Woodhaven, GP South Slug to Semifinal Wins
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 14, 2018
EAST LANSING – The best season in Brownstown Woodhaven’s history just got better.
Woodhaven, which had never won a District baseball title before this spring, defeated perennial powerhouse Birmingham Brother Rice 7-3 in a MHSAA Division 1 Semifinal on Thursday at McLane Stadium on Michigan State’s campus.
Colin Czajkowski’s two-run homer broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning, and senior lefthander Drew Szczepaniak allowed five hits in 6 2/3 innings and survived a bases-loaded situation in the top of the fifth to earn the victory.
Woodhaven set a state record earlier this season when it recorded 60 consecutive scoreless innings, which included eight consecutive shutouts. The pitching staff has continued to compete at a high level in the tournament, allowing 12 runs over seven games.
But, defensively, Woodhaven had its difficulties Thursday. The Warriors committed four errors, two in the fifth inning and two in the sixth. The two in the sixth led to Brother Rice’s only run. The two in the fifth helped Brother Rice load the bases with two outs. Szczepaniak got the last out on a pop up to third basemen Zach Biggs.
“In a game like this, you have to put (the errors) aside,” Szczepaniak said. “In the end, if you dwell on it, it won’t do you any good. Yes, I had to stay patient.
“Hey, we’re Woodhaven. We hadn’t won a District until this year. Everything is going so fast, and we’re just trying to take it one day at a time.”
Czajkowski agreed. No one expected Woodhaven to be in a Semifinal let alone the Division 1 championship game, so this is all new.
“We just got to keep level-headed,” he said. “That home run, things were definitely different. Definitely, beating a team like Rice is something special.”
Saturday’s Final, for just the second time in Division 1/Class A history, will feature two teams from Wayne County as Woodhaven (34-5) will play Grosse Pointe South (32-12) at 11:30 a.m.
The other time two Wayne County teams played for the title was in 2006, when Grosse Pointe North defeated Detroit U-D Jesuit 7-5.
To Woodhaven coach Corey Farner, it didn’t matter whom his team was playing Thursday. After all, this is Woodhaven. There isn’t anything with which to compare what his team and the community are going through.
“I didn’t care who we played,” Farner said. “They have a storied history. We’re Woodhaven. We’re not supposed to be here.
“That home run was huge. It was a 1-1 game at that time. It’s someone different every game coming through.”
Woodhaven could be without starting catcher Justin Charron in the Final. As he stopped at second base after batting in a run with a double, he slid awkwardly and left the game. Farner confirmed that Charron injured his right ankle, and his status for Saturday is uncertain.
Carson MacDonell replaced Charron, threw out a base runner attempting to steal and had an RBI single.
Like Farner said, it’s a different player each game.
Brother Rice (31-9), attempting to reach its first Final since 2013, used a handful of pitchers. But it seemed that no matter who coach Bob Riker pitched, Woodhaven’s batter were ready.
“They just out-pitched us,” Riker said. “We just didn’t get that big hit. When we tied it at 1-1, I said, ‘Ok, here we go.’ Then the guy hits that two-run bomb.”
Grosse Pointe South 10, Midland 0
South scored eight runs in the sixth inning of the first Division 1 Semifinal. Nathan Budziak went all six innings on the mound and allowed three hits, no walks and he struck out seven. He’s pitched three shutouts in his three tournament starts and has struck out a combined 29 hitters.
He was in a groove again, and Midland had no answer for him.
“He’s been lights out,” South coach Dan Griesbaum said of Budziak. “Winning 10-0, it’s unreal. We’re hitting over .300 as a team, but we weren’t hitting well early in the season. Maybe it was the weather.”
South had 14 hits paced by Cameron Mallegg with three. Joseph Naporani had three RBI and was one of four players with two hits.
Budziak, and Saturday’s expected starting pitcher, Cameron Shook, both suffered injuries during the season that had each out for a month. Budziak suffered a broken thumb on his left (throwing) hand and returned three weeks ago. Shook suffered a dislocated kneecap and made his first start since his return Tuesday, a 9-1 Quarterfinal victory over Macomb Dakota.
