Page 12 — Thursday, May 27, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Lions make good use of fancy new scoreboard
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Maple Valley varsity baseball team
kept its new scoreboard busy during the annu-
al Ken Beardslee Wooden Bat Tournament at
Griswold Field at Roger Corey Diamond in
Vermontville Saturday.
The Lions scored 13-3 and 12-1 wins in
five-inning contests against the visiting
Potterville boys after a ceremony to dedicate
the new scoreboard and honor long-time base-
ball facilities caretaker Roger Corey. Funds
for the new scoreboard were donated by the
families of Sid and Sarah (Hansen) Kenyon
and Harry and Susie (Hansen) Moore in mem-
ory of Harold and Molly Hansen and their
son, Chris Hansen.
A sign honoring that fact will hang on the
back of the press box at the diamond. The sign
reads, “Harold and Molly were committed to
education and to the students of this commu-
nity. Chris (Class of ‘73) played baseball for
Maple Valley and with his parents shared a
love of this sport and the commitment to
make a difference.”
Hansen passed away last June at the age of
- Sarah Kenyon and Susie Moore are his
sisters. Hansen’s nephew, Nate Moore, helped
spur the project.
“My uncle [Chris] passed away last spring,
and because of Covid we didn’t really get a
chance to say goodbye - like everyone else,”
Nate said. “He passed away in the hospital.
We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. There
wasn’t a funeral, because of Covid. Almost a
year ago, I was trying to find a way to honor
his memory. He was an important part of my
life and there were a bunch of organizations I
thought off.”
It didn’t take long for Nate to turn his
thoughts to Maple Valley and he soon foundthe Maple Valley Athletic Boosters and got in
contact with Tal Gearhart. Nate planned to
make a small donation.
“I really thought it was going to be enough
for some bats and some baseball,” Nate said.
“I thought it might just be me. I wanted a way
to feel good. I wanted to honor my uncle and
know that his time on this planet is valuable
and had meaning. Tal and I exchanged a cou-
ple emails and I reached out to my sister who
lives in Indiana and my parents and my aunt
and uncle. It went from a few bats and balls to
a new scoreboard and a batting cage, and like-
ly there will be some leftover for the dug-
outs.”
The scoreboard was hung the Sunday
before the tournament, electricity was run to
the board Tuesday and it was fired up
Wednesday according to Maple Valley High
School athletic director Landon Wilkes.
Concrete is poured and posts are in for the
batting cages already. The Moore and Hansen
families were happy to share the day as a cel-
ebration of Roger Corey as well.
Wilkes and others shared stories of how
often times opposing teams will ask to play a
ballgame in Vermontville rather than host the
Lions at their own field just to get the chance
to play on the pristine turf with true hopsacross the infield.
The Lions took advantage of their time on
the field Saturday. They scored seven runs in
the top of the first inning of game one with the
Vikings and went on to a 13-3 win. Blaze
Sensiba was 2-for-2 with a double and two
RBI in that game one win. James Wiser had
two singles and two RBI. The Lions also got
two RBI from Chanse Courtney and Lane
Morris in game one. Morris scored two runs,
as did Camden Carpenter and David Hosack-
Frizzell.
Morris, Nick Osborne, Courtney, Carpenter
and Hosack-Frizzell had one hit each.
On the mound, Hosack-Frizzell got the
win, he shut out the Vikings for three innings,
striking out three and walking two while giv-
ing up just two hits. Carpenter came on for
two innings of relief, giving up three runs
(one earned) on two hits and a walk. He struck
out one.
Morris scored the first run on the new
scoreboard. He reached on an error to lead off
the bottom of the first inning and moved to
third as Wiser and Gregg Richardson walked
behind him. Morris came into score on a
ground ball to shortstop by Osborne. Courtney
followed with a two-run double into center
field and the rout was on.The Lions scored later in game two, tally-
ing five runs in the bottom of the third to snap
a 1-1 tie and then putting six on the board in
the fourth.
The Lions outhit the Vikings 10-0 in game
two with Osborne and Richardson tossing the
combined no-hitter. Osborne struck out four
in three innings, walking two and allowing
one unearned run. Richardson struck out five
and walked one in two innings.
At the plate, Richardson was 3-for-3 in
game two with two RBI and three runs scored.
