Preview: Right Place, Right Time
June 12, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
While it’s an obvious statement this spring’s 16 MHSAA baseball semifinalists have peaked at the right time, it might mean a little more this weekend at Michigan State University’s McLane Baseball Stadium.
Five teams – including half the final fields in Divisions 1 and 2 – were unranked at the start of Districts. The fifth team, Saginaw Nouvel, is riding one of the most impressive playoff streaks in any division despite entering the playoffs below .500.
Meanwhile, seven teams are playing for their first championships this weekend – including the highest-ranked remaining in three divisions.
See below for a schedule of this weekend’s games, plus glances at all 16 teams that will take the field beginning Thursday.
Semifinals – Thursday
Division 1
Macomb Dakota vs. Rockford, 9 a.m.
Portage Northern vs. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 11:30 a.m.
Division 2
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s vs. Muskegon Oakridge, 2:30 p.m.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Trenton, 5 p.m.
Semifinals – Friday
Division 3
Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Homer, 9 a.m.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett vs. Gladstone, 11:30 a.m.
Division 4
Petersburg Summerfield vs. Gaylord St. Mary, 2:30 p.m.
Saginaw Nouvel vs. Decatur, 5 p.m.
Finals – Saturday
Division 1: 9 a.m.
Division 2: 11:30 a.m.
Division 3: 2:30 p.m.
Division 4: 5 p.m.
Tickets cost $8 per round and include admission to softball and girls soccer games those days also at MSU’s Old College Field. Radio broadcasts of all games can be heard online at MHSAAnetwork.com. All games will be streamed live online at MHSAA.tv and viewable on subscription basis. Click for links to brackets, scores and a parking map.
Division 1
BLOOMFIELD HILLS BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 25-12, unranked
Coach: Bob Riker, 22nd season (603-215)
League finish: Third in Detroit Catholic League Central
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Tito Flores, sr. OF/1B/P (.368, 44 R, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 26 SB); Sterling Hallman sr. IF/P (.330, 5 HR, 34 RBI); Jack Orlowski, sr. 3B/P/DH (.321, 11 2B, 6 HR, 34 RBI); Tyler Sarkisian, sr. P/OF/IF (3-1, 1.54 ERA, 63 K/50 IP).
Outlook: Brother Rice opened this season ranked No. 1 by the coaches association after making the Semifinals a year ago, but fell out of the list with a 7-7 start. The Warriors have won eight straight, with a District Final victory over No. 8 Birmingham Seaholm and Regional Final win over No. 5 Romeo among postseason highlights. Flores made the all-state second team last season and leads off a lineup that begins with four seniors and ends with five underclassmen. He will continue his career at University of Michigan, and Sarkisian will play at University of Chicago.
MACOMB DAKOTA
Record/rank: 21-16-1, unranked
Coach: Gerald Carley, ninth season (208-99-1)
League finish: Fifth in Macomb Area Conference Red
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Greg Guzik, soph. IF (.359, 25 R, 19 RBI, 11 SB); John Sovey, sr. IF/P (.324 20 R, 5-3 pitching, 2.60 ERA, 50 K/51 IP); Andrew Wouters jr. OF (.315, 25 R), Mike Biebuyck, sr. P (5-4, 2.60 ERA).
Outlook: Dakota is another team that was ranked early – the Cougars have regular-season wins against Brother Rice and Romeo to their credit – but also played in a league with three teams ranked among the top 17 in Division 1 heading into Districts. They got past a big obstacle with reigning Division 1 champ Grosse Pointe South in the Super Regional Final – GPS beat Dakota three times during this regular season and also in last year’s Quarterfinal matchup. This will be Dakota’s first trip to the Semifinals and comes as the team is riding an 8-2-1 wave.
PORTAGE NORTHERN
Record/rank: 37-7, No. 2
Coach: Chris Andrews, 19th season (492-208)
League finish: Second in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2015.
Players to watch: Zach Quinn, sr. OF/P (.434, 44 R, 36 RBI, 13 SB, 2-0 pitching, 0.82 ERA); Nolan McCarthy, jr. SS/P (.430, 45 R, 13 2B, 48 RBI, 16 SB); Cam French, sr. P/1B (10-0, 1.26 ERA, 49 K/61 IP, .301, 23 RBI); Tyler Helgeson, sr. OF/P (.355, 50 R, 30 SB, 27 RBI, 4-3 pitching, 2.12 ERA, 40 K/33 IP).
Outlook: Portage Northern emerged from a Super Regional that included top-ranked Brownstown-Woodhaven, No. 15 Saline and No. 18 Grand Ledge and has won 22 of its last 23 games. The lineup is junior heavy and loaded with hitters: juniors Greg Lapetina (.390, 42 R, 31 RBI, 13 SB), Gannon Andrews (.402), Jack Beffel (.441), Parker Brey (.387, 37 RBI) and Malcolm Gaynor (.344) also stick out as the team hits .373 as a whole. Sophomore Xander Morris (9-0, 1.44) gives Northern another ace as well. Helgeson will continue his career at Eastern Michigan University.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 27-9, No. 10
Coach: Matt Vriesenga, fifth season (124-50)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2011.
Players to watch: Joe Kelley, sr. OF (.409, 34 R, 10 2B, 10 HR, 43 RBI); Alex Miller, sr. OF (.371, 18 R, 13 SB); Zach Schamp, sr. OF (.324, 34 R, 21 RBI); Zach Marshall, sr. P/OF (.318, 8-4 pitching, 2.25 ERA, 83 K/62 1/3 IP).
Outlook: The Rams will play in the Semifinals for the first time since that championship season in 2011, and Vriesenga previously led Grand Rapids Christian to a Division 2 runner-up finish in 2005. Rockford has won 12 of its last 13 games since a regular-season defeat to Byron Center, which it avenged in the Regional Final. Kelley is an incredible story – as reported by the Grand Rapids Press, he broke the school’s home run record this season after being cut as a junior. He’s one of six seniors in the starting lineup, and senior Grant Martin (6-1, 1.36) is the team’s second-winningest pitcher. Sophomore Luke McLean (5-1, 2.06) is another important arm.
Division 2
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 26-10, unranked
Coach: Tim MacKinnon, third season (54-43)
League finish: Second in O-K Blue
Championship history: Class B champion 1985, two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Myles Beale, jr. SS/P (.330, 42 R, 10 2B, 30 RBI, 41 SB); Joe Collins, sr. P/3B (.420, 6-3 pitching, 1.08 ERA, 50 K/51 2/3 IP); Ben Joppich, sr. P/OF (8-1, 0.73 ERA, 75 K/67 IP); Kyle Tepper, jr. CF/P (.378, 29 R, 15 SB, 2-1 pitching, 2.63 ERA).
Outlook: GRCC owns a 28-7 combined margin of victory over five postseason games including wins over No. 3 East Grand Rapids, No. 4 Holland Christian and reigning Division 2 champion Stevensville Lakeshore in the Super Regional Final. MacKinnon, who previously coached East Kentwood from 2005-15 and overall has a 256-186-2 record, took this program from 13-18 his first season to two wins from the title in his third. Senior Jack Nawrocki is another big contributor, hitting .342 from the clean-up spot and going 6-1 with a 2.19 ERA on the mound, and junior Zach Grabowski (.407) and senior Luke Passinault (.330, 10 2B) are two more key bats in the middle of the lineup.
MUSKEGON OAKRIDGE
Record/rank: 26-7, unranked
Coach: Brandon Barry, 27th season (499-286)
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Koleman Wall, sr. P/SS (.461, 30 R 13 2B, 30 RBI, 8-2 pitching, 1.07 ERA, 129 K/73 IP); Ethan Miller, soph P/1B (.375, 6-1 pitching, 1.06 ERA, 43 K/41 2/3 IP); Kolbe Stewart, jr. LF (.347, 25 RBI, 18 SB); TJ Ruel, sr. P/1B (5-0, 2.15 ERA, 55 K/40 1/3 IP).
