Today in the MHSAA: Softball Quarterfinals

June 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Girls Softball Finals will be played Thursday and Friday at Michigan State University’s Secchia Stadium. Below is a sampling of coverage of how the 16 qualifiers advanced.

Division 1: No. 2 Clarkston downed No. 1 Hartland 11-3 to advance – Livingston Daily Press & Argus 

Division 1: No. 3 Howell earned a return to Secchia Stadium with a big win over honorable mention Canton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Division 1: No. 6 Warren Regina will play for another Division 1 championship after downing Garden City – Detroit News 

Division 1: No. 7 Bay City Western got past Lowell 4-1 to earn a return to East Lansing – Midland Daily News

Division 2: No. 3 Eaton Rapids shut out Ida to move on, 2-0 – Lansing State Journal

Division 2: A freshman and junior pitched No. 4 Stevensville Lakeshore past No. 6 Spring Lake, 3-1 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Division 2: Top-ranked Escanaba earned an opportunity to repeat as champion with a 2-0 win over honorable mention Freeland – Escanaba Daily Press

Division 2: Reese Ruhlman hit three home runs to lead North Branch past St. Clair Shores South Lake – Detroit News

Division 3: No. 7 Standish-Sterling hit a pair of home runs to get past No. 10 Negaunee – Iron Mountain Daily News

Division 3: A big sixth inning pushed No. 2 Dundee past Riverview Gabriel Richard 8-3 – Monroe News

Division 3: Honorable mention Schoolcraft won a high-scoring Quarterfinal over Grandville Calvin Christian 14-6 – Three Rivers Commercial News

Division 3: Top-ranked Millington booked its return to the Semifinals with a big win over Marine City – High School Sports Scene

Division 4: No. 1 Coleman earned another Semifinals trip with a big win over No. 7 Holton – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Division 4: No. 4 Rogers City edged Rudyard 2-1 to also return to the Semifinals – Alpena News

Division 4: No. 2 Kalamazoo Christian won big over Hudson to advance – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 4: No. 9 Unionville-Sebewaing earned its 13th trip to the Semifinals over the last 14 seasons with a big win over honorable mention Allen Park Inter-City Baptist – Huron Daily Tribune

Today in the MHSAA: 1/11/16

January 11, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first full sports weekend of 2016 included notable performances in a number of sports, highlighted by one of the top swimming and diving meets of the regular season.

Girls Basketball

Ithaca girls basketball coach Bob Anderson earned his 700th win as his team beat Carrollton 66-40; he’s coached both girls and boys teams to success over 27 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Durand handed Goodrich its first league loss in seven years while staying undefeated this season in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Flint Journal

DeWitt remained undefeated at 8-0 after handing Lansing Waverly its first loss this season in a matchup of two of the Lansing area’s top teams – Lansing State Journal

St. Joseph moved to 6-1 with a 72-35 win over Benton Harbor, a semifinalist in Class B last season – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Saranac was missing its leading scorer, but still managed to get past annual Class D power Portland St. Patrick 41-33 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Boys Basketball

Okemos handed Holt its first loss this season and won its first game on the Rams’ home court since 2010 – Lansing State Journal

Ice Hockey

Portage Central earned a win that could boost it into the state rankings, downing Division 1 No. 10 East Kentwood 2-1 on Saturday in Muskegon – Kalamazoo Gazette

Boys Swimming & Diving

Division 2 No. 1 Dexter scored 409 points to beat No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle by 33 at the annual Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, with the field also including reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm and Division 1 contender Ann Arbor Skyline – Battle Creek Enquirer

Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills defeated a field that included LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow at the Forest Hills Invitational – Midland Daily News

Wrestling

Unranked Westland John Glenn got past Division 1 No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay to win the Michigan Duals at Bay City Western over a field that also included No. 8 Western and Division 3 No. 5 Remus Chippewa Hills – Mlive-Detroit

Division 2 No. 9 Sparta won the Dave Dunneback Tournament with 247 points, ahead of Lake Odessa Lakewood, Belding and Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press

Football

Mike McDowell returned four seasons ago for his second stint coaching Morenci and led the program to its best finishes in nearly two decades. He recently resigned – Adrian Daily Telegram

Good Reads

Longtime coach Keith Haske remains cancer-free after fighting Stage 4 throat cancer only a year ago – and he’s added significantly to his day, becoming the girls basketball coach in addition to leading the boys program at Traverse City St. Francis. The Record-Eagle’s Brett Sommers documented a typical Haske day – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Carleton Airport senior Jessica Book is her school’s Homecoming Queen this year – and a cheerleader – and a wrestler – and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and defuse bombs – Monroe Evening News