THE HASTINGS
Thursday, May 18, 2023GLAC baseball title eludes Lions as
Olivet takes two to clinch league
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Lions won the first Greater Lansing
Activities Conference baseball champion-
ship, but couldn’t upend Olivet to win a
share of the last one.
Olivet swept its GLAC doubleheader
with the visiting Maple Valley varsity base-
ball team Tuesday taking 13-3 and 11-
wins. The Eagles close out a perfect 12-
GLAC season.
The Lions fall to 6-4 in conference play
this spring and will close out their time in
the GLAC with two ballgames against
Stockbridge in Vermontville Tuesday, after
hosting their annual Ken Beardless Invita-
tional Saturday, May 20.
Lion ace Chanse Courtney took the loss
in game one, the 13-3 defeat against the
Eagles, Tuesday. He allowed ten runs, but
only four of them were earned. The Eagles
scored eight unearned runs in all during
the ballgame with the aid of ten Maple
Valley errors.
Courtney gave up nine hits and didn’t
walk a batter. Jakeb McDonald threw the
final 2 1/3 innings of relief allowing one
earned run on two hits and two walks. He
struck out two.
Cam Carpenter hit a two-run home run
for the Lions in the top of the first inning,
but the Eagles answered with eight runs inthe bottom half of the inning to take con-
trol.
Ramsey Bousseau went the distance on
the mound for the Eagles. He allowed three
unearned runs on six hits. He didn’t walk a
batter and struck out nine.
Olivet had 14 hits in the 11-1 win in
game two. Carpenter was 2 for 2 at the
plate with a double and an RBI and the
other Lion hit was a single by Ayden Wil-
kes. Carpenter also threw a scoreless
inning of relief behind starter Callan Hoe-
fler who was charged with 11 runs on 13
hits and no walks. He struck out one. The
Eagles scored three unearned runs off the
Lions’ starter.
Lalo Aguirre was the wining pitcher for
the Eagles. In five innings he allowed one
earned run on three hits and zero walks. He
struck out eight.
Sweeping the Eagles and Stockbridge
teams in the final two GLAC doublehead-
ers would have put the Lions even with the
Eagles at the top of the conference stand-
ings and earned Maple Valley its first con-
ference title in any sport in the GLAC since
that 2015 baseball championship.
The Lions got conference wins five and
six last Wednesday, May 10, at Perry. They
took a 5-1 win in the opener and then won
game two 11-1 in five innings.
Courtney got the win on the mound ingame one against the Ramblers Wednesday.
He struck out 11 in seven innings while
giving up two hits. He didn’t walk a batter.
Perry’s one run was an unearned run in the
bottom of the sixth inning.
The Lion offense had seven hits includ-
ing a 3 for 4 performance from leadoff hit-
ter Wilkes. He scored three of his team’s
five runs. Hoefler was 2 for 3 in the number
two spot behind him and drove in two runs.
Courtney, batting third, was 1 for 2 with a
pair of RBI’s.
The Maple Valley offense also got a sin-
gle and a run from Andrew Sheperd. Noah
Musser walked and scored a run.
In game two, The Lions scored four runs
in the bottom of the first inning and then
seven in the bottom of the fourth to push
themselves to the ten-run victory.
Hoefler went five innings on the mound
striking out eight and walking two. He gave
up one unearned run on three hits.
Musser doubled and scored a run. Car-
penter was 2 for 2 with a walks, two RBI’s
and two runs scored. Hoefler, McDonald,
Jesse Deppe and Jimmy Wiggs each had a
single. Hoefler scored two runs. McDonald
and Sheperd drove in one run each and
Wiggs had two RBI’s.
The Lions had seven walks to go along
with their seven hits. Perry made five errors
helping the Lions score five unearned runs.Panthers wrap up SAC Central Championship
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Delton Kellogg varsity softball team
concluded an 8-0 season in the Southwestern
Athletic Conference Central Division with a
sweep of its doubleheader against visiting
Saugatuck Monday.
The Panthers pulled out a 9-7 win in the
opener and then took game two against the
Trailblazers 21-4.
A five-run second inning got the DK girls
going in the opener. Cadence Johnson had an
RBI single, Kasey Kapteyn hit an inside the
park home run to right field, and Paige Thom-
as hit an inside the park home run to center
field that plated three runs in the surge.
