The spring sports season in the MHSAA began roughly two weeks ago, and many ball clubs in our coverage area have started out hot on the diamond.
North Muskegon begins the year undefeated, with wins over Reeths-Puffer and two against Zeeland West. Montague, on the other hand, drops its first three games, though to very tough squads in West Ottawa and Forest Hills Eastern.
After a few cancellations last week and many on Wednesday due to rain, some teams were fortunate to take the field on April Fool’s Day. Below, we recap what went down in our coverage area on Tuesday.
North Muskegon wins two over Zeeland West 3-0, 5-3
Senior Jaxon Bean got the nod on the mound in game one. The righty tossed four innings and gave up four hits on zero earned runs while punching out five. Bean earned his first win of the season and also recorded a hit in the game. Flamethrower Logan Slimko went three innings of no-hit ball in relief, as well as striking out five. The scoring started in the third inning when Bronson Hurst hit an RBI single to right, scoring Kylan Nielsen. The next inning, the Norse would score on an error after Bryce Colbert hit a groundball back to the pitcher. Slimko hit a sac fly in the top of the 5th to extend the lead to three. In the bottom of the 7th, Slimko slammed the door on Dux with three quick outs.
North Muskegon also took the nightcap game 5-3, with Nielsen being the winning pitcher as the starter. Pitching through three innings, Nielsen was able to breeze by Zeeland West without much trouble, allowing just one earned run as he struck out five. The other two runs were unearned, as they both came in the bottom of the third. In the top of the second, Bean pulled a hard ground ball through the left side of the infield, which scored Hurst. Trailing 3-1 in the 5th, the Norse had left many men on base previously in the game, which made Hurst’s at-bat with the bases loaded very important in the late stages of the game. Hurst was able to piece up a pitch on the outer half and drove it deep to centerfield, which resulted in a three-RBI triple and a 4-3 North Muskegon lead. With the night skies in sight, it was do or die for ZW in the bottom half of the fifth. Slimko took the ball out of the bullpen to try and seal the game, and he did, striking out the side on 14 pitches and closed out the third win of the season for North Muskegon.
Reeths-Puffer over Oakridge 5-2
The Eagles traveled no less than 10 minutes north to Reeths-Puffer for a single game in hopes of keeping their 2-0 record perfect. Unfortunately for them, led by a solid pitching performance by Jack Yonkman, Reeths-Puffer came away with a 5-2 non-conference victory. The Eagles were knocking on the door early as they put the Rockets in a bases-loaded, no-out jam to start the game. Yonkman, who started the game on the bump for RP, kept composure and worked around the Eagles’ meat of the order to keep it scoreless after one. Oakridge was threatening once again in the 2nd as they had two on and two out with third baseman Chase Dutton at the dish. Dutton hit a hard ground ball to the left side and was able to reach on an error that also scored Zach Cribbins, who walked earlier in the inning.
The third and the top half of the fourth were stale for both offenses as Michael Wambaugh and Yonkman continued the pitcher’s duel. In the bottom half of the 4th, Reeths-Puffer’s Brenden Guikema scorched a 2-out, 2-RBI double that gave the Rockets the lead. It wasn’t until the 6th inning that the Eagles would tie the game back up. Dylan Cunningham and Oakridge played a little small ball to load the bases. On a passed ball after a strikeout, Wambaugh scored from third to tie it. Luckily, a bunt by the Eagles backfired, as RP was able to turn a double play and end the inning with minimal damage done.
The bottom of the sixth was a complete disaster for the Eagles when they gave up three runs while only allowing one hit in the process. Dylan Brooks came on in the 5th inning for the Rockets and worked through the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings, allowing just one hit and no runs. Reeths-Puffer moves to 2-0, and Oakridge slips to 2-1.
Montague loses two against Forest Hills Eastern 10-0, 9-0
The Wildcats were shut out in both games of the doubleheader on Tuesday against a tough FHE squad. Senior Ryver Jarka took the ball to start the first game and went two innings, giving up eight runs (3 ER) before being relieved in the 3rd by Conner McKeown. Montague tallied just three hits by Bryton Bellinger, Fletcher Thommen, and Cole Herremans, who each collected one apiece.
After making three errors in game one, the Wildcats cleaned up a little better defensively in game two, with all the runs given up being ER. Jarka had the only hit for Montague in the nightcap and also added a walk to his line. Junior Eli Peterson started the game and went four innings, giving up six hits on four ER and struck out six.
Spring Lake adds doubleheader sweep to its resume with wins over Sparta
A high-powered Spring Lake lineup recorded 14 hits across both games in the 11-0 and 6-1 sweep. Maddux Kipling started the game on the rubber for the Lakers and pitched a scoreless first inning frame with three weak contact outs. After two walks and a pop out in the bottom of the first, Max Feltner smoked a double in the blades of the center field grass and gave the Lakers an early 2-0 lead. In the third, Jaden Core and Owen Smies hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Then came a plethora of walks that marked four in a row, including two for runs. The Lakers added three more soon after and would lead 8-0 after three. A walk and a Reid Grimmer single in the fourth put them up ten runs, which resulted in a mercy rule win after Core came on in the top of the 5th to close out an 11-0 victory.
In the nightcap, Spring Lake earned another win, led by Smies’s two-run homer in the fourth inning. Sparta was able to score a run off Ryan Grimm in the first but was stalled out after that for the remaining six innings of the game. Smies ended the night with four ribbies and two hits. Grimmer also collected an RBI on a single to right field in the 4th. Grimm’s final line consisted of six innings with just two hits given up, one earned run, and four strikeouts. With the win, Spring Lake advances to 4-1 on the season.
Other Notable Scores
Hudsonville 10 – Mona Shores 1
Fruitport 19 – Kelloggsville – 0
Fruitport 18 – Kelloggsville – 0
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