Page 14 — Thursday, May 11, 2023 — The Hastings Banner
Saxons give highly ranked Chix a
battle at Zeeland East Invitational
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Saxons are still chasing their first var-
sity baseball victory of the spring, but there
have been bright spots.
The Hastings varsity baseball team was
bested in a pair of ballgames Saturday at the
Zeeland East Invitational Saturday. The host
Chix, ranked seventh in the state in Division
1 entering the weekend, took a 6-4 win over
the Saxons to start the day.
Hastings pitchers Landon Steward and
Eastin Tibble gave up just two earned runs
total in their six innings on the mound. Stew-
ard was charged with five runs, but only onewas earned. He started and went 4 2/
innings. He walked four, gave up three hits
and struck out three. Tibble came on for the
final 1 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on
one hit and two walks.
The Saxons had just four hits, but did take
advantage of eight walks as best they could.
Steward walked twice. Aiden Morton, Jackson
Hayes, Zach Byle and Tibble had the four
Saxon singles. Tibble had his team’s lone RBI.
Hastings fell 7-1 to Unity Christian the its
second game of the day.
The Saxons had two hits against the Cru-
saders, singles by Aiden Benson and Tibble.
Hastings was back at it in the Interstate-Athletic Conference Tuesday afternoon, falling
21-5 and 17-1 at Harper Creek High School.
The two losses drop the Saxons to 0-8 in
the conference.
Diego Coipel had a single in the 21-
opener. Tibble drove in two runs and Coipel
and David Jiles both had an RBI.
Morton and Hayes were both 2 for 2 with
a pair of singles in game two.
Things don’t get much easier any time
soon. Hastings is supposed to host the Great-
er Lansing Activities Conference leaders
from Olivet for two games Friday, May 12,
and will be at home for two with Parma West-
ern Tuesday, May 16.HHS guys all in the 80’s as I-8 holds
18-hole event in Battle Creek
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Saxon varsity boys’ golf team scored a
fifth place finish at the Interstate-8 Athletic
Conference 18-hole jamboree hosted by
Harper Creek Wednesday, May 3, at Binder
Park Golf Course.
Lumen Christi held its spot atop the
league standings by winning with a score
of 314. The host Beavers were second with
a 328, followed by Jackson Northwest 332,
Parma Western 335, Hastings 343, Mar-shall 354, Coldwater 390 and Pennfield
441.
Junior Owen Carroll led the Saxon team
with an 83 and freshman Daniel Jensen was
right behind with an 84.
Jansen got off to a great start to his round,
firing a par on number 18 and then going just
one over through his first seven holes.
Carroll too had a strong start. He was one
over through six holes after starting on num-
ber one. He birdied the 325-yard, par-4 num-
ber five, sandwiching that between pars onnumber four and number six.
Hastings also got an 87 from senior Colin
Fouty and an 89 from junior Ryan VanDorp.
Fouty birdied number five too.
Lumen Christi senior Brendan Stevens
was the day’s top scorer. He shot a 76.
Harper Creek got a 78 from sophomore
Spencer Denney. Jackson Northwest junior
JJ Miller, Lumen Christi sophomores
Charlie Saunders and Adam Fuller and
Harper Creek sophomore Joey Mario each
scored a 79.Lions pull out two close ballgames with Lakewood
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Chanse Courtney struck out 13 in a com-
plete game shutout of the Lakewood varsity
baseball team as Maple Valley opened it’s
GLAC doubleheader with a 1-0 win over the
Vikings Thursday on Griswold Field at Roger
Corey Diamond in Vermontville.
And the Lions still had an ace in the hole.
Game one catcher Callan Hoefler and Car-
penter swapped positions, and Hoefler struck
out eight in six shutout innings and got the
win as the Lions beat the Vikings again in
game two, 3-1.
Maple Valley is now 4-2 in the Greater
Lansing Activities Conference and 14-4 over-
all, with the two conference blemishes a
couple of surprising losses to league foe Lan-
sing Christian. Union City and Schoolcraft
both bested the Lions in non-conference
ballgames Saturday.
Maple Valley’s Jimmy Wiggs led off the
bottom of the third inning of game one
against Lakewood with a line drive single
into centerfield. He stole second and eventu-
ally came around to score the game’s only run
on a ground ball to the right side by teammate
Noah Musser that the Vikings bobbled.
Maple Valley only had two other hits in the
ballgame: a double off the bat of Cam Car-
penter and a single by Jakeb MacDonald.
“These guys just buy in that they have got
to do the little things,” Maple Valley head
coach Bryan Carpenter said. “Last year, we
gave so many games away with mental mis-
takes and one play here and there. They have
really bought into ‘if we do things right we
win baseball games.’ We’re winning baseball
games because we do things right ... and we
have two really good pitchers.”
He said Courtney just dominated the strike
zone, as usual, in game one.
“He just attacks the zone, throws strikes,
throws hard and mixes up his pitchers. It is
Callan [Hoefler] too behind the plate. Callan
knows what to do and Chanse just shakes his
head ‘yes’ and good luck hitting it. Chanse is
the one throwing the ball, but that kid [Hoe-
fler] back there too. He is good at calling
games and running games.”
Lakewood ace Landon Makley matched
Courtney pitch for pitch. Courtney walked
one and allowed just three hits in seven
innings, but did hit three batters and had to
work out of trouble once or twice. Makley
struck out eight in his six innings while issu-
ing no walks.
Viking head coach Brad Tacey said the two
losses sting not only for the team, but for
Makley too. Game one was Makley’s second
consecutive start in which he took a loss
despite not giving up an earned run.