Outlook: Oakridge won its fifth Regional title this decade and will play in the Semifinals for the first time since 2011 after beating No. 10 Essexville Garber in the Super Regional Final. Wall came back from injury to shine in that game and has had an all-around stellar season, while Ruel was an all-state pitcher as a junior and with Miller provides intriguing options should Oakridge advance to Saturday. Junior shortstop Austin Fairchild has seen the mound in 10 games, and with a 0.23 ERA also could provide some solid help during the final weekend.
ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY’S
Record/rank: 32-9-2, No. 2
Coach: Matt Petry, ninth season (181-128-2)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Dillon Kark, sr. IF (.352, 33 R, 26 RBI); Alex Mooney, soph. IF (.444, 48 R, 15 2B, 42 RBI, 21 SB); Logan Wood, jr. P (9-0, 1.16 ERA 128 K/72 2/3 IP); Nolan Schubart, fr. OF (.393, 25 R, 13 2B, 42 RBI).
Outlook: St. Mary’s finished Division 2 runner-up in 2015 and made the Semifinals a year ago, and has the pitching in particular to take on anyone this weekend. Wood was an all-state first-team selection a year ago, and he’s joined by freshman Brock Porter (8-2, 1.20 ERA, 78 K) and juniors Anthony Fett (6-3, 1.53 ERA, 79 K) and Mikey Gall (4-2, 2.43 ERA) on a strong staff. Kark also was an all-state first-team selection last season and is one of six regulars hitting at least .323. Senior Harrison Poeszat (.323, 32 R, 30 RBI) and freshman Jack Crighton (.379, 10 2B) with Schubart fill out the middle of the lineup.
TRENTON
Record/rank: 32-9, No. 15
Coach: Todd Szalka, 12th season (283-157-1)
League finish: Second in Downriver League
Championship history: Class B champion 1994.
Players to watch: Adam Wilding, jr. P/IF (.458, 43 R, 25 2B, 38 RBI, 22 SB, 5-2 pitching, 2.77 ERA); Jay Solano, sr. P/IF (.427, 33 R, 11 2B, 27 RBI, 12 SB, 4-1 pitching, 2.00 ERA); Kyle Richey jr. P/1B (10-3, 1.09 ERA, 92 K/71 IP); Gabe Cavazos, jr. P/OF (.425, 32 R, 31 RBI).
Outlook: Trenton is playing in its first Semifinal since 2001 and riding a 10-game winning streak. Another reason for excitement is this team has only three seniors – but makes up for any tournament inexperience with assistants Gary Szalka and Bob Jones, who have a combined 90 years of coaching experience in varsity baseball; Szalka ranks 20th all-time with 648 wins from his 37 seasons at Melvindale (1971-2009). Trenton finished second in its league only to Division 1 top-ranked Brownstown Woodhaven. Junior Brenden Donovan (.387, 41 R) and sophomore pitcher Micah Ottenbreit (8-1, 1.32 ERA, 83 K) are others who are likely to play big roles this weekend.
Division 3
GLADSTONE
Record/rank: 29-7, No. 13
Coach: Kelly Shea, first season (29-7)
League finish: First in Great Northern Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Carson Shea, sr. P (.429, 22 SB, 10-1 pitching, 0.63 ERA); Cooper Cavadeas, sr. C (.378, 23 RBI); Cody Frappier, sr. RF (.382, 30 R, 29 RBI); Daniel Martin, sr. DH (.347, 36 R, 28 RBI, 25 SB).
