LSJ Blogs: Get Prepped

5/31/11: Weekend in Review

It's championship time and the best of mid-Michigan's best are shining. Check out four from a strong weekend of competition and the first of the season's state finals.

FOUR STARS

4. Holt baseball's Justin Alleman: Gave up just three hits and struck out nine as the Rams shut out reigning Division 3 state semifinalist Bath 7-0 in a Diamond Classic quarterfinal Friday.

3. East Lansing boys track's Tim Kulang: Won the long jump and ran on the winning 1,600 relay as East Lansing won the Division 2 MITCA state meet.

2. Williamston girls track's Mallory Metzer: Won the 200 and ran on the winning 400 relay as the Hornets edged Hamilton to win the Division 2 MITCA state meet as well.

1. Ovid-Elsie boys track's Keifer Hall: Set the MITCA Division 3 state meet and his school's record in winning the long jump in 22-6 and also won the 200 as the Marauders finished fifth.

SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
DIAMOND CLASSIC: GRAND LEDGE 10, WILLIAMSTON 0: Tyler Peterson went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, leading Grand Ledge. The Comets scored four runs in the first two innings, highlighted by two RBI singles from Peterson. Senior Eric Eiseler had an RBI single of his own, and sophomore Corbin Clouse added an RBI walk, giving Grand Ledge an early 4-0 cushion. Williamston’s Corbin Austin gave the Hornets a boost in the bottom of the second when the senior third baseman blasted a solo home run over the right field fence.

Coming Tuesday: Weekend in Review

We'll round up everything from Thursday through the holiday weekend in anticipation of the busiest week of high school sports during the school year -- formerly known as Prepapalooza, and now looking for a new name to debut this week. Let me know if you have ideas. 

5/26/11: Wednesday in Review

Yep, it rained again Wednesday -- limiting mid-Michigan events mostly to soccer and lacrosse. But we've got those results and some deserving stars from a short but noteworthy list of competitions.

FOUR STARS

4. Holt boys lacrosse's Max Poole: Scored four goals as No. 5 Holt downed area rival Waverly/Lansing Catholic/Grand Ledge 17-5 in a Division 1 regional game.

3. Okemos boys lacrosse's Peter Stuckey: Tallied five goals and two assists as the No. 17 Cheiftains upset No. 12 Lowell 12-8 in Division 2 regional play.

2. St. Johns soccer's Jordan Hufnagel: Finished off her CAAC Cup with a goal and then a shootout goal as the Redwings downed Lansing Catholic 3-2 in the third-place game of Group 2.

1. DeWitt boys lacrosse's Mark Tratt: Scored three goals and added two assists as No. 8 DeWitt beat rival and No. 13 Haslett/Williamston 13-9 in a Division 2 regional matchup.

SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
MASON 15, SEXTON 0
Sexton    000    0–0 1 3
Mason    225    6–15 11 0
WP–McNulty (2-2, 4K). LP–Rodriguez. Highlights–Mason: Scavarda 2-2 3R 3B 4RBI, Lopez 2-3 2RBI, Selt 2-3, Lavallii 1-2 2B 4 runs.
MASON 11, SEXTON 0
Sexton    000    00–0 5 5
Mason    316    1x–11 9 1
WP–Kinney (2-2, 6K). LP–Alvarez. Highlights–Mason: Lopez 2-3 2B 2RBI, Kinney 2-3, Selt 2-2. Records–Mason 14-12 overall, 6-5 CAAC Red.

5/25/11: Tuesday in Review

One of mid-Michigan's top soccer players of the last four years has returned just in time for the CAAC Cup -- and she's our No. 1 star from Tuesday. Check all the reported results from that day, and all four of our top performers.

FOUR STARS

4. Ithaca golf's David Brown and Luke Rayburn: Capped off a dominating season not just in the TVC West, but as a whole, with league-tournament winning 39s to tie for first at Twin Bridges.

3. Ithaca girls track's Misty Godley: Got the slight edge in this sport over Morrice's Kelsey Butcher (a win and runner-up finish in the GAC final) by winning the 800, finishing third in both the 3,200 and 1,600 and running on the winning 3,200 relay as Ithaca edged Saginaw Valley Lutheran by 10 to win the TVC West meet.

2. Lakewood softball's Britteny Hilley: Earned both pitching wins over Perry, 3-2 and 7-5, as her Vikings clinched a share of the CAAC White title (with Portland). Hilley also scored twice, stole a base and drove in a run in the second game.

1. Williamston soccer's Lisa Vogel: Injuries have derailed most of the Michigan State recruit's last two seasons. But she is recently returned and had a goal and assist as the Hornets defeated Mason 3-1 to move on to the CAAC Cup Group 1 final.