“The other players stepped up after (the two injuries),” Griesbaum said. “It wasn’t just the pitchers. It was a total team effort.”
Saturday’s will be South’s third Final appearance. The Blue Devils won their only title in 2001.
Midland (30-12) used three pitchers. Garrett Willis went the first five innings, giving up four earned runs, and took the loss to finish 10-3 this spring.
VIDEO: Grosse Pointe South tallied eight runs in the sixth inning; here's the two-run single by Giovanny Lutfy that ignited the rally.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brownstown Woodhaven’s Drew Szczepaniak turns on a pitch during Thursday’s Semifinal win over Brother Rice. (Middle) Cameron Mallegg eyes an offering during Grosse Pointe South’s victory.
FHE Completes Season-Long 'Response' with Title-Clinching 41st-Straight Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – The Ada Forest Hills Eastern baseball team didn’t panic when it fell behind by two runs in Saturday’s Division 2 Final.
The Hawks simply did what they’ve done all season – they responded.
FHE overcame the early deficit and emerged with a 5-2 win over Standish-Sterling at McLane Stadium.
“Respond has been our word this year, and we’ve lived by that,” said Hawks senior Max Ferrick, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
“Any time we get down, we’re like, ‘All right, it's time to respond, it’s time to get back and do our thing.’ We know we’re better, we just have to do it.”
The top-ranked Hawks (42-1) captured their second Final over the last four years after also winning in 2022.
They also ended this season on an incredible 41-game winning streak.
“They’ve been together for a long time, and it’s a great group,” FHE coach Ian Hearn said. “We have very dedicated players that are super passionate about the game, and they can’t get enough of it. It was fantastic to win a state title with this group and all the time and effort they’ve put in.”
Second-ranked Standish-Sterling, playing in its first Final, tallied a pair of runs in the first inning to snag a 2-0 lead.
However, the Hawks countered with five unanswered runs the remainder of the game.
“The word ‘respond’ is a big word for us,” Hearn said. “Each year we have a building block and this year it was ‘respond’ for our program, and that will continue. They embraced it right away and believed in it and went all in on it. They have so much fight, and they constantly respond.”
FHE scored once in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single from James Dempsey and three times in the third inning to grab its first lead.
Ferrick roped a shot to the gap for a double that tied it 2-2. Then a throwing error by the Panthers allowed two more runs to score to put the Hawks ahead 4-2.
Ferrick added a two-out double in the fourth inning.
“It’s kind of full circle for me,” said Ferrick, who played on the 2022 team as a freshman. “But this year my brother is on the team and some of my best friends that I’ve played with my whole life. I felt like I had to do it today for my family because this team is like a family, and it really felt great today.”
FHE junior Colton Brinks was brilliant in relief of starter Landen Lindley.
Brinks allowed only two hits in 4 ⅔ innings pitched and struck out the final three batters in the top of the seventh after walking the lead-off hitter.
“I was a little nervous there with everyone on their feet and excited, but I trusted I could throw my pitches and (in) the defense behind me,” Brinks said. “I’ve been playing with them since I was little, and I guess the adrenaline kicked in and I locked in and got the last three strikeouts.
“I was in eighth grade the last time they won, and I came to that game. I’ve always dreamed of being able to do it one day, and actually being able to accomplish it is an amazing feeling.”
Panthers coach Ryan Raymond was thrilled with the game’s start, but his team was unable to manufacture quality chances the rest of the way.
“That was the only rally we really got going early, and it seemed like all our other rallies started after two outs,” Raymond said. “We were excited, ready to play and I thought our effort was excellent today. I couldn’t be more proud, and these kids battled and they fought for themselves while making school history.”
Sterling-Standish managed only five hits and left nine runners on base.
PHOTOS (Top) Colton Brinks (15) makes his move toward the plate during Forest Hills Eastern’s championship-clinching win Saturday. (Middle) FHE’s Max Ferrick (2) waits on a Standish-Sterling pitch.