Howell Puts Heart Into Memorial Meet

EAST LANSING - You can say much about a defending state champion, but opportunistic likely describes Traverse City St. Francis best.

The  Gladiators remained in the hunt to become the first team to win back-to-back MHSAA Division 3 titles in 13 years after topping Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 13-3 in Thursday's five-inning Semifinal at Michigan State.

St. Francis didn't necessarily pound the ball offensively and two pitchers scattered six hits, just four fewer than the Gladiators (33-5) tallied. But St. Francis took advantage of eight Crusaders errors, either bunted the ball for hits or used a sacrifice to involve scoring seven runs, and stole 10 bases en route to the win.

That, said coach Tom Passinault, is typically how the team rolls.

"Absolutely," he said. "There were the errors and that compounds things. But Rochester is a good team. You can't yell at the kids because it's just baseball. But there are things that we can do."

The win sent St. Francis into Saturday's 11:30 a.m. Final against Kalamazoo Christian.

Gladiators freshman infielder John St. Peter said taking advantage of opponents' mistakes is a trademark for the team, which won Division 3 a year ago and will be playing in its fourth Final since 2017.

"That's always how we roll," said St. Peter, who contributed a two-run triple and RBI single. "We pick up on what they can't do and the things we can do. I'm just a freshman and this is my first year, and I know I have some big shoes to fill. There's a lot of responsibility for sure."

There was no more of an opportunistic inning for St. Francis than the third. Already ahead 3-0, the Gladiators bunched three singles, a fielder's choice, a walk, three stolen bases, three errors and a wild pitch to score four more runs.

St. Francis senior captain Sam Wilfong said the ability to capitalize on mistakes added to the experience from playing in last year's Final likely makes the current team better than last season’s champion.

"I would say better because we're battle-tested," he said. "We know what we have to do and how to keep our emotions in check. We know what it takes to win much better this year. Guys have been there before."

St. Francis pitcher Lanse Vos, who gave up four hits in 3 1/3 innings, won't necessarily compare the two teams. But there's little doubt last year's run has affected this season.

"I think we've built off last year," he said. "Our four seniors we lost from last year said go run it back this year. That's what we're trying to do. We put the ball in play, and good things happen. We make those plays this year."

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Kalamazoo Christian 6, Detroit Edison 5

Who says Kalamazoo Christian is too young to cause ripples in the MHSAA baseball tournament?

The Comets rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to outlast Detroit Edison and to sail into Saturday's 11:30 a.m. Final.

Despite having just two seniors on the roster, the unranked Comets – who start six juniors and a sophomore – overcame a 5-4 deficit during their final at bats to win the game on a based-loaded single by junior outfielder Max Johnson. Kalamazoo Christian (26-8) let a 4-2 lead slip away in the fifth inning and was tied as late as 4-4 in the sixth before trailing 5-4 going into the last half inning.

Comets coach Russ Meyer said the young team "hasn't flinched" in handling big moments, even with just two seniors.

"I knew and they knew we had incredible talent last year, that people expected a lot and things didn't happen for us," he said. "We played with a chip on our shoulder this year. It's like what about us?"

Johnson, who entered the game hitting .304 but with just nine RBIs in 79 at-bats, said his clutch hit was the first walk-off he's ever had, going back to Little League.

"I was down in the count and I knew I had to battle," he said. "Everyone on base trusted me, and that trust helped. It was like see ball, hit ball. We've done this all year; we just had to stick it out."

Comets junior outfielder Noah Zichterman had a pair of huge hits, including a third inning RBI double that gave the team a 3-2 lead, and a game-tying triple in the seventh two batters before Johnson's heroics.

Zichterman said it doesn't bother his teammates that the team isn't ranked or that few expected the club to be in an MHSAA Final.

"No one expected us to be this good," he said. "We've had some adversity that we overcame. I believe in us, we believe in ourselves and we just play the game."

Another key hit for the Comets was a two-run third-inning double by Jace Rarick. Crosby Croel had an RBI single in the fourth that put Kalamazoo Christian up 4-2.

Among Edison's highlights were a run-scoring single by Javarious Jackson that tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth inning and an RBI single by Jerrell Crosson II that gave Edison (23-9) a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh.

Click for the full box score. 

PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian catcher Jace Rarick prepares to put a tag on Detroit Edison's DaiJon Brooks (8) during the Comets' Division 3 Semifinal win Thursday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) A Traverse City St. Francis runner attempts to get back to first base during his team's win over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest.