Unranked GP South Caps 'Magical' Rise
June 16, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – As soon as he saw the signal to intentionally walk teammate Davis Graham, Grosse Pointe South first baseman Anthony Dermanulian knew he had to buckle down and come through for his team.
With the bases loaded and the MHSAA Division 1 championship game against Brownstown Woodhaven tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning, Dermanulian came through in the clutch, drilling a bases-clearing double that gave his team the lead and clear momentum.
“I feel like it was disrespecting me,” said Dermanulian, smiling. “He was assuming I was going to be an easy out. So I stared him down because I knew I was going to kill the ball. That’s what I was thinking, that I was going to get a hit.”
The hit proved to be the difference-maker in South’s 8-1 victory, which gave the Blue Devils – unranked heading into the postseason – their first MHSAA baseball championship since 2001.
“It was the right thing to do,” South coach Dan Griesbaum said of the intentional walk to Graham. “Graham’s our best hitter, second and third base (occupied), first base open. It was the best thing to do. You had to walk him and let someone else beat you. (Dermanulian) just put a hurt on one. That was the key in the game, right there.”
The three-run cushion was more than enough for South starter Cameron Shook, who went the distance on the mound, scattering seven hits over seven innings while allowing just one earned running and striking out five. Shook, who missed some time this season with a leg injury, came up big in his team’s Quarterfinal victory over Macomb Dakota and again on Saturday.
“It’s been more magical than anything I could ever ask for,” said Shook, who will play college football for Navy in the fall. “We did this, together. There’s no me, there’s no singular person. We as a team accomplished what everyone thought was impossible for us to do.”
South added a pair of runs in both the fourth and sixth innings to ease to the victory. The Blue Devils used a little small ball to score a pair in the fourth. After sophomore Cameron Mallegg reached on an error to begin the inning, senior Conor McKenna had a bunt single. Both moved up a base on senior Steven Cavera’s sacrifice bunt. Mallegg scored on a passed ball and McKenna crossed the plate courtesy of a squeeze bunt by senior Giovanny Lutfy to make it 6-1.
Consecutive hits by McKenna, Cavera and Lutfy, followed by a hit by pitch (of senior Joseph Naporano) and a sacrifice fly by Graham capped off South’s scoring in the sixth.
Woodhaven scored its lone run in the top of the first inning, on a home run by Colin Czajkowski. The junior finished 2 for 3 in the game and also took the loss on the mound after allowing eight runs (but just two earned) in five innings. Senior Alonzo Chavez was 3 for 3 in his team’s loss.
The Warriors (34-6) finished up a historic season on the diamond, having captured the school’s first-ever Regional championship and trip to the Semifinals.
“I’m very proud of (the team), the effort they put into it, the ride they took us all on; it’s been amazing,” Woodhaven coach Corey Farner said. “I told them, win or lose, I’m going to love them no matter what. Some of the bounces didn’t go our way. We didn’t play particularly well, so we didn’t deserve to win today.”
Griesbaum said his team’s playoff run was as impressive as he’s seen in his 35 years on the Blue Devils’ bench.
“We’ve had eight trips to the final four, this was our second title, we were runner-up once,” Griesbaum said, “but I’ve never seen a group play with more confidence than this one.
“Never.”
VIDEO: Anthony Dermanulian clears the bases for Grosse Pointe South with a third inning double.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grosse Pointe South players including Cameron Mallegg (16) and Cody Shook celebrate after Mallegg scores a run Saturday. (Middle) Blue Devils catcher Davis Graham readies to attempt a tag on Woodhaven’s Alonzo Chavez.
Marine City Makes More History, St. Francis Outlasts Historic Opponent
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2025
EAST LANSING – Winning its first Regional championship in program history was a big accomplishment for the 2025 Marine City baseball team.
Now, the Mariners find themselves one win away from their first Finals championship.
Utilizing aggressive base running and timely hits, Marine City defeated Olivet, 8-5, in a Division 3 Semifinal on Thursday at McLane Stadium.
“It means everything to us,” Marine City coach Ryan Felax said of his team’s first Finals appearance. “Marine City hasn’t won a Regional up until this year, so we’re three games beyond the first time ever. For us to be able to come out here and do what we have done, feeling like we were the underdog since the District Finals, is a special feeling. I can’t even express what it means to the program, what it means for our city, and what it means for the seniors, especially.”
Marine City (26-10) will face Traverse City St. Francis in Saturday’s championship game at 9 a.m. The Mariners believe they are going into the title-deciding contest with nothing to lose.
“We don’t have any pressure on us,” said Marine City senior Daniel VandeVyver, who got the win on the mound Thursday. “We’ve been looked down this whole tournament. There’s no pressure, so we’ve all just been coming out here, playing the game, and having a blast while doing it. We’re coming out with the (wins), so it’s great.”
VandeVyver threw 6.1 innings to earn his eighth win of the season for Marine City. After giving up a pair of runs in the first, the senior would go on to pitch five straight scoreless innings, allowing only three hits during the stretch.
“I came into that second inning with a lot more confidence,” VandeVyver said. “I was working more off-speed pitches and not using as many fastballs. It was working for me.”
