Performance: Holland Christian's Mike Mokma
April 29, 2016
Mike Mokma
Holland Christian senior – Baseball
Mokma has accomplished more than most during a varsity career now in its fourth season. But until last week, he’d never achieved perfection. The 6-foot-6 right-hander struck out eight of the first nine Holland batters he faced April 19 in tossing his first perfect game, a 3-0 victory that also has earned him the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week.
Mokma has helped his team to District championships the last two seasons, and last spring despite an injury that briefly kept him off the mound – although he still contributed as the team’s first baseman. He’s back to full strength and has started this season 4-0 with a save, an ERA of 0.53 and 40 strikeouts against only three walks, and while also hitting .425 with 12 runs batted in. He’s been clocked on the mound consistently in the high 80s, topping out at 91 mph, and mixes in a curve that drops from the top of the zone and a slider that rips across the plate. Over the last three seasons, Mokma is 12-3 with a 1.07 ERA and 153 strikeouts with only 24 bases on balls; he’s also hit .410 with 17 doubles, three triples and three home runs. He finished his perfect game with 15 strikeouts, and Holland Christian now stands 14-2.
Also the center on the Maroons' basketball team, Mokma has had his heart set on a college baseball career since elementary school and committed to Michigan State University during the fall of his sophomore year. He carries a 3.3 grade-point average and will major in kinesiology – but has some unfinished business first as he hopes to help a strong senior class carry the team into this season’s final week for the first time since 2006.
Coach Jim Caserta said: “When your best pitcher is a leader, it sets the tone for the whole team. We have a lot of confidence when Mike is on the mound. There’s some pressure that comes with that, but he’s handled that great. He’s contributed not only pitching, but batting as well. But more importantly than that, he’s supported his teammates. Really this year, he’s seen the importance of being a senior leader and taking ownership of the team. We have a nice group of seniors; Mike has contributed a lot the last four years, obviously, and for him and the other seniors being the guys leading the team, it's great. He’s a baseball guy. He studies the game and he’s been around it a lot, and that carries over to his teammates.”
Performance Point: “It was always a childhood dream of mine to throw (a perfect game), and I had put a lot of work into it. I didn’t know (I was close) until the seventh inning, to be honest. With one out, there was a ground ball to second base and our second basemen (Brandon Riemersma) made a heck of a play on it. Our third baseman (Josh Sternberg) turned to me and took a huge deep breath and said, ‘You’ve got a perfect game going.’ From there, the adrenaline started pumping a little bit. … The pitch calls, our catcher (David Williams) did a heck of a job with that; it was probably the best game he’s ever called. Our coach had a big deal with that too, suggesting stuff to throw. The off-speed, the curveball, was probably the best it’s ever been.”
Swing and miss: “Besides the fastball, (my favorite pitch) is probably the slider. Just to see the swings and misses on it, they’re not always the prettiest.”
Dreams come true: “I’ve wanted to go somewhere for baseball since I was 6 or 7. It’s just been a dream of mine. My dad (Scott Mokma) played baseball through high school, and it was a big thing for me. … (MSU) is where I always wanted to go. My grandpa (Earl Mokma) was a big Spartan fan, my dad is a big Spartan fan, and I grew up a big Spartan fan. When they called and I got the offer, it was a no-doubter.”
Lead the way: “The goal has been to win in Districts and Regionals, but we have a long way to go to get there. We have to put in a lot of work, but it’s been a good year so far; we know where we want to be, and we’ve got to put in a lot of work the next couple of weeks. I’ve been given a leadership role, and our coach has stepped back and told us seniors to take over with that. When someone isn’t hustling, he tells us to get on them. We ask them where they want to be in life, where they need to be specifically in baseball for us to be able to win. They usually get on it.”
Changing lives: “I want to do something with physical therapy or be a massage therapist. I’ve been going to a guy in Zeeland who is a massage therapist and I’ve gotten to know the guy really well, and it interests me. You can do a lot of different things, not just work on people, but see how their lives are and make a difference in their lives.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
April 20: Abby Divozzo, Cadillac girls soccer - Read
March 30: Cassius Winston, Detroit U-D Jesuit boys basketball - Read
March 23: Kierra Fletcher, Warren Cousino girls basketball - Read
March 16: Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South swimming & diving - Read
March 9: Kyle Tuttle, St. Charles boys bowling - Read
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Mike Mokma begins his move toward the plate. (Middle) Mokma also is a top hitter and plays first base when he's not on the mound. (Photos by BKBrewer Photography.)
Buchanan Baseball Closes 2021-22 Sports Year as Champ for 1st Time Since 1985
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – Buchanan had no shortage of heroes in its 3-1 Division 3 championship game win over Detroit Edison on Saturday at McLane Stadium.
Among them: Cade Preissing, who walked three times and scored all three runs for the Bucks; Matthew Hoover, who drove in two runs with a pair of doubles and also got the W on the mound, and pitcher Macoy West, who made a stratagem by Buchanan coach Jim Brawley pay off by relieving Hoover twice at crucial times to pick up the save.
“I’m very proud of these young men,” Brawley said. “They've worked their butts off all year. They deserve it. They really do.”
The championship was Buchanan's first since 1985. The Bucks most recently finished Division 3 runner-up in 2015.
They won this game with clutch hitting, scoring runs in the third and fifth innings with two outs.
Both times, Preissing walked, then scored on doubles by Hoover.
“(Preissing) is a smart kid, a great hitter,” Brawley said. “He knows how to get on base, steal the bag, and Matthew brings him in.”
“I just tried to slow the moment down,” Hoover said. “Just put it in play. I’m glad I did. We won because of that.”
Preissing scored an insurance run in the seventh inning. He led off with a walk, went to second base on a fielder’s choice, to third on another fielder’s choice, then scored on a single by West.
Edison, the first Detroit public school to play for a Finals title in baseball since Detroit Western in 1972, continuously answered to stay close.
That’s where Brawley’s stratagem came in.
Noting that Edison won its first postseason game after its opponent had to pull its starting pitcher due to a pitch limit, Brawley opted to replace Hoover with West in the sixth inning to pitch to the lower third of the Pioneers’ order.
Hoover was back on the mound to start the seventh inning.
Edison got things going with a Terrell Crosson single, although he was a force out when Deshaun Williams reached on a fielder’s choice. But two walks loaded the bases.
In came West, who fell behind 3-1 to the only batter he faced – before coming back to get a strikeout and seal the win.
“We had opportunities,” Edison coach Mark Brown said. “It just wasn’t meant to be”
For the Bucks, it was a crowning achievement for a group that grew up playing baseball and reached their sport’s pinnacle.
“I’m just glad we finally did it,” Hoover said, his voice breaking with emotion. “We've been playing since we were 8 years old, playing in summer league, playing in the backyard. It means so much to me”
Jordan Jones had two hits for Edison (25-13), and Gregory Pace Jr. threw the first five innings for the Pioneers allowing two earned runs and striking out six hitters.
PHOTOS (Top) Buchanan players celebrate their Division 3 championship that closed the 2021-22 school sports year Saturday. (Middle) The Bucks’ Cade Preissing (17) takes a throw at second base as an Edison baserunner slides in head first.