Outlook: Gladstone is back at the Semifinals for the second straight season and fifth time in six years. The Braves have won 13 of their last 14 games and advanced with a Super Regional Final victory over No. 7 Beaverton. Frappier and Carson Shea were among key cogs on last season’s Semifinals team as well, and junior shortstop Zach Hanson (.346, 19 SB) is another impact bat from the lead-off spot and also is 4-1 on the mound. Kelly Shea formerly coached the junior varsity and as a varsity assistant before taking over the program this spring.
GROSSE POINTE WOODS UNIVERSITY LIGGETT
Record/rank: 23-9, No. 4
Coach: Dan Cimini, 16th season (438-99)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League AA
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Billy Kopicki, sr. SS/P (.411, 25 R, 15 2B, 24 RBI, 16 SB, 2-1 pitching, 2.10 ERA); Alec Azar, sr. P (.357, 11-3 pitching, 1.46 ERA, 104 K/91 IP); Logan King, sr. P/OF (.365, 17 2B, 28 RBI, 6-2 pitching, 2.42 ERA, 73 K/63 2/3 IP); Drew Zelenak, jr. P/OF (.325, 19 RBI).
Outlook: After two seasons playing in Division 1, Liggett is back in Division 3 and a contender for its fifth championship this decade after winning Division 3 in 2014 and 2016 and Division 4 in 2011 and 2013. Azar was an all-state first-team selection in Division 1 last season and this spring one of just five seniors – although all five start. Four losses were to teams either ranked in Division 1 at the end of the regular season or playing in the Semifinals on Thursday, and Liggett has wins over Brother Rice, Portage Northern and Grosse Pointe South among other larger programs. Kopicki will continue his career at Miami University at Ohio.
HOMER
Record/rank: 31-3, No. 6
Coach: Scott Salow, 19th season (559-128)
League finish: Second in Big 8 Conference
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2006), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Zach Butters, sr. P/UTY (. 419, 36 R, 10 2B, 41 RBI, 10 SB, 9-1 pitching, 1.16 ERA, 75 K/60 1/3 IP); TJ VanderKuyl, jr. SS/P (.377, 38 R, 21 RBI, 23 SB, 5-1 pitching, 2.00 ERA); Jacob Wilson, jr. P/OF (.393, 36 R, 19 RBI, 10-1 pitching, 0.82 ERA, 103 K/59 2/3 IP); Kyle Compton, sr. 2B (.449, 38 R, 25 RBI, 10 SB).
Outlook: Homer will follow its third Quarterfinal this decade with its first trip back to the Semifinals since 2006. The Trojans have earned their way with their last three wins over No. 5 Ann Arbor Greenhills, No. 12 Michigan Center and No. 16 Blissfield, and they beat Division 2 No. 6 Edwardsburg during the regular season. Butters made the all-state second team as a pitcher last season, and six pitchers total have at least one win for Homer this spring. Nine regulars are hitting .323 or better; seniors Seth Deigert (.364, 40 RBI) and Gabe Farmer (.356, 34 RBI) and sophomore Damaso LeBron (.351, 40 R) also are main run producers.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Record/rank: 31-2, No. 1
Coach: Mark Rademacher, 35th season (554-325)
League finish: Tied for first in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1991.
Players to watch: Anthony Pohl, sr. C (.376, 28 RBI); Brendan Thelen, sr. P/OF (.381, 36 R, 19 SB, 14-0 pitching, 0.73 ERA, 101 K/77 IP); Keegan Smith, jr. P/IF (.410, 29 R, 25 RBI); Tanner Wirth, fr. OF (.441, 35 R, 31 RBI, 18 SB).
Outlook: Pewamo-Westphalia has followed its first Regional title since 1991 with its first trip to the Semifinals since that runner-up season and built its highest win total in Rademacher’s 35 seasons leading the program. The Pirates shared their league title with Portland St. Patrick, top-ranked in Division 4 at the end of the regular season, and their only losses were to the Shamrocks and Division 1-ranked Grand Ledge. Junior shortstop Ethan Thelen is another significant contributor, hitting .351 from the fifth spot, and junior third baseman Ethan Smith is hitting .329 from clean-up and is 11-1 with a 1.55 ERA on the mound.
