GRANDVILLE — North Muskegon’s 2023 baseball team has won a program-record 35 games for a reason.
When sophomores Carter Mieler and TJ Byard, who bat eighth and ninth in the lineup, respectively, deliver in the biggest game of the season to date, then that illustrates the depth of this Norsemen squad.
Mieler and Byard sparked North Muskegon to a 5-1 victory over host Grandville Calvin Christian in a Division 3 regional semifinal Wednesday afternoon. The triumph makes this Norse team the winningest in a season in program history.
Fifth-ranked North Muskegon (35-5-1) advances to face eighth-ranked Lansing Catholic (22-6) — a 4-2 winner over Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian Wednesday — in Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. regional final at Cornerstone University.
The North Muskegon/Lansing Catholic victor will play in Saturday’s 3 p.m. state quarterfinal at Cornerstone against the Chesaning/Watervliet winner.
Calvin Christian finishes with a 27-12 record, which Squires coach Brian Gritter believes to be a school record for victories in a season.
Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
Here are more details and stats from the North Muskegon-Calvin Christian game:
- Mieler, the starting second baseman, provided a big lift for the Norsemen. He went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs. He scored on senior Denny Belmonte’s sacrifice fly to center field in the third to tie the game at 1, then he gave the Norse the lead for good, 2-1, by scoring on Byard’s line single to right field in the fifth.
- Byard, a three-sport standout, was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.
- North Muskegon senior Troy McManus went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. The leadoff man’s hustle and speed on an infield chopper up the middle beat the throw to first and drove in senior Carsen Moat to give the Norse a 4-1 lead in the sixth.
- Moat finished 2-for-4 with a double. Between his individual performance and the team’s win, it was a great way to celebrate his 19th birthday.
- McManus, a left-hander, and junior right-hander Ryan Delora combined a pitch a gem. North Muskegon’s 1-2 punch on the hill combined to allow only four Calvin Christian hits with four strikeouts and one walk. They combined to throw 94 pitches, 64 of them strikes.
- McManus got the start and picked up the win, allowing a first-inning home run by Calvin Christian’s Charlie Zoet and finishing with three strikeouts and one walk.
- Delora surrendered no hits and struck out one in three innings of work. He also went 1-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.
- Belmonte finished 1-for-2 and he played flawlessly from his shortstop position.
- Senior John Caliendo scored a run for the Norse.
- Jake Versluis took the loss for Calvin Christian, allowing four runs (four earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
- This was the second victory this season for North Muskegon over Calvin Christian. The Norsemen defeated the Squires, 6-4, in a Saturday tournament on April 15.
- This will be North Muskegon’s first meeting with Lansing Catholic this season. Last year, Lansing Catholic edged Montague in the Division 3 regional finals at Davenport University, 6-5.
Photos by Laura Moat for CatchMark
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