nice."
Petersburg-Summerfield coach Reid Olmstead said five errors are far too many to make against good teams.
"We've been playing fundamental baseball; we just didn't do it today," he said. "Maybe it was nerves. Or sometimes when you make one or two errors, it snowballs. That was definitely the case today. You have to play clean baseball in big games."
PHOTOS (Top) Portland St. Patrick's Tyler Thelen rounds third base during his team's Semifinal win over Norway. (Middle) Plymouth Christian Academy's Luke Janigian throws a pitch during his team's victory.