Division 4
DECATUR
Record/rank: 32-6, No. 5
Coach: Ben Botti, 25th season (543-241-1)
League finish: First in Southwest 10 Conference
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jakob Southworth, sr. P/1B (.438, 38 R, 11 2B, 27 RBI, 17 SB, 12-1 pitching, 0.93 ERA, 103 K/67 2/3 IP); Travis Hunsberger, sr. P/OF (.301, 33 R, 25 RBI, 14 SB, 8-3 pitching, 1.47 ERA, 79 K/57 IP); Benjamin Cerven, jr. 2B (.388, 46 R, 11 2B, 24 RBI, 28 SB, 3-0 pitching, 0.00 ERA); Justin Gale, sr. IF/P (.410, 29 R, 13 2B, 43 RBI, 16 SB, 1-0 pitching, 0.68 ERA).
Outlook: Decatur will play in its first Semifinals since finishing Division 3 runner-up in 2014, and this team has made significant strides with the program’s first league title since 2016 while continuing a District streak that now stretches nine seasons. The Raiders have won 17 straight games, with postseason victories over No. 12 Kalamazoo Christian, No. 14 Three Oaks River Valley and No. 18 Colon highlighting the run. The team has only four seniors, but they are high-impact – in addition to Hunsberger, Southworth and Gale mentioned above, shortstop Garrett Smith is hitting .354 from the nine spot in the lineup, another of eight regulars at .300 or higher from the plate.
GAYLORD ST. MARY
Record/rank: 26-5, No. 7
Coach: Matt Nowicki, 15th season (268-171)
League finish: First in Ski Valley Conference
Championship history: Class D runner-up 1988 and 1989.
Players to watch: Drew Koenig, jr. P/C (.400, 10 2B, 37 RBI, 11-4 pitching, 2.56 ERA, 95 K/71 IP); Brady Hunter, jr. CF (.427, 47 R, 10 2B, 33 RBI, 25 SB, 3-0 pitching, 1.88 ERA); Andrew Zielinski, jr. 3B (.356, 39 R, 25 RBI, 14 SB, 2-0 pitching, 1.57 ERA); Alex Pudvan, jr. 1B (.356, 35 RBI).
Outlook: St. Mary is making its fourth straight trip to the Semifinals. This team is led in part by Koenig, an all-state first-team selection as a pitcher last spring, and junior Joseph Moeggenberg (9-0, 1.48 ERA) could take the mound Saturday if the Snowbirds reach their first Final. St. Mary has scored double-digit runs in 13 games this season, including four of five during the playoffs and 14 runs against No. 16 Norway in the Super Regional Final. Moeggenberg (.347) and junior shortstop Steven Koscielniak (.330, 33 R) are two more run producers for a team hitting .335 as a whole.
PETERSBURG SUMMERFIELD
Record/rank: 26-4, No. 3
Coach: Travis Pant, fifth season (87-69)
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Derek Clark, jr. P/OF (.494, 44 R, 52 SB, 12-0 pitching, 0.22 ERA, 105 K/63 IP); Ethan Eyler, soph. RF (.418, 31 R, 37 RBI, 18 SB), Mark Keller, sr. 1B/P (.415, 34 R, 11 2B, 26 RBI, 10 SB); Brendan Dafoe, jr. SS (.402, 32 R, 18 SB).
Outlook: Summerfield took a step from last season’s Quarterfinal loss to make the Semifinals for the first time this spring, in part on the strength of a pitching staff led by Clark but also including sophomore Brock Olmstead (6-1, 0.76 ERA) and junior Brandon Tyler (4-0, 0.48 ERA). Clark made the all-state first team last season, and Dafoe made the second. They help drive an offense that has outscored its six postseason opponents by a combined 75-2 – including an 11-0 win over No. 15 Marine City Cardinal Mooney in the Super Regional Final. What’s more, Keller is the team’s only senior starter.
SAGINAW NOUVEL
Record/rank: 14-16-1, unranked
Coach: Shawn Larson, second season (33-26-1)
League finish: Sixth in Tri-Valley Conference West
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2005), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Justin Osmond, jr. IF (.418, 25 R, 27 SB); Brady Alverson, soph. IF/P (.378, 24 R, 11 2B, 27 RBI); Harrison Dwan, jr. CF/P (.344, 30 R, 36 SB), Jacob Burr, sr. P/IF (3.16 ERA).
Outlook: Nouvel has been in the mix plenty over the years, most recently making the Semifinals in 2012 in Division 3. However, this has been an incredible run. Nouvel so far this tournament has eliminated No. 8 and reigning champ Beal City, No. 11 Marlette and No. 19 Bay City All Saints, a memorable send-off for five seniors who all play significant roles and important experience for a team that should return its top hitters in 2020.
PHOTO: Portage Northern ace Cam French winds up during his team’s Super Regional win over Brownstown Woodhaven on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of the Portage Northern baseball program.)
Century-Old Postcard Inspires Researcher to Tell Story of Athens Baseball Dynasty
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
June 25, 2026
Shortly after graduation from little Athens High School in 1969, Larry DeBow had the chance to head east for a three-day music festival. Held that August on a dairy farm in upstate New York, Woodstock attracted some 400,000 and became one of the most famous cultural moments of the 1960s.
“I didn’t know what it was and blew it off,” he recalled. “I’ve always regretted that.”
That fall, DeBow left the Calhoun County village south of Battle Creek and made his way to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. There, he crammed four years of education into three, then, starting in Tecumseh, began a 41-year career in industrial sales with various companies and bounced around the world.
He retired in 2013, took up photography, and started a small business. Unexpectedly, the trip east not taken decades ago, would influence what came next.
“In 2016 I added video when a friend and I decided to take a just-you-and-I road trip,” said DeBow, capsulating life’s path. Their destinations: Woodstock and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“We were at Woodstock, and my friend Dave – he always talked like this – said ‘Dude, we gotta make a movie about this.’ So, I just started to snap pictures, and I used my iPhone taking video. Then I got home and go, ‘What am I going to do with this? I don’t know how to make a video.’ But on my computer was Movie Maker 7. I created my first video … I think it (runs) only about 10 minutes.”
Eventually, he found Movie Maker couldn’t keep up with his growing technology needs. Now a videographer and tinkering with AI tools, DeBow is ready to debut his latest work – a baseball documentary.
Subject Matter
Following the road trip, DeBow experimented with technology and posted short films to YouTube. In 2017, at the suggestion of another Athens graduate, John Royer, they started assembling material for 1969 – A Celebration of Accomplishment, a documentary initially shared at Larry’s 50th class reunion. The Indians had fielded two pretty good sports teams during DeBow’s senior year.
“John was a year behind me (in high school). He was on the track team … and was (one) of the four guys who still hold the mile relay record for the school. I was on the basketball team, although I was the 12th man,” recalled DeBow, laughing. “I was far from a star. We were the first team to win a Regional game in school history that winter. In the spring, the track team took second in the state Finals.”
Running 26 minutes in length, the finished video included interviews, snapshots, memorabilia, and some old family 8mm film footage from the state track meet.
DeBow followed the production up with another documentary on the Athens’ 2022 girls volleyball team, runner-up in Class D in the annual MHSAA Tournament. While digging around on that project, he came across a real picture postcard. It would set the stage for the current project.
A Baseball Dynasty
The image features members of a team riding on a horse-drawn wagon. Inscribed is, “Athens High School State Champions, 1910, Base Ball Team.”
