Small Ball, Brawley Come Up Big in Repeat
June 16, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Never underestimate the importance of defense – especially when it comes down to one final game to decide it all.
Stevensville Lakeshore played solid defense and took advantage of four Saginaw Swan Valley errors, and enjoyed a stellar pitching performance by senior Joel Brawley to claim a 6-3 victory in Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2 Final.
The championship was the Lancers’ second straight, making them the first to repeat at the Finals level of the tournament since Grand Rapids Christian in 2012-13.
“I always tell (my team), good teams get to the final four, great teams win it,” said Lakeshore head coach Mark Nate, whose team beat Bay City John Glenn in the 2017 title game. “That’s how we lived it last year, and we weren’t just happy to get here. Last year, we wanted to win it, and we did.
“This year, the whole talk was – for 365 days – repeat, repeat and we had a long way to go. The way we were playing in April, you would have never believed we’d be standing here now.”
Lakeshore’s game is built around pressuring its opponents by playing small ball. It worked right from the start Saturday. It didn’t take the Lancers long to take advantage of Swan Valley’s struggling defense, as they struck twice in the top of the first inning with a pair of runs on throwing errors.
Senior Sean Branch got things started with a base hit to center field. After stealing second, he moved to third on an infield single by senior Bray Plomb, then scored on an overthrow to first base. On the next play, junior Cam Dalrymple beat out a bunt to third base, and courtesy runner Ryan Soper scored on a poor throw to first, giving his team a 2-0 lead.
Lakeshore (27-14) would add two more runs in the fourth inning, again aided by the Vikings’ defense. Sophomore Oli Carmody walked to start the inning, stole second base and scored on a bunt single by Brawley when the throw to first sailed into foul territory. Brawley’s courtesy runner, junior Kyle Wojahn, would later score on a fielder’s choice by Branch to up the lead to 4-0.
“We lost four good (players) from last year, but we gained three to four good ones. And once they started learning our game, it started to click for us,” Nate said. “At the end of the day, if you stick with the plan, you can produce a lot of runs by not really even hitting the ball, (using) speed and small ball. It’s a huge part of Lakeshore baseball.”
The Lancers capped off their scoring with two runs in the fifth. Carmody walked and moved to second on a single by junior Jared Evans. Brawley then hit a grounder to short, but the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing Carmody to score. Senior Logan Morrow then drove in Evans with a bloop single to make it 6-0.
Swan Valley (33-9-3) scored a run in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to three singles, two that didn’t leave the infield. Junior Conner Sika had a one-out single to get things started. With two outs, senior Cameron Schroeder and sophomore Brian Ross pieced together back-to-back infield hits.
Sophomore Mitchell Jebb then hit a grounder to third, but the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing Sika to score the Vikings’ first run of the game.
Swan Valley would add two more in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run double by sophomore Easton Goldensoph, which plated sophomores Victor Mancini and Brian Ross.
Brawley went 6? innings on the mound, scattering 10 hits before being pulled due to pitch count. Carmody came in and got the last out to end the game.
“There’s nothing like it, to go back-to-back,” said Brawley, whose cousin Connor pitched 7? scoreless innings Thursday, helping his team to a 3-0 shutout victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in a Semifinal game. “This team has worked so hard, and we feel like we deserve it. I felt like this was just another game; that’s how you’ve got to think of it. I had to go out there and do my job and let the defense work, and good things will happen.”
Connor Brawley, Evans and Morrow each collected a pair of hits in their team’s victory.
Ross, one of eight sophomores on Swan Valley’s roster, took the loss on the mound. He pitched 3? innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs while striking out four.
“Hey, we had a great year. That’s a very good team,” Swan Valley coach Craig Leddy said. “We’re young. I know it’s tough to get back here, but we’ve got all the kids to get back here. Our No. 1 is a freshman, our No. 2 is a junior and our No. 3 is a sophomore. We’ve just got to play clean ball like we did all year. You can’t play in a championship game and make mistakes, and we made mistakes.”
