Today in the MHSAA: 5/1/17

May 1, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A loaded weekend of tournament action all over the state was topped by the best in boys golf and girls tennis facing off as their MHSAA postseasons draw near – Lower Peninsula Regionals for both begin in less than three weeks, and we got a preview of how some of the best might shake out at crunch time.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Division 3 No. 9 Blissfield downed No. 7 Sand Creek 7-3 in their lone matchup, as the second game was canceled because of bad weather – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Golf

Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central won the Division 1 title and overall, and Division 2 No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic and Division 3 No. 2 Big Rapids also won divisional titles at the Traverse City Tee-Off – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Lacrosse

Battle Creek Lakeview came back from a late four-goal deficit to down reigning champion and Division 2 No. 9 Harper Creek and win the Battle Creek All-City Invitational – Battle Creek Enquirer

Softball

Reed City’s softball team led a combined effort with the baseball team to claim the Osceola Royal Rumble, which took into account both teams' efforts combined – Cadillac News

Unranked New Baltimore Anchor Bay downed Division 2 reigning champion and top-ranked Richmond 13-1 in the final of the Macomb Classic #2 – Macomb Daily

Muskegon Mona Shores’ Taylor Dew had two home runs and six RBI going 6 for 6 over a two-game sweep of Whitehall – Muskegon Chronicle

Vicksburg’s Shaidan Knapp also had two home runs and six RBI, in one game, to lead the Division 2 No. 4 Bulldogs to a 10-1 win over Paw Paw – Kalamazoo Gazette

Sydney Pezzoni’s walk-off single gave Division 1 No. 9 Howell a 5-4 win over No. 4 Walled Lake Northern – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

From last week, longtime Trenton coach John Biedenbach went over 1,000 career wins in a victory over Southgate Anderson – Southgate News Herald

Girls Soccer

Caroline Lewis posted a pair of shutouts to lead Adrian to the first Adrian Lenawee Christian Cougar Cup – Adrian Daily Telegram

Girls Tennis

Division 1 No. 3 Northville, No. 1 Midland Dow and No. 8 Port Huron Northern claimed the top three spots at the 33rd Ann Arbor Huron Invitational – Midland Daily News

Division 4 No. 3 Jackson Lumen Christi downed No. 2 Kalamazoo Hackett 5-3 after Hackett had also beaten No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis and lost to No. 4 Ann Arbor Greenhills earlier in the week – Kalamazoo Gazette

Track & Field

Chesaning swept the boys and girls titles at its first home invitational in more than a decade; the boys team is ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Saginaw News

Grand Rapids Christian swept the Grand Rapids Elite Meet titles, while Grand Haven finished runner-up in both competitions; the Eagles boys are No. 5 and the girls No. 6 in LP Division 2 – Grand Haven Tribune

Good Read

Fruitport’s Karson Kriger pitches, hits and plays outfield for his baseball team, also played football and is now giving rodeo a try – and providing inspiration to many doing so without an amputated left forearm – Muskegon Chronicle

Petoskey is mourning the unexpected death of girls tennis coach Dree Lo, a former standout at Okemos, beloved member of her community and longtime contributor to athletics – Petoskey News-Review

Today in the MHSAA: 4/11/18

April 11, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

1. Boys Lacrosse: Joey Kamish scored in overtime to give Detroit Catholic Central its first win over 13-time reigning champion Birmingham Brother Rice since 1994, 10-9 – Observer & Eccentric

2. Girls Soccer: Division 3 power Hudsonville Unity Christian downed Division 2 No. 4 Holland Christian 2-0 – FOX17

3. Girls Soccer: Sarah Dawson scored half of her team’s goals in Jonesville’s 6-1 win over Hillsdale – Hillsdale Daily News

4. Baseball: Holland Christian’s Chris Mokma threw a five-inning perfect game as his team swept Hudsonville Unity Christian – Holland Sentinel

5. Baseball: Detroit Edison won a matchup of two of the best in the Detroit Public School League, 8-7 over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

6. Boys Golf: Holland West Ottawa shot a 333 to win the Wooden Shoe Invitational by 20 strokes – Holland Sentinel

7. Baseball: Essexville Garber and Standish-Sterling split a doubleheader, with Spencer Mahar’s walk-off double in the eighth inning of the Dukes’ 7-6 win among highlights – Bay City Times

8. Girls Soccer: Sidney McClay scored with just under three minutes to play to give Romeo a 1-0 win over Berkley – Oakland Press

9. Baseball: Brett Sikorski threw a five-inning no-hitter to lead Bronson in its doubleheader sweep of Union City – Coldwater Daily Reporter

10. Boys Soccer: Longtime Parma Western coach Ron Rudland, the only coach in program history, retired after 33 seasons – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Also of note …

Coaches: Fruitport Calvary Christian girls basketball coach Brad Richards has put together a Class D power over the last many years. This past winter also included a large role in a fascinating reality show airing on the History Channel; he’s part of a search for Confederate gold in Lake Michigan – Local Sports Journal