“Tom Doubleday doesn’t like the (professional) title,” states DeBow. “I give it to him anyway. He’s like the curator of the sports section at the Athens Area Historical Society. He asked, ‘Can we do something with this (to tell their story).’"
DeBow immediately recognized the challenge. “If this is all we’ve got, I can’t do anything with that.”
With Doubleday’s assistance they dug into the Society’s archives. The story grew. Intrigued, DeBow was quickly hooked. But this one would highlight the challenges and requirements needed to tell a story cast more than 100 years ago.
Sharing stories
For roughly 30 of the 45 years that I’ve delved into the history of high school sports, the vast majority of time was spent perched on a chair in a library, mostly in Michigan, occasionally somewhere in the Midwest, scrolling through the pages of microfilmed reels of newspapers and periodicals or scanning old school yearbooks, searching for data.
That frequently included trips from Muskegon to the State of Michigan Library in Lansing, where a warehouse of nearly pristine reels of microfilm is maintained for a majority of the state’s newspapers. Over the last 15 years, dramatic changes have allowed searchable scans of the nation’s newsprint to be moved online. Initially, it was a handful of smaller long-defunct publications. Today, the archives of most of the state’s largest dailies are now included in subscription databases, and the listings continue to grow.
One of the great joys of serving as the MHSAA historian is sharing knowledge and resources with sportswriters, coaches, players, school administrators – past and present. Often, individuals reach out, looking for information and guidance on projects on which they are working. Occasionally, we strike up friendships, mostly via telephone calls and email, where we each cheer on each other’s projects and share news of our successes and challenges. Sometimes we meet in person.
In February 2024, I received my first email from DeBow. With the subject line, “Athens Michigan HS 1907 thru 1918 Perhaps a Michigan Baseball Dynasty?”
A Cutout
Tapping into the collection of the Athens Area Historical Society, they found additional postcards and artifacts that would visually expand the lost tale from the early days of prep baseball, featuring an interesting cast of characters.
“They found some posters or bills saying Athens was playing North Adams, or Athens was playing Marshall or Athens is playing somebody,” recalled DeBow. “These would be displayed in store windows. There was a poster for (a) 1909 (championship) game with Mt. Pleasant. I don’t know where they found it … but it was literally cut off a wall. None of us had really noticed it before in the historical society. It could have slapped you right in the face because it was right on the side of a doorway going from one section (of the building) to another. I’ve got a lot of that stuff in the documentary.”
Hitting the internet with searches on high school baseball from the era, DeBow came across a list prepared by Kevin Askeland, a staff writer at MaxPreps.
Using research from multiple sources, MaxPreps has retroactively chosen national champions back to 1910, designed to recognize a single champion for each year. The compiled list is a consolidation of previous work produced over the years by various organizations and historians, according to Askeland. MaxPreps credits those individuals and expands on their work via research using modern day access to online newspaper databases that now allow deeper dives into the scanned recorded print history of cities, towns, and villages, with tools previously unavailable.
DeBow asked Askeland if the list was malleable. Askeland said it could happen but would require documentation and detail that strongly made a case for a change.
Contact
DeBow’s conversation with Askeland added a new dimension to his research and led to our connection.
Shortly after his email, we spoke on the phone. At the time, DeBow’s initial newspaper research was limited to the Athens Times microfilm stored at Lansing’s State Library. Purchasing database subscriptions allowed DeBow to conduct research on the first two decades of the century behind a laptop without the road trip. He keyed in countless combinations of words and phrases in search of clues. Before long, he was waist-deep in a long-forgotten and expanding story. Hours flew by. By June of 2025, he had a strong outline, focused on the 10-year span 1907-1916.
By August 2025, DeBow estimated he had viewed approximately 500 individual articles. Larger newspapers from nearby Battle Creek and Marshall included scores from games. Kalamazoo, Saginaw, and Detroit papers provided additional hints. The Times provided much of the color and detail.