SCOREBOARD
BOYS GOLF
CAAC BLUE AT EASTERN (at Groesbeck)
Teams–Grand Ledge 141, Holt 151, Okemos 156, East Lansing 158, Jackson 175, Eastern 180
Grand Ledge–DeGood 32, Sawyer 35, Benson 36, Bowman 37.
Holt–Burt 34, Tuttle 39, Polin 39, Sanford 39.
Okemos–Kim 37, Freund 38, Burzych 39, Edwards 39.
East Lansing–Fossum 36, Danegelis 40, McFee 41, Brogan 41, Whipp 41.
Eastern–Fisher 38, Hundt 43, Shepherd 49, Fuhrman 50.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS INVITE
(at Egypt Valley Country Club)
Teams–Forest Hills Central 600, Mona Shores 624, Grand Ledge 629, Davison 635, Holt 635, Detroit Catholic Central 642, U.D. JesuIt 646, Grandville 649, Reeths Puffer 653, Lumen Christi 653, Rockford 656, Hartland 658, Forest Hills Northern 658, Nouvel CC 667, Saline 674, East Kentwood 674, Forest Hills Eastern 677, Cranbrook 680,
GR West Catholic 682, Jenison 682, Vicksburg 684, Hudsonville 687, Zeeland East 690, Catholic Central 696, Northpointe Christian 705, Hastings 709, Flushing 710, West OttAwa 716, Midland 720, Cedar Springs 737.
Grand Ledge–DeGood 153, Benson 157, Simons 158, Sawyer 161.
Holt–T-2. Burt 147, Tuttle 157, Polin 157, Mariage 180.
*Medalist was Hrynewich (Mona Shores) 145.

5/24/11: Monday in Review

The beginning of the busiest two weeks of the school year kicked off Monday with the start of the Diamond Classic, plus lacrosse regionals, CAAC Cup soccer and league golf tournaments. Check out the reported results and our top performances from the day.

FOUR STARS

4. Waverly/Lansing Catholic/Grand Ledge boys lacrosse's Tynan Ford: The Warriors were the first great mid-Michigan lacrosse program, and opened the postseason with a 16-5 win over Vicksburg thanks in part to Ford's four goals.

3. Williamston baseball's Corbin Austin: After giving up six runs while the Orioles built a commanding lead, Austin hit a two-run triple late to give the Hornets an 8-6 win in a Diamond Classic opener.

2. Grand Ledge soccer's Lauren Stensen: Moved from forward to midfielder and had two goals and an assist as the Comets beat St. Johns 4-2 to advance to the CAAC Cup Group 2 final.

1. Fowler golf's Devon Feldpausch: Continued his excellent play with a CMAC Tournament best 74 as his Eagles edged runner-up Laingsburg by 18 strokes to clinch the league title at The Emerald.

SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
DIAMOND CLASSIC: Williamston 8, Charlotte 6: The Charlotte baseball team built an early 6-0 lead in the opening game of the Diamond Classic on Monday but it wasn’t enough. Williamston overcame that deficit over the final four innings to record an 8-6 win over the Orioles at Kircher/Municipal Park and advance in the Diamond Classic. A four-run sixth inning keyed the Williamston comeback as Corbin Austin drove in the winning runs with his two-run triple to left field. Austin, who was the starting pitcher when Charlotte scored five of its six runs, was happy about driving in the winning runs. Charlotte started the contest strong as senior Mitch Trzeciak blasted a solo home run to give the Orioles an early lead. Charlotte added to its lead in the second inning on junior Blake Rankin’s  two-run homer to center field, which capped a four-run inning.
Williamston began its comeback with  a run in the bottom of the third. Dylan Monette singled, stole second and scored on a hit by Tyler Watters.
DEWITT 10, LANSING CATHOLIC 7:  DeWitt got a bulk of its  offense in the third inning, scoring seven runs to take an early 7-1 lead en route to a win over Lansing Catholic in a Diamond Classic opening-round game.. DeWitt  was led offensively by Nick McCoy, who went 3 for 4 with a homer. Lansing Catholic had the tying run at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, but Dewitt’s Michael Stygles made a diving catch to end the game.
FOWLERVILLE 5, EATON RAPIDS 2
Eaton Rapids    000        011        0– 2 4 2
Fowlerville    200        201        x– 5 5 1
WP–Balazy (4-5) 2ER 9K     LP– Scott     Highlights– Fowlerville: Balazy HR 2 RBI

5/23/11: Weekend in Review (updated -- a second time)

The people have spoken -- and notified me of a mistake in reading our results. So I've adjusted our Four Stars from the weekend. Check out the reported results along with those top performers.

