Paying Tribute with Diamond Donation
May 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Rochester Adams and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood baseball players and coaches both had loved ones on their minds when they took the field at Comerica Park earlier this month.
And they paid tribute to those loved ones over their hearts and across the backs of their jerseys.
Together, the teams raised more than $3,500 for the Coaches vs. Cancer research initiative.
Instead of its usual brown and yellow, Adams wore jerseys of light blue with a green ribbon as the middle “A” in its name across the front in honor of those suffering with lymphoma, including 2011 graduate and former standout Matt Williams.
Cranbrook-Kingswood wore dark blue jerseys with a pink ribbon as the “A” in Cranbrook and with lime green writing on the back as the Cranes remembered longtime coach Jack Sanders, who died in 2012 after also battling lymphoma.
Sanders’ was among names adorning the backs of jerseys, along with other cancer victims the players and coaches knew.
Adams won the May 1 game, 18-3. Click to read more from the Oakland Press’ Keith Dunlap, who leading up to the game detailed both Williams’ fight and Sanders’ longtime contributions.
Net finder
Lake Fenton’s Jordan Newman will finish her high school soccer career later this spring as the top goal-scorer in MHSAA girls soccer history.
The Blue Devils’ senior forward broke the career record on April 28, scoring her 169th goal against Perry to pass the mark set by Newaygo’s Jaleen Dingledine from 2004-07. Newman also is a four-year varsity player.
Click to read more on her record run from the Flint Journal's Eric Woodyard.
5 K, 1 IP
The MHSAA doesn't keep a record for most strikeouts in an inning. But if it did, there’s a great chance Brighton’s Garrett Russell would top the list.
Against Ann Arbor Pioneer on April 5, Russell struck out five batters in an inning.
Yes, five.
Here’s how:
Russell struck out the first two batters of the inning swinging, leaving one out to get. He then struck out that third batter as well, but that batter reached first base because the third strike turned into a wild pitch.
The fourth batter of the inning was the only one to not strike out – he walked, putting runners on first and second base with two outs. Those runners advanced to second and third base, respectively, on a wild pitch thrown to the fifth batter of the inning.
That fifth batter then struck out swinging (which made it four strikeouts in the inning), but that third strike turned into a passed ball – and that batter ended up on first base, loading them for the sixth hitter of the inning.
But Russell found enough for one more K, striking out that sixth hitter swinging on a 2-2 pitch.
His line for the inning: 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 bases on balls, 5 strikeouts.
Brighton went on to sweep the doubleheader 12-4 and 11-1.
Family ties
Basketball clearly runs in a pair of families who have come through Corunna High School.
This winter, brothers M.J. and Mikhail Myles both scored their 1,000th career points – M.J., a senior, on Jan. 3 and Mikhail, a junior, in the team’s District Semifinal on March 5.
On Feb. 18, senior Payton Birchmeier became the fifth player in girls program history to score her 1,000th point – despite scoring only four points as a freshman before suffering a season-ending knee injury in her first high school game. She became the first Corunna girl to score 1,000 since her sister Megan finished accomplishing the feat in 2010.
Payton Birchmeier went on to play her final three seasons also on varsity, and M.J. Myles also was a four-year varsity player. Mykhail Myles has played three on varsity with next season still to play. The Myles' stepsister Klarissa Bell this winter finished an outstanding career at Michigan State University and won the Miss Basketball Award as a senior at East Lansing High School in 2010, and stepbrother Devlin Bell also was a Trojans standout.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rochester Adams players congratulate each other during their May 1 game at Comerica Park. (Middle) The Adams' first baseman and a Cranbrook-Kingswood base runner await the next pitch. (Photos courtesy of Rochester Adams baseball.)
Renaissance Emerges from Defensive Struggle to Earn Saturday Return
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2026
EAST LANSING — Detroit Renaissance head coach DaShaun Wood was short yet succinct describing the final minute of his team’s Division 1 Semifinal against DeWitt on Friday.
“It’s like my heart stopped a few times for sure,” Wood said.
He probably wasn’t the only one in what was a thrilling finish to a defensive struggle.
Renaissance ultimately prevailed, advancing to its first Division 1 championship game since 2021 with a 32-28 triumph over a DeWitt team that nearly made it two improbable comebacks in a row.
On Tuesday in a Quarterfinal upset of No. 1-ranked and 2025 Division 1 champion Belleville, DeWitt rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half and a seven-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.
Trailing 28-19 midway through the fourth quarter Friday and having scored just two points during the second half up to that point, DeWitt all of a sudden went on a quick 7-0 run to cut the Renaissance lead to 28-26 with 2:57 remaining in the game.
After the teams traded baskets to make it 30-28 Renaissance, the Phoenix tried to take time off the clock during the final minute and were fouled on two occasions. On both trips to the line, Renaissance missed both free throws – but got the ball back off the second misses both times to retain possession.
“Yeah, that was tough,” DeWitt head coach Bill McCullen said. “We’re so close to one, but we stepped on the end line (after grabbing the rebound), which would have been a huge possession. Obviously, we felt like we had some momentum building and getting our crowd into it.”
Following a timeout, Renaissance sophomore Kassidy Cain was fouled with 15.3 seconds left. Cain sank both free throws to make it 32-28, and Renaissance got one more stop to seal the game.
The Phoenix hopes to win its first Finals title in the largest classification against Muskegon. Renaissance’s previous championship was won in Class B in 2005.
“They’re hungry,” Wood said of Muskegon. “They’re seniors, and they know what’s on the line. We know we’re going to get their best shot.”
Only one player in the game scored in double figures – DeWitt senior Sophia Beland, who finished with 10 points.
Trailing 17-14 at halftime, Renaissance surged ahead with a strong third quarter, outscoring DeWitt 12-2 in the stanza to take a 26-19 lead into the fourth.
“I thought in the first half, we never really settled in offensively,” Wood said. “We’ve had those moments a few times this year, just settling into the game and believing in our abilities.”
DeWitt, which was supposed to go through something of a rebuilding year with just two seniors, finished 22-5 and figures to have a bright future.
In addition to Beland, Carly Dennis was the other senior.
“I’m not sure I can be any more proud of the two of them, their leadership and what they accomplished,” McCullen said his seniors. “Not just this season, but in their careers. We put a lot on both of their shoulders. I mean, you can see today they rarely come out of the game, and we ask a lot of them both offensively and defensively.”
PHOTOS (Top) Renaissance’s Maria Walker (1) follows a screen from teammate Jaebri’an Autry (22) during their team’s win over DeWitt on Friday. (Middle) The Panthers’ Jaynie English (22) and Carly Dennis contend with Walker for possession. (Photos by Keionna Banks and John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)