VIDEO: Logan Morrow had two hits, including this RBI single in the fifth inning for Stevensville Lakeshore.
PHOTOS: (Top) Stevensville Lakeshore’s Joel Brawley delivers a pitch during Saturday’s Division 2 Final at McLane Stadium. (Middle) Swan Valley’s Easton Goldensoph stretches to beat a throw to first base.
Youngest Brother Bryan Closing Convertini Family's Memorable 13-Year Run at MCC
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
May 8, 2025
Bryan Convertini is nearing the end of an amazing four-year athletic career for Muskegon Catholic Central, but this swan song is not just about him.
Bryan is the last of the four “Convertini boys” at MCC, who collectively have provided Crusaders fans with plenty of big plays and thrilling wins – doing it all with their humble, no-nonsense leadership style – over the past 13 years.
“The Convertinis have really become the first family of Muskegon Catholic Central,” said MCC baseball coach Steve Schuitema, noting their father, Kolin, is an assistant varsity football coach and their mother, Jene, has served as the team mom for baseball and football for years.
“It will be different and a little sad to not have a Convertini out there for MCC anymore. All of them were leaders and a coach’s dream and really an extension of the coach on the field.”
Mason, 26, graduated in 2017 and set the sports tone for his three brothers, playing football, hockey as part of MCC’s cooperative team with Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, and baseball.
Nolan, 23, graduated in 2020 and, at 6-foot-2, is the tallest of the brothers. He played the same three sports as Mason, and was the most versatile of the boys, playing almost every position in football, including starting two games at quarterback.
Sam, 21, graduated in 2022, and also played football, hockey and baseball, but he opted to play basketball his senior year so he could play with his younger brother, Bryan.
Bryan, 18, will graduate June 1 after a standout, three-sport career, including the past three years as the starting varsity quarterback, before beginning college this fall at Grand Valley State.
“My memories at MCC go way back to when I was like 6 or 7 and the waterboy in football and the batboy in baseball,” said Bryan with a smile.
“The first word that comes to mind when I think about it is family. The whole school is like a big family that pushes and supports each other.”
Grandpa’s boys
The Convertini boys come from good stock, starting with their grandfathers.
On their mother’s side is Grandpa Bryan McLay who, at the age of 87, is still considered “Mr. Hockey” in Muskegon.
McLay, a Kenora, Ontario, native who first came to Muskegon in 1960 (the same year that the downtown hockey arena opened), tallied more than 1,000 points over his 13 seasons with the Muskegon Zephyrs and later, the Mohawks.
McLay moved in with the family after his wife, Peggy, died four years ago, and regularly regales his grandsons with his “old-time hockey” stories.
Jene picked up her father’s passion for sports and has been a natural in the Crusaders’ “team mom” role – organizing meals, carpools, fundraisers and sending out emails for game and schedule changes, among other things.
On their father’s side is Grandpa Fred Convertini, a California native who played in the 1966 Rose Bowl as an offensive lineman at Michigan State – as part of what is considered the top offensive line in MSU history.
Kolin certainly inherited his father’s athletic ability, making first-team all-state in football (running back), wrestling and track & field (pole vault) during his senior year of 1989-1990. He went on to play defensive back at Eastern Michigan University.
He also picked up his father’s humility and toughness, the latter which was put to the test in 2014 when he was diagnosed with cancer.
“Kolin’s cancer really brought us together as a family,” explained Jene. “We didn’t know how long we had, and we decided we weren’t going to do travel sports any more. I didn’t want to be in Chicago and Kolin in Detroit for the weekend and then we say hi on the way out the door to work on Monday morning. We decided to spend more time together.”
Like their grandfathers and father, all four of the Convertini boys were known for their dependability, rarely if ever missing games due to sickness or injury.