FOUR STARS

4. Grand Ledge baseball's Tyler Baker: Finished 6 for 6 hitting with a double, triple and three RBI in a 6-3 and 1-0 sweep of Lowell. He drove in the only run in the second game and got the pitching win with four strikeouts in the first. He also was 4 for 5 with five RBI in a sweep of Holt on Friday that clinched the CAAC Blue title.

3. Fowler girls track's Lindsey Hufnagel: A reigning state champion, she won four events -- high jump, 100, 200 and 400 -- at the state's toughest Division 4 regional to lead Fowler to another win. The Eagles, and Hufnagel, have dominated all season long. And that won't stop June 4. 

2. Bath baseball's Nick Stiles: Struck out 19 and also was 2 for 4 and scored a run as the Bees beat Portland St. Patrick 3-2 in nine innings in the CMAC Tournament final at Central Michigan.

1. Mason track's Sean Wren: The future Saginaw Valley State football player won the pole vault (13-9), 110 hurdles (14.65) and 300 hurdles (39.63) to lead the Bulldogs to a Division 2 regional championship.

SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
SUMMIT 11, LANSING CHRISTIAN 0
Summit        000        515–11 11 0
Lansing Christian        000        00x–  0   2 3
WP–Astalos. LP–Lyon (4-1). Highlights–Lansing Christian: Rakestraw 1-2, Mishler 1-2
SUMMIT 10, LANSING CHRISTIAN 3
Summit        103        302        1–10 10 2
Lansing Christian        001        011        0–   3  5 3
WP–Fournier. LP–Mishler (0-3). Highlights–Sprague 1-3 run, Lyon 1-3 2B, Cho 1-4 run, Childress 1-3 run. Records–Lansing Christian 6-12, 2-4, Summit All-Stars 18-4

5/20/11: Thursday in Review

Lacrosse, tennis, golf and baseball championships were won by mid-Michigan teams  Thursday. Here's a look at all of the day's reported scores and our top performances.

FOUR STARS

4. Mason soccer's Kaleigh Lound: Scored and had an assist as Mason beat East Lansing 2-1 in the first round of the CAAC Cup Group 1.

3. Williamston baseball Dylan Monette: His Hornets clinched the CAAC White against second-place Lansing Catholic, with Monette going 3 for 3 with two doubles in the 12-2 opener win, and then getting the pitching win as Williamston won the second game 7-3.

2. Williamston soccer's Taylor Adams: Scored the lone goal as Williamston beat Holt 1-0 in perhaps the most competitive of CAAC Cup openers.

1. Okemos girls lacrosse Jordan Luberto: Continued to show why she's considered the area's best with eight goals and an assist as the Chieftains beat Waverly/Lansing Catholic/Grand Ledge 19-6 in the inaugural CAAC Tournament championship game.

SCOREBOARD
baseball- rankings
DIVISION 1
1. Portage Central
2. Bedford
3. Grand Ledge
4. Bay City Western
5. Howell
6. Sterling Heights Stevenson
7. Grosse Pointe South
8. Rockford
9. Brother Rice
10. Lake Orion

5/19/2011: Wednesday in Review

More rain couldn't keep these standouts down. Check out all the reported scores as well as our "Four Stars" from the day -- plus area baseball, softball and soccer standings and leaders, and the most recent area track honor roll.

FOUR STARS

4. Fowler golf's Devon Feldpausch: If it's not one Eagle winning a CMAC jamboree, it's another. This time it was Feldpausch with a 35 as Fowler again edged Laingsburg by two strokes.

3. Fowler baseball's Josh Schmitt: Earned his eighth win on the mound by beating Laingsburg 10-7 in the opening round of the CMAC Tournament. He struck out four.

2. St. Johns soccer's Megan Feldpausch: Tallied two goals and an assist as the Redwings downed Charlotte 4-2 in a first-round CAAC Cup Group 2 game.

1. Okemos girls lacrosse's Jordan Luberto: Scored six goals and assisted on a seventh as the Chieftains shut out Division 1 No. 4-ranked Rockford 14-0.

SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
OKEMOS 5, HASLETT 3
Haslett    000        001        2–3 2 1
Okemos    001        202        x–5 7 1
WP–Guastella (4-0). LP–Schaubreeck. Highlights–Haslett: Varlesi 1-4 2 runs, McNemara 2-3 2B. Okemos: Magsig 1-1 2B RBI, Hayward 2-3 3B 2 runs, Emmerich 2-3 2B 3B. Records–Okemos 11-10, Haslett 11-14
LESLIE 13, LANSING CHRISTIAN 1
Leslie            000        526    –13 9 4
Lansing Christian            000        100    –  1 4 7
WP–Bryson. LP–Curtin (1-3). Highlights–Leslie: Wiltse 2-4 R RBI, Kibbey 2-4 22B RBI, Smith 2-4 2B run 2 RBI, Cox 2-3 2B HR 3 runs 4 RBI. Lansing Christian: Hopman 2-2 run, Curtin 1-3 RBI, Cho 1-3

5/18/2011: Tuesday in Review

The Softball Classic championship, the start of the CAAC Cup ... the next two weeks are among the busiest of the school year, and the first hints of that came Tuesday. Check out all the reported results from the night and our top four performances.

FOUR STARS

4. Eaton Rapids baseball's Trent Pell: Finished a combined 4 for 7 with a double and two RBI against Lansing Catholic, and his Greyhounds posted a 7-6 upset in splitting the doubleheader.

3. Okemos tennis' Irene Ng: The 2009 LSJ Player of the Year took the top spot in No. 1 singles at a quad that included Division 2 No. 6 Portage Northern and Division 3 co-No. 10 Haslett.

2. Haslett track's Josh Delaney: Won both the high jump and long jump and ran on the winning 1,600 relay as the Vikings downed Ionia to finish the regular season a prefect 5-0 in the CAAC Gold. His 6-foot-4 in the high jump is third-best on the Honor Roll, and his long jump of 21-6.5 is fourth-best.

1. Eaton Rapids softball's Erin Binkowski: This season's Softball Classic Most Valuable Player was nearly perfect in the 5-0 championship game win over Bath, giving up just two hits, walking one and striking out 12.

SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA 12, SARANAC 4
Saranac     010    002    1–4 7 3
P-W    200    604    0–12 10 5
WP–Thelen 5K. LP–Gumter 3K. Highlights–Saranac :Gunter 3-4, Perry 1-3 RBI, Pewamo-Westphalia: Nurenberg 3-4 2 RBI 2B, Witgen 3-4. Records–Pewamo Westphalia 14-9, 13-5, Saranac 7-16, 5-12
EATON RAPIDS 7 LANSING CATHOLIC 6
Lansing Catholic     100     130     1 –6 11 1
Eaton Rapids     040     030    x–7 9 1
WP–Williams (1-0) LP–DeClarke Highlights–Lansing Catholic: Babcock 2-4, Lovell 2-4, Rush 3-4 2RBI 2B, Phifer 3-4 Eaton Rapids: Pell 2-4 2RB, Hollingsworth 1-3 2RBI, Williams 3-3 Kitsmiller 1-3 2RBI 2B.

5/17/11: Monday in Review

It's Diamond Classic selection day and Softball Classic finals day, so why not lead off Monday's top performances with the best from those sports? Check out all the reported results below, as well as our "Four Stars" from the night.

FOUR STARS

4. Lakewood softball's Jessica Salazar: Hit a home run in going 2 for 3 with two RBIs as the Vikings posted a 4-3 win over first-place Portland in the CAAC White (Portland won the other game 9-1).

3. Pewamo-Westphalia baseball's Michael Weber: Threw a three-hit shutout as P-W beat Bath 3-0 and in doing so handed the Bees their first CMAC loss this season.

2. Charlotte baseball's Bryan Reed: Threw a seven-inning no-hitter in beating Fowlerville 4-0 as the Orioles locked up a big win and today a berth in the Classic. (Fowlerville won the other game 5-3).

1. Holt golf's Brian Burt: He continues to ride high. Burt won the CAAC Open two weeks ago, and Monday won the Big Rapids Invitational at Tullymore with a 67, seven strokes better than any other local player.

BASEBALL
GRAND LEDGE 11, JACKSON 0
Jackson    000        00–  0   1 2
Grand Ledge    062        3x–11 13 1
WP–Reust (7-0) 2K 1BB 0H 0ER. LP–Mathias 1K 2BB 9H. Highlights–Jackson: Wood 1-2 2B, GL: Di. Reust 3-3 2 2B 2 RBI, Reust 2-2 4 RBI, Clouse 2-3 HR 2B 3 RBI, Peterson 2-3 2 RBI
GRAND LEDGE 15, JACKSON 0
Jackson        000           –        0  1  3
Grand Ledge        (10)41            –15 13 0
WP–Lt. Baker (6-0) 1K 3BB 1H. LP–Szink 1K 6BB. Highlights–Jackson: Kyro 1-2, Grand Ledge:  Ty Baker 3-3 HR 3 RBI, Lt Baker 1-2 2b 2 RBI, Peterson 2-3 2 RBI,  Records–Grand Ledge 23-1, 10-0, Jackson 9-12-1