Thank You from Second Half

January 25, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Next week will mark the one-year birthday of Second Half, our place to tell your high school sports stories.

And I thank you for helping us to such a great start.

We knew what we hoped to accomplish starting this site a year ago, but we've learned quite a bit during a relatively short time. Although we continue to pursue the mission of being home of the state’s best high school stories and a daily stop for fans, we’ll continue to experiment to figure out what you'd most like to see and how best we can continue to pass along the great things happening in MHSAA athletics.

A few things to call to your attention as we move ahead:

  • First and foremost, we strive to tell your stories – hoping to hit every sport and all regions of our state – and have some intriguing ones coming up as we get into the second half of the winter season. Stay tuned.
  • Second Half is the home for the “Battle of the Fans II.” We have visits to Buchanan and Vandercook Lake next week, followed by Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East the week after. We’ll announce the winner Feb. 22. All will be found here first.
  • We've revamped our video page (see menu across the top of this screen) and will be adding more videos more regularly in the year to come.
  • After a brief hiatus, we’ll next week bring back “High 5s” featuring two athletes and a team that have done great things this season.
  • What you’re reading now is the first of a weekly “First Pitch” blog that will allow us to post more of the quick hits we run across in our regular travels. Make sure to continue checking out the twice-weekly blog by Executive Director Jack Roberts, as well as the Viewpoints and SAC Sound-Offs supplied regularly by our friends from the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and the members of our Student Advisory Council, respectively.
  • We began providing in-depth statewide coverage – both previewing and then postgame reporting – of our Finals in every sport this fall, and hope to become your first and fastest source for the stories behind our championships.

We’re always looking for ideas both for stories or any other features you’d like to see – and feel free to send them directly to me at [email protected]

And again, thank you again for coming to our site today. We look forward to seeing you more in the year to come.

Today in the MHSAA: 6/9/25

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 9, 2025

(Please also see Finals coverage of girls and boys lacrosse, and Lower Peninsula boys golf throughout MHSAA.com.)

1. SOFTBALL Top-ranked Escanaba downed No. 3 Gaylord 10-0, ending the Blue Devils’ two-year reign atop Division 2 – Escanaba Daily Press

2. BASEBALL No. 2 Bay City Western advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals with a 3-1 win over No. 4 Hudsonville – Bay City Times

3. BASEBALL Top-ranked Portland St. Patrick advanced to the Division 4 Semifinals with wins over No. 2 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart and No. 18 Maple City Glen Lake – Lansing State Journal

4. SOFTBALL Kenzie Greene shut out No. 4 Bellaire and Buckley and went over 500 career strikeouts during No. 5 Holton’s Division 4 Regional title run – Local Sports Journal

5. SOFTBALL Honorable mention Paw Paw defeated Edwardsburg and honorable mention Wayland to clinch its first Regional title, in Division 2 – Kalamazoo Gazette

6. SOFTBALL Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary also claimed its first Regional title with wins over Mio and No. 10 Fowler in Division 4 – Saginaw News

7. SOFTBALL South Lyon downed No. 7 Northville 3-0 to claim a Division 1 Regional title, and after Northville had upset top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy a game earlier – Oakland Press

8. SOFTBALL No. 6 Walled Lake Northern downed No. 5 Grand Blanc to clinch a third-straight Division 1 Regional championship – Oakland Press

9. BASEBALL No. 2 Standish-Sterling advanced to the Division 2 Semifinals with wins over No. 9 Petoskey and No. 12 Fruitport – Bay City Times

10. SOFTBALL No. 9 Brownstown Woodhaven downed No. 8 Allen Park and Detroit Cass Tech for a Division 1 Regional title – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note ... 

SOFTBALL Gogebic – made up of Bessemer and Wakefield-Marenisco – clinched its first Regional title with a 2-0 win over Lake Linden-Hubbell in Division 4 – Upper Michigan’s Source