The senior was also a key piece to the offense, finishing with three hits and three RBI.
“Danny VandeVyver is a special player,” Felax said of his senior. “He’s been doing this for me for four years. He’s a special pitcher. He’s a special kid. When he stays out of his own head, he can do pretty much anything.”
Olivet (22-7) got out to the 2-0 start in the first inning thanks to five singles in six batters, but the Eagles would strand the bases loaded as they looked to establish a larger advantage.
“We had bases loaded in the first inning and should have gotten more out of that,” Olivet coach Mike Whitley said. “We didn’t get as many as we should.”
Marine City answered in the top of the second, utilizing stolen bases and bunts to set up a sacrifice fly from freshman Tucker Volkman. VandeVyver than had an RBI single to even up the score at 2-2.
In the fifth inning, the Mariners broke the game open with four runs. The go-ahead run came when junior Dakota Droptiny was unable to get a bunt down, so he had to take a swing with two strikes. Droptiny proceeded to hit an RBI double to put Marine City up 3-2.
“Hey, I’ll take it,” Felax said. “He’s just a kid that doesn’t rattle.”
Lukus DeSmyther followed with an RBI single, then VandeVyver had a two-run double to make it 6-2 for Marine City.
The Mariners tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth inning thanks to an error by Olivet and a double steal. All together, Marine City had 10 stolen bases in the win.
“You have to give (Marine City) credit. They are a heck of a team,” Whitley said. “They played a little small ball on us, which you don’t see in this area a whole lot. We just didn’t take care of business when we had the opportunity.”
Olivet made a late push in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring three runs thanks to an RBI double from freshman Andrew Rigelman and a two-run single from senior Lucas LaPaugh.
The tying run reached the plate before the Mariners recorded the final out.
“They just battled every day for me, and I think that showed in the seventh inning,” Whitley said. “Who knows, one more hit, it might have been a different ball game.”
Lalo Aguirre finished with four hits and two runs for Olivet, while Trip Burkett had two hits and an RBI.
Droptiny finished with two hits, two runs and an RBI, while Paul Muscat stole three bases for the Mariners.
Traverse City St. Francis 4, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 3
In order to play for its first Finals championship since 1990, Traverse City St. Francis had to overcome the one baseball program with more championship game appearances than anyone else.
The Gladiators took advantage of some early Liggett errors to establish a 4-1 lead. From there, they held on behind the pitching of junior Sam Wildfong for a 4-3 victory in the first Division 3 Semifinal on Thursday.
“It was a great, great high school baseball game. Ligget is a great, great program. We felt like we had to knock the giant off to get to the Finals,” Traverse City St. Francis coach Tom Passinault said. “It feels great, because we have a lot of respect for their program. Our guys really battled today.”
Liggett, which has appeared in 10 Finals, defeated St. Francis 12-0 in the 2021 Division 3 championship game, the last Finals appearance for the Gladiators.
St. Francis (30-8-1) struck first, taking advantage of a few Knights miscues. An error put runners on the corners for the Gladiators, and then Wildfong scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.
A two-run single from junior Tyler Thompson in the second inning extended the St. Francis lead to 3-1.
Junior Matthew Kane opened the bottom of the fourth inning with a double to left field. He then scored two batters later when freshman Colton Peterson laid down a squeeze bunt to put the Gladiators up 4-1.
“We had our best bunter at the plate. Colton Peterson is so calm and cool, and Matt is a great base runner, so it was just a perfect combination for us,” Passinault said of the play.
With the three-run lead, Passinault believed that Wildfong would be able to pitch his team to victory.
“In games where we got up a few runs and we had Sam pitching, we felt pretty good about our chances,” Passinault said. “Sam is a gym rat in the baseball sense. He’s 365 baseball. He is always ready. He’s the guy you want in that moment.”
Liggett was able to get the Gladiators’ lead down to one as it manufactured one run each in the fourth and fifth innings. However, the Knights stranded a pair in the sixth inning who could have changed the game.
“We put the ball in play all game; that wasn’t the issue. We just couldn’t get them around,” Liggett coach Jay Ricci said. “We started to make that happen later in the game, but we just couldn’t get that last run across the plate.”
Wildfong found another gear in the seventh inning, striking out the first two batters before getting a ground out to end the game. The junior finished with three strikeouts for the contest, allowing one earned run over seven innings.
“I treated it like any other inning. I was just having fun with my friends out there,” Wildfong said of the seventh. “The fastball was really working that last inning, and it was really fun to dial in and locate it well.”
Thompson finished with a pair of hits to go with his two RBI. Liggett was led by Ravi Hines, who had a single and an RBI. Reliever Joey Harris pitched three scoreless innings to keep the Knights in the game when down 4-1.
“He did great, and we were real confident he would come in and shut the door,” Ricci said of Harris. “That was expected. Joey Harris has done a great job all year for us.”
PHOTOS (Top) Marine City's Michael Blunden signals "safe" during his team's Semifinal win over Olivet. (Middle) St. Francis pitcher Sam Wildfong makes his move toward the plate.