Abby Fichtner doubled and scored on
Thomas’ home run.
Thomas was 2 for 4 in the ballgame with
three RBI’s and two runs scored. Kapteyn
was 2 for 3 with a run and four RBI’s. Alli
Brandli also had a single in the win and Jor-
dan Lyons was 2 for 3.
Mya Brickley got the pitching win. She
gave up four earned runs in seven innings on
nine hits and four walks. She struck out six.
Delton Kellogg scored its 21 runs on nine
hits in game two, getting the help of four
Saugatuck errors and nine walks. Eight dif-
ferent girls recorded a hit Fichtner, Thomas,Brickley, Allie Trantham, Abbi Wooden,
Brandli and Johnson had one each. Jordan
Lyons was 2 for 3 with five RBI’s and 3 runs
scored to lead the way. Thomas had four
more RBI’s. Teammate Massey Wiessner had
two RBI’s.
Stoneburner got the three-inning victory in
the circle. She didn’t allow an earned run.
She walked one and gave up one hit while
striking out three.
The Panthers challenged themselves head-
ing into the final SAC Central doubleheader.
They went 2-1 at the Lakewood Invitational
Saturday after splitting ballgames with Hop-
kins and Traverse City St. Francis Friday in
Delton.
Hopkins took a 4-3 win over the DK girls
to open play Friday and then the Panthers
beat the Traverse City St. Francis girls 11-8 in
the nightcap.
The Delton Kellogg girls were bested 4-
by Central Montcalm to open play at Lake-
wood Saturday, then defeated Lakewood
10-5 and Traverse City St. Francis 12-3. St.
Francis went into the weekend ranked sev-
enth in the state in Division 3, while the DK
girls were among the teams in the honorable
mention D3 rankings.
Fichtner and Trantham both homered in the
12-3 win over St. Francis Saturday. Fichtnerwas 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBI’s.
She also tripled in the ballgame.
Trantham was 2 for 4 with three RBI’s and
two runs scored. Thomas doubled and drove
in two runs, and also got the pitching victory
in the five-inning ballgame.
Brandli and Jordan Lions hit home runs
as the Panthers took a 10-5 win over Lake-
wood Saturday. Lyons had three RBI’s and
Brandli two. Kapteyn went 2 for 3 in that
win.
In the one-run loss to Central Montcalm,
Hornet pitcher Alyssa Johnson held the
Delton Kellogg girls in check. She allowed
just one hit and one walk while striking out
three. All three Delton Kellogg runs were
unearned.
A double by Fichtner was Delton Kellogg’s
only hit. She had an RBI and scored a run.
She was 1 for 2 in the five-inning ballgame,
and walked once.
The Hornets and Panthers were tied 2-
after one inning. Central Montcalm added
two runs in the top of the fifth inning, and
fought off the Panthers comeback bid holding
them to one run in the bottom half of the fifth.
The Delton Kellogg girls go to Pennfield
for two ballgames this afternoon and will be
at Watervliet for a SAC 3-Team Tournament
Saturday.Eagles sweep Algoma
Christian for GL
regular season title
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Barry County Christian varsity base-
ball team clinched the Great Lakes 6 regular
season championship with a sweep of visiting
Algoma Christian Thursday in Hastings.
The Eagles took game one 10-2 and fol-
lowed that up with a 9-0 win in the nightcap.
The Eagles are now 18-5-1 overall this sea-
son and the two wins move them to 11-1 in
conference play this season. Barry County
Christian will host the Great Lakes 6 Tourna-
ment June 3.
“We played pretty good. We have been
playing real good here lately. I think we’re on
a 12-game streak. It has been fun,” Barry
County Christian head coach Brandon Strong.
“We have probably implemented our
offense to its fullest extent. We’re playing at
a pretty high level offensively, and we have
mixed in our small ball approach ... we’re
deadly when we get guys on base. When we
get guys on base it’s just a matter of scoring
them and getting them around.”
Isaiah Birmingham got the win in the
five-inning opener for Barry County Chris-
tian Thursday. He struck out ten, walked four
and gave up just one single. Josiah Grzy-
bowski threw a scoreless, hitless inning of
relief to close things out.
The Eagles opened the doubleheader by
scoring eight runs in the bottom of the first
inning. They’d finish the ballgame with nine
hits.