In fact, Bryan suffered an injury in the opening football game of his junior season, then played the remaining 10 games on what was later determined to be a broken left ankle – and, by the way, he earned first-team all-state as a defensive back with five interceptions.
“It hurt so bad,” Bryan said, shaking his head. “But I needed to be out there. My team needed me to be out there.”
Home cooking
The Convertini house in Norton Shores has been a gathering place for MCC athletes for years.
It all started when the boys were little, wrestling between the couches and shooting pucks at the walls in the basement.
Later on, that basement became the annual meeting spot for the MCC football team for “Selection Sunday,” when the team would learn its draw for the postseason playoffs.
Mason and Nolan, the two older boys, certainly enjoyed the most team success. Mason was part of three straight Division 8 championship football teams from 2014 to 2016. Nolan, meanwhile, played in three national championship games (with two titles) as a member of the Hope College men’s club hockey team.
The two younger boys had less team success, in large part because MCC really started struggling with numbers, but Sam and Bryan certainly did all they could and were rewarded with individual accolades.
Sam was the first of the brothers to make first-team all-state, earning the honor as a tight end in 2021. Bryan did one better, making all-state twice – after his junior year as a defensive back and his senior year as an “athlete” for his contributions all over the field.
Bryan also made first-team all-state last year in baseball, batting .478 as an outfielder.
In football, he rose above his broken ankle as a junior to rush for more than 800 yards and 11 touchdowns. In a win over Benton Harbor, he had a rushing TD, a passing TD, a receiving TD and returned an interception for yet another TD. This past fall as a senior, he threw for 880 yards and rushed for 621, while making a team-high 81 tackles in his first year at linebacker.
But when asked about the individual highlight of his football career, he doesn’t hesitate.
“That would have to be my freshman year, when I threw a halfback pass to my brother (Sam) for a touchdown,” recalled Bryan, noting a play that occurred in a victory over Muskegon Heights Academy during what ended as the 500th win in MCC football history.
Going out with a bang
Bryan hopes to tack on some additional highlights over the next month of baseball season, effectively writing a happy ending to the Convertini novel.
The Crusaders’ baseball team is off to an 11-4 start after a home sweep of Byron Center Zion Christian on Tuesday, during which MCC pitchers allowed just one run over two games.
Bryan is currently batting .375 while playing the critical position of shortstop, out of need, since he is a natural outfielder.
He would love to have a repeat of his freshman year, when he batted leadoff and helped the Crusaders to District and Regional championships. MCC had won 11 straight Districts before falling short last spring, so he said avenging that District loss is a major priority.
That would also be an appropriate ending after an uncharacteristic football season when the young Crusaders (who started three 14-year-old freshmen on the offensive line) finished 1-7.
Things went much better in basketball, as Bryan teamed with all-stater Bradley Richards to help MCC to an 11-10 record, its first winning season in six years.
Through winning or losing, MCC football coach Steve Czerwon said the strong Catholic faith of the Convertini family is always front and center.
The family will gather to celebrate in early September, when Mason and his fiancée, Sophie, get married at St. Michael’s Church in Muskegon. That is about the same time that Bryan will be off to Grand Valley, and Czerwon and the MCC football program will begin the post-Convertini era.
“Bryan and all of his brothers have an inner strength which sets them apart,” said Czerwon, who took over as MCC’s head coach in 2013, which was Mason’s freshman year. “All of them respect authority and they want to learn and get better, which is all that you can ask.
“It’s been a pleasure working with their family. We are all going to miss them.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Catholic Central’s Bryan Convertini takes a look down the third-base line during a baseball at bat. (2) The four Convertini boys take a photo together after one of Bryan’s football games in 2023. From left: Sam, Bryan, Mason and Nolan. (3) Convertini brings the ball upcourt during basketball season. (4) Convertini (22), stands for the national anthem this past fall. (Baseball and basketball photos by Michael Banka. Football photo by Tim Reilly. Family photo courtesy of Jene Convertini.)