BIRMINGHAM – North Farmington’s boys hoops team began its summer with a similar end-of-game scenario to many of the ones that defined its record last winter.

The Raiders played their first game together at Groves High School on Monday evening and defended on the final possession to pick up a 31-29 win over River Rouge.

“We were a lot better defensively the second half,” said North Farmington JV head coach Pete Mantyla, who has been with the school in some capacity for over three decades.

Mantyla was pleased with the way his team — which, sans a player missing with an injury, featured a majority of guys who played big roles last year and will do so again going forward — locked it down in man-to-man as the game wore on.

From a results standpoint, the Raiders early on this past year looked the part of a team that had lost a majority of their talent from the one prior when they ran to the D1 title game against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

But the reality was better than the standings indicated. Their first four losses were all by one possession, not a big surprise from a team that lacked the on-court reps.

“We weren’t finishing out games,” said Raiders forward Connor Brown, who was a sophomore last year. “We were practicing as much as we could. We just weren’t prepared for those scenarios. When we got to them we didn’t know what to do.

“The more we played in games through the season and saw the ending of games, we learned and adapted and were able to finish them out.”

Though he made note of a disappointing loss to rival Farmington in districts, North Farmington went 7-3 in its final 10 games of the regular season, including wins over Clarkston, Avondale and Rochester Adams. Its three losses over that span, including a 55-54 defeat at Groves, came by a combined six points. But three of the victories in the final stretch were secured by a single point, too, indicating the team had show an ability to pull out some of the close ones as well.

Brown, a 6-foot-5 forward who plays his AAU ball with D Rice Elite, is a key piece for the Raiders going forward along with sophomore TJ Wauldron, who has played a lot off-ball but should be a primary ball-handler looking ahead, pairing with seniors Quran Creary and Brendyn Favors.

Beyond them, “It’s a matter of getting the young guys some experience this summer so they’re ready to contribute and fill out those next three or four spots,” Mantyla said.

Games like Monday’s and Wednesday’s game at Groves against Warren Lincoln will prepare North Farmington to better handle pressure next season, when the Raiders will be a little more tested and experienced in their chase for an OAA Red league title. If that late push last year that allowed them to finish third was any indication, they’ll be in the hunt.

“I’m really excited,” Brown said. “I feel like we’re gonna be really good this (coming) year. We’re putting in the work and building experience and coaching up the younger guys to come up and be ready.”

Referencing himself and his three aforementioned returning teammates, Brown added, “I think we’re all gonna have really good summers. We’ve been in the gym together all the time and we’ve got a core group just like two years ago where it’s the four of us. Nothing can break us. We’ll be ready.”

Saline scored a run in four of the first five innings and South Lyon was not able to keep pace as the Lions fell 5-2 in the Division 1 championship Saturday, June 14, 2025 in East Lansing.

EAST LANSING – The hits were there for South Lyon, but Saline’s Abigail Curtis scattered the damage well enough to deny the Lions on Saturday afternoon as the Hornets claimed the D1 state championship with a 5-2 win at Secchi Stadium.

South Lyon junior Havanna Bissett allowed just three more hits than her counterpart, but Curtis paired 13 strikeouts with her seven hits allowed to give the Hornets their first state title in program history.

“There’s so many great softball teams in the state of Michigan, oh my gosh, softball is so strong,” said Saline head coach Becca Suiter, who talked about going next door with her team afterward to support the Hornets’ girls soccer team that was also playing for a D1 title Saturday. “For our community, we’re so happy to be able to do this … It’s just outstanding for female athletics for Saline, and just our community, so we’re really happy we could do this today.”

Shortstop Casey Griffin, who finished 3-for-3, started the game for Saline with a single, and two batters later catcher Sydney Hastings also singled before Gracelyn Waldrop drove in Griffin to immediately put Saline up, 1-0.

That initial lead was short-lived. Also a force from the leadoff spot, Rylee Miller got it kicked off at the plate for the Lions with a single, then Avery Bourlier singled up the right side to put runners at the corners until Isabella Bracali’s bouncer to third allowed Miller to beat a throw to home, as well as the tag, tying the game.

Unfortunately for South Lyon, Saline would pull back ahead in the top of the second when Ava Stripp sent one over the fence in left field by several yards for a solo shot, beginning a chase by the Lions to tie it again or take a lead that didn’t cease until the final out.

There was no big inning for the Hornets, rather just adding to the lead one run at a time. Waldrop’s sacrifice allowed Hastings to score and make it 3-1 in the third, then the Hornets extended the lead to three in the top of the fifth when a two-out single by Madison Bellus into left scored Hastings.

Saline tacked on its final run of