Certain questions hovered above his research. Claims over eligibility of certain players often surfaced in newspaper game coverage. What were governing rules during those days? How did playing “summer ball” affect eligibility? Were there age rules?
Without question, baseball was the “national pastime” during the era. Reports of games in the state of Michigan appear in print as early as 1860. Old Reach and Spalding Baseball Guides help explain the hierarchy, structure, and importance of the sport in these years as foundry, city, independent, and semi-professional minor league teams dominated the landscape in many cities and towns.
The teams competed for talent. "Base ball" was popular in high schools, but certainly not sponsored by all schools. Initially governed by a subcommittee of the Michigan State Teachers’ Association, and then from 1909 through 1924 by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) – both predecessors to the MHSAA – prep athletics at member schools voluntarily cooperated with regulations of eligibility pertaining to amateurism, enrollment, semesters of athletic competition, and school scholarship.
DeBow mentioned he had come across articles that spoke of state champions in track & field, football, basketball, tennis, and summer independent baseball … even MARBLES. But there was no mention of an official “state high school baseball champion” for the years he studied.
Outside of track & field championships, the MIAA did not sponsor postseason tournaments. Hence, all other titles claimed by schools in other sports were generally made by the press, school administration, and/or admiring followers, justified by outstanding results in the win-loss column. That led to challenges from other schools elsewhere in the state making similar claims, and often contests between the schools were arranged, meant to resolve the debate.
Utilizing modern tools, DeBow collected schedules and final results, and compiled folders full of detail. Slowly, he distilled data into a narrative covering forgotten games and players who represented Athens, and the opponents that they faced. His focus narrowed to a remarkable four-year span – 1909 through 1912 – where the Indians compiled a stunning 42-0 record. Before stellar crowds they triumphed over bigger schools including Dexter, Millington, Mount Pleasant, Battle Creek and Saginaw Arthur Hill.
In September 2025, DeBow penned an e-mail to Askeland, detailing the Athens seasons in a 51-page document. The 1909 team finished 12-0 after defeating Mount Pleasant, 1-0, in a title game at Athens, while 1910’s squad downed Arthur Hill in Saginaw in another 1-0 championship contest, to finish 11-0. Both teams featured the Fox brothers – Loyd, pitcher/outfielder, and Roy, catcher – perhaps the team’s top players. As a sophomore in 1910, Loyd struck out 16 in the title game – the first loss in three years for Arthur Hill.
So, DeBow pitched the 1910 squad to Askeland for consideration as a replacement to 9-1 Commercial High of Brooklyn, N.Y. as the list’s new national champion. Impressed with Athens’ accomplishments, this past February, MaxPreps updated its list accordingly.
Thrilled by the news, and with his research complete, DeBow’s focus narrowed on wrapping up the documentary. His biggest challenge was the limited number of photographs available from the timeframe. To help move the story along, he tapped into the latest Google and Microsoft-funded AI tools to generate period newspaper-style illustrations. The finished film flows like a modern-day graphic novel come-to-life.
After three-plus years of work, the half-hour production, “The Dynasty” Athens High School Baseball 1909-1912, is now available to view on YouTube.
Next, DeBow plans to submit the story to a film festival. With the project complete, he’s given up pretty much all the software subscriptions he’s used on the project – except one.
“I’m probably going to convince myself to keep Chat GPT,” DeBow noted, “just because I’m having too much fun doing other stuff!”
PHOTOS (Top) The 1910 Athens baseball team poses for a photo celebrating its championship season. (2) The 1910 team is welcomed during a parade through its hometown. (3) A sign advertises a matchup with Lansing that season. (4) Brothers Roy and Loyd Fox pose for a photo together in 1911. (4) Videographer Larry DeBow sits at his work station with his latest work on Athens baseball displayed on his computer screen. (Team photo courtesy of the David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. All others were gathered by Larry DeBow and the Athens Area Historical Society.)