High 5s - 4/17/12
April 17, 2012
Each week, Second Half gives "High 5s" to multiple athletes and a team that have performed exceptionally on the field or made a notable impact off of it.
Please offer your suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Below are this week's honorees:
Sarah Appold
Saginaw Valley Lutheran senior
Softball
Appold is putting the final touches on a career that places her among the best ever at Saginaw Valley Lutheran. She holds multiple Chargers strikeout records and appears three times in the MHSAA record book for strikeouts in a game -- her best of 15 in a 2010 contest is tied for fifth-best in MHSAA history. Appold is 2-0 this season with batters hitting just .098 against her. She's also earned all-state recognition for volleyball and basketball this school year.
Up next: Appold has signed to play softball at Saginaw Valley State University and intends to study nursing.
I learned the most about pitching from: "Probably my dad, Randy Appold. He was pitching coach up until my seventh grade year. And Doug Gillis (out of Wixom), my pitching coach now."
My favorite athletes are: Detroit Tigers Austin Jackson and Justin Verlander. "My parents always took me to Tigers games when I was little, and I like watching them."
Try to keep up: Although Appold has never pitched to her baseball-playing friends, a few have caught her. "I've had a lot of people since freshman year ask me to pitch against them, to see how they'd do. I think I'd handle myself against them. ... There's a lot of different movement (to softball pitches)."
Nick Stiles
Bath senior
Baseball
Stiles is finishing up an all-state career for the Bees that included a trip to the Division 3 Semifinals in 2010. He's currently tied with former standout Brennan Powers for Bath's career pitching wins record with 33, enough to also get him on the MHSAA record book list in that category. Stiles is 2-0 this season and has yet to give up an earned run -- including over 10 innings Monday, although he didn't get a decision in either game that afternoon. He also plays center field.
Up next: Stiles said a few colleges said they'd like to watch him this season before offering a scholarship. Also his school's valedictorian, Stiles, has been accepted by Michigan State and could go there as a student only. He'd major in human biology with an eye on becoming an orthopedic surgeon -- which began to interest him after he suffered an ankle injury as a sophomore. He also might consider walking-on at MSU or playing on the club team.
My best pitch is: "My fastball. I've got the most control over it. I can put it pretty much anywhere I want."
I learned the most about pitching from: "My 14-and-under baseball coach Dave Morena. He had a certain way of doing things, and he knew what he was talking about. He taught me pretty much everything I know."
I look up to: "Justin Verlander. He works fast. He does throw his fastball a lot too. He's confident in his other pitches, but he likes to go to his fastball."
My career highlight: "The state Semifinal run. Records are records, made to be broken and all of that nonsense. But the run of the team; we weren't expected to do it, and the whole town followed us. Even though we lost, it was a great experience."
Grand Rapids West Catholic boys golf
After falling just five strokes short of winning the Kent County Classic on April 12 at The Highlands (behind top-ranked Division 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central), West Catholic took on some of the state's top Division 2 and 3 teams the next day at Michigan State's Forest Akers East -- and edged reigning Division 2 champion DeWitt by a stroke with a 303 to win the Haslett Invitational.
The Forest Akers field including Division 2 Nos. 1 and 2 DeWitt and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, respectively, and Division 3 No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi and No. 9 Hanover-Horton -- with West Catholic ranked No. 4 in Division 3 entering the tournament. Junior Sam Weatherhead was medalist at both the Kent County Classic and Haslett Invitational, shooting 68 and 69, respectively, to win by four and three strokes.
St. Francis Adds 4th 'C' to 'Character, Commitment and Compassion' - Championship
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – Traverse City St. Francis senior Charlie Olivier threw up three fingers before heading to the outfield in the seventh inning of Saturday’s Division 3 Final.
It signified more than the three outs the Gladiators would eventually get to accomplish a feat that hadn’t occurred in 35 years.
“At St. Francis, when we arrived in middle school, there were the three Cs – character, commitment and compassion,” Olivier said after a 5-4 win over Marine City at McLane Stadium.
“And it reminded me of the three outs of the seventh inning, and I held up the three just because all we’ve been doing this year is showing character and commitment to this team and showing so much compassion for one another. I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else other than this team.”
Appearing in a Division 3 Final for the third time over the last eight years, the Gladiators (31-8-1) overcame a late rally by the Mariners to hang on and win their first championship since 1990 (in Class D).
“Winning a state title in baseball is so hard, and there are so many things that can happen to lose one baseball game – and not always does the best team win,” said St. Francis coach Tom Passinault, who’s been coaching high school baseball and football since 1993.
“We’ve had some really good teams through the years that got beat, but this team finally did it and turned the corner and made us state champs.”
The Gladiators struck first in the opening inning when junior Matthew Kane ripped an RBI single to score junior Tyler Thompson, who led off the game with a single.
St. Francis added to its lead with a three-run third inning.
Kane delivered another RBI single to make it 2-0, and then Olivier followed with a suicide squeeze to score Sam Wildfong.
After a pitching change, Braxton Lesinski knocked an RBI single past a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded and St. Francis held a 4-0 advantage.
“That was awesome,” Kane said. “I struggled a little bit in the playoffs, so to start the game out 2-for-2 with some RBIs – that was special,” Kane said. “My hard work paid off so I'm happy, and this team is so special. We didn’t lose a single guy from last year and added a freshman, and it's just a brotherhood. The coaching staff is awesome, and it’s been a full team effort. I couldn't be more proud of these guys.”
Harrison Shepherd’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning scored Thompson to give St. Francis a 5-0 cushion, but Marine City didn’t go away quietly.
The Mariners, playing in their first Final, scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of a hit batsman, a wild pitch and a throwing error.
“It’s kind of what they always do; they battle all the time,” Marine City coach Ryan Felax said. “We haven't been held under four or five runs the whole tournament, so I knew falling down 5-0 wasn't anything and we would be able to battle back. It just was not enough in the end, and this is a tough one to swallow. It just hurts.”
St. Francis starter Tyler Endres held the Mariners hitless through the first three innings before Lanse Vos replaced him in the fifth.
Vos settled down after the rocky end to the fifth inning and retired six of the last seven batters he faced.
“I felt really good at 5-0, and Tyler was mowing,” Passinault said. “We knew we would go with Lanse at some time, and I put him in a bad spot with coming in on a 2-0 (count), but then he had a couple clean innings.
“I’ve been around high school sports for a long time and always been envious of guys who had 30-year reunions for state championships. I’m just ecstatic.”
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City St. Francis’ Tyler Thompson (2) eludes a tag at home to score one of his two runs during the Division 3 Final. (Middle) The Gladiators’ Tyler Endres delivers a pitch.