“It’s tough. He is out there just dealing,”
Tacey said. “It was the one error that we had
all day that led to the one run in the first
game. We played significantly better defense
today. The one thing we have done all season
long is hit the ball, and we didn’t do any of
that today.”
Makley, Walker Kliffman and Nate Wil-
lette had the three Lakewood hits.
Kliffman singled to lead off the top of the
second and then went to second on a ground
out, but Courtney struck out the next two
Vikings to get out of the inning unscathed.
A pair of strikeouts also got the Lions out
of a jam in the top of the fourth. Makley led
off the inning with a single and moved to
second when Brenden Straub was hit by a
pitch with one out. The two Vikings were on
second and third after a Lion error, but two
more K’s by Courtney got the Lion defense
off the field.
Willette led off the top of the seventh with
a single and stole second on the second pitch
to Brennen Lehman behind him. Lehman
reached base on a dropped third strike, but
Willette was thrown out at third trying to
advance when the ball hit the dirt making it a
man on first with one out instead of two on
and nobody out.
Courtney got a strike out and a ground out
to finish off the ball game without Lehman
ever getting to second.
Lakewood is now 8-12 overall this season
and 3-5 in the GLAC. Lakewood was swept
in its conference doubleheader with Olivet
Tuesday, May 9. The Vikings took two lop-
sided wins, 10-0 and 14-2, in mid-April over
the Lansing Christian team that won a pair
over the Lions the previous week.
Coach Carpenter said the doubleheader
with the Pilgrims was the one time this sea-
son that his guys came out flat and made a
few mistakes.
“It was a learning moment. We definitely
learned. We bounced back the next night
and took two from Dansville,” coach Car-
penter said.
A ground ball single through the left side
by Cam Carpenter got the Lion attack going
in the top of the first inning of game two
against Lakewood Thursday. Leadoff hitter
Ayden Wilkes walked, stole second, went to
third on a passed ball and eventually scored
on Carpenter’s two-out RBI hit.
That was nearly the only run the Lions
needed with game-two starter Hoefler deal-
ing. Hoefler gave up two hits and walked four.While Hoefler calls the games for Court-
ney, when Courtney is behind the plate the
Lions still leave the pitch mix up to Hoefler.
“He’s smart enough to know that, and to
buy in to what he wants,” coach Carpenter
said. “They work together. We don’t call any-
thing from the dugout. They call everything
during the game.”
MacDonald came on the earn the save for
the Lions in the seventh, but not without
things getting interesting.
Ashton Pfeifer opened the bottom of the
seventh for the Vikings with a single and
Willette was hit by a pitch to bring the tying
run to the plate. MacDonald got a strike out
and a foul pop-up to third base against the
Vikings’ 8-9 hitters. Lakewood lead-off hitter
Troy Acker popped a ball up that the Lion
second baseman couldn’t quite handle in
short right field, and Pfeifer scored from sec-
ond on the error.
Willette was stranded on second though
when Price popped a soft lime right back to
MacDonald.
The Lions tacked on a second run in the
top of the fourth inning of game two. Musser
worked a one-out walk, stole second and then
went to third on a wild pitch. He came across
to score on an RBI single on the infield by
Wilkes.
Wilkes stole second himself and then
scored from there on a two-out RBI single
down the left field line by Courtney.
Wilkes’ run was charged to the Viking
starter Kliffman. Ethan Guiles took over on
the mound after Wilkes took second there in
the fourth inning.
Kliffman gave up three runs on four hits
and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out
six.
Lakewood’s two hits off Hoefler were sin-
gles by Price and Makley.
The Vikings had a pair cut down on the base
paths in the bottom of the fifth. Willette led off
with a walk but was caught trying to steal sec-
ond by the catcher Courtney. Gabe Porter
reached behind Willette on a dropped third
strike. Porter stole second, but was gunned out
at third by Lion centerfielder Wilkes after a
pickoff throw got by second base moments
later. Seth Willette followed with a walk, but
Hoefler got out of it with a ground out.
There was more movement without results
on the base paths in the sixth for the Vikings.Price led off with a walk, stole second and
went to third on a ground out by Makley.
There he stood as Hoefler kept the shut out
intact with a pair of strike outs.
Guiles kept the Vikings in the game as the
night went on. He threw 3 2/3 scoreless
innings striking out four, walking two and
allowing a pair of singles. A pair of strikeouts
got him out of a two-on, one-out jam in the
top of the seventh.“He has been phenomenal all season long,”
Tacey said of his sophomore reliever Guiles.
“We brought up as a sophomore. He throws a
heavy ball and gets a lot of outs. He is definite-
ly a bright spot going forward. Even Walker
[Kliffman] pitched well. He gave up the one
run, and then we gave up the one run in the
inning there after he got pulled ... he pitched
great and we played phenomenal defense for
two games. We just didn’t hit the ball.”Beginning May 1, we are now
open 24/7!
Enjoying exercising before the sun comes up?
Work the 3-11 shift and want to lift weights before bed?
Our fitness center is now accessible 24/7.
Pennock Health & Wellness Center
915 West Green Street
Hastings, MI 49058Not a member? Call 269.948.3139.
24/7 new member enrollment fees waived in May.Maple Valley third baseman Noah Musser tags out Lakewood's Gabe Porter shy of the bag at third during the bottom of the fifth
inning of game two in Vermontville Thursday evening. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Maple Valley's Callan Hoefler pitches during the Lions game two victory over visiting
Lakewood in a GLAC doubleheader on Griswold Field at Roger Corey Diamond in
Vermontville Thursday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Maple Valley's Ayden Wilkes hits
rounds third and heads for home to score
a run during game two of the Lions'
GLAC sweep of visiting Lakewood
Thursday in Vermontville. (Photo by Brett
Bremer)