Ryan Kammenzind was 2 for 3 with an
RBI and two runs scored. He had a double.
Joe Wise was 2 for 3 with a pair of singles
and three RBI’s. Wyatt Stone tripled and
drove in a run and Jonathan Hawkes had a
double and two RBI’s.
The Eagles also got hits from Dustin Lam-
part, Nathan Loerop and Birmingham. Lam-
part had an RBI and so did Teegen Whitmire.
Grant VanderWoude and Hawkes teamed
up to fire the five-inning shut out in game two
from the mound for the Eagles. VanderWoude
started and got the win. He struck out four
and allowed four hits in four innings. Hawkes
gave up one hit and one walk in a scoreless
inning of relief.
“Our pitching depth has been big,” Strong
said. “The ability to throw nine guys. Isaiah
Birmingham is becoming the pitcher we
expected him to be. It has taken a little bit of
time. His ERA is 0.55. He has only given up
three earned runs on the season. He has just
gotten better.
“Grant VanderWoude has been outstanding
as well, pitching. He is a young kid we
thought would get some relief time and now
he’s starting to slot in 2 or 3 in the rotation.
Grant has been an absolute animal.”
The Barry County Christian team had six
hits in game two against Algoma Christian.
Whitmire was 2 for 3 with an RBI. Birming-
ham, Stone and Grzybowski each singled
once. Loerop had a double and an RBI. Van-
derWoude drove in a run too.
“It took most of April to get the kids to gel
together,” Strong said. “Once we found that,
then it turned into just play baseball. That
went pretty well. I can’t say enough about
some of the plate discipline and execution at
the plate.”
He has also been thrilled with his outfield
defense, which has helped boost the confi-
dence of his team’s young infield a bit.
The pitching staff and infield defense con-
tinues to benefit from its leader behind the
plate, senior catcher Wise.
“Joe Wise is playing the way you’d expect
a guy who is playing at a college level to play.
I have given him a lot more authority in man-
aging in-game decisions, probably more than
anyone else in 20 years of coaching,” Strong
said. “He has responded exceptionally well. I
have a high level of expectation for Joe and
he seems to want to meet that expectation
every time he is on the field. It is crucial to
have a good catcher. He has been our unoffi-
cial captain and unofficial leader I guess. He
is playing both sides of the baseball. He is
playing offense. He is playing defense. He
has caught every inning this year.”
The Eagles followed up the conference
championship performance by winning their
own Eagles Classic Baseball Invitational Sat-
urday by outscoring Godwin Heights 15-
and then the Lapeer Lakers Homeschool team
5-4.
Hawkes tossed a three-inning shut out
against Godwin. He struck out four, walked
two and gave up two hits.
The Eagles had eight hits including a dou-
ble from Birmingham. He drove in three runs
and scored three runs. Whitmire was 2 for 2
with three runs and an RBI to go with a walk.
Stone had a hit and drove in three runs.
Hawkes had two RBI’s.
Wise knocked an RBI double with two on
and two out in the bottom of the sixth to give
the Eagles the victory in the tournament
championship game over the Lapeer Lakers.
The Eagles led the ballgame 4-0 after scor-
ing four runs in the home half of the second.
Lapeer tied the ballgame with four unearned
runs in the top of the fifth.
Wise’s RBI hit was the third double of the
ballgame for the Eagles. Birmingham and
VanderWoude both drilled one. Lampart was
2 for 3 at the plate with an RBI and two runsThe Delton Kellogg varsity softball team celebrates its 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference Central Division Championship
after sweeping its doubleheader with visiting Saugatuck Monday. The Panthers were a perfect 8-0 in conference play this season.
Team members are (from left) Abby Fichtner, Alli Brandli, Lizzy Stoneburner, Abbi Wooten, Kasey Kapteyn Allie Trantham, Jordan
Lyons, Mya Brickley, Maysse Wiessner, Paige Thomas, Cadence Johnson, manager Olivia Post and (back) coaches Fred Brickley
and Jesse Lyons.The Barry County Christian varsity baseball team celebrates its Great Lakes 6
Regular Season Championship after outscoring Algoma Christian in a pair of ball-
games at Barry County Christian School Thursday in Hastings. The Eagles were 11-
in conference play this spring. They will host the GL6 Tournament June 3.
See EAGLES, page 10