He had a single, a double and a triple in his
three at-bats.
Blaze Sensiba singled, doubled and scored
twice for the Lions, driving in one run.
Morris, Callan Hoefler, Osborne, Carpenter
and Connor Wood also had hit in game two.
Hoefler had two RBI and Osborne, Carpenter
and Kamden Cruz had one each.
The Lions returned to Greater Lansing
Activities Conference action at Perry Monday,
splitting two with the Ramblers. The Lions
took game one 8-2 then fell 6-4 in game two.
The two teams were set to complete their
three-game set Wednesday (May 26) in
Vermontville.TK baseball drops two one-run
ballgames at Forest Hills Eastern
Forest Hills Eastern scored a pair of one-
run OK Gold Conference wins over the visit-
ing Thornapple Kellogg varsity baseball team
Monday in Ada.
The Hawks scored six times in the bottom
of the seventh inning of game one to wipe out
a 7-2 Trojan lead and earn the walk-off win. A
walk, a couple doubles, a couple hit batters
and a couple errors doomed the Trojans in the
seventh. Ryan Przybysz knocked a ground
ball through the right side with the bases load-
ed to score teammates Carson Jelsema and
Brayden Stratbucker.
The Hawks then took game two 4-3.
TK had ten hits in game one, including a
3-for-3 performance from Alex Bonnema who
tripled, drove in two runs and scored twice.
Nolan Dahley and Levi VanderHeide were
both 2-for-4 at the plate for TK in game one.
Dahley had an RBI. VanderHeide drove in
two and scored a run. Carsen Burbridge dou-
bled, and so did VanderHeide and Dahley.
Reese Garbrecht singled in the lead-off spot
for TK, drove in a run and scored once.
VanderHeide started and took the loss. He
struck out one and walked one in 6.2 inningswhile allowing eight runs on eight hits. Just
three of the runs against him were earned.
TK scored one run in the top of he seventh
of game two to get within a run, and had the
bases loaded with one out but the Hawks
ended the evening by getting a double play
ball to short.
Eric Dipert was 2-for-3 with a double, an
RBI and a run scored for TK in game two.
Bonnema doubled and scored a run. TK also
got singles from Carter Stahl, Kaiden Pratt
and Sam McKeown. McKeown and Garbrecht
each had an RBI.
Garbrecht pitched game two for TK and
allowed the Hawks just two earned runs on
five hits and three walks in six innings. He
struck out three and was charged with two
unearned runs as well.
South Christian finished off a three-game
sweep of its series with the Trojans by scoring
a 9-1 win in Middleville last Friday.
VanderHeide was 2-for-2 with a walk in that
ballgame. Pratt, Cameron Fain and Dipert had
the other three TK hits. Fain had an RBI, with
Stahl scoring TK’s lone run.DK boys finish SAC season
on tough South Haven course
The Delton Kellogg varsity boys’ golf team
closed the 2021 regular season a the
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship Tournament hosted by Beaches
Golf Course in South Haven Thursday.
DK head coach Jim Hogoboom said
Beaches is “a very challenging track, particu-
larly for kids who are new to the game of
golf.”
Kalamazoo Christian took the day’s cham-pionship. Hackett Catholic Prep’s Tommy
Keyt was the day’s individual medalist, shoot-
ing a 73.
DK scored a 459 as a team.
Hogoboom said each one of his guys felt
like they had their roughest round of the year,
and the tough course had a lot to do with that.
The Panthers go back to South Haven for their
Division 3 Regional Tournament June 2, play-
ing 18 at Hawkshead.The Lions’ Nick Osborne pulls the ball to the left side during an at-bat in game one
against Potterville Saturday in Vermontville. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Maple Valley varsity baseball coach Bryan Carpenter starts his way down the line
thanking Nate Moore and the rest of those who helped contribute to the new
scoreboard and batting cage at the Lions’ Griswold Field at Roger Corey Diamond in
Vermontville Saturday during the program’s annual Ken Beardslee Memorial Wooden
Bat Tournament. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Camden Carpenter pitches for Maple Valley during game one of the Lions
doubleheader against Potterville in the annual Ken Beardslee Memorial Wooden Bat
Tournament on Griswold Field at Roger Corey Diamond Saturday morning. (Photo by
Brett Bremer)Keep your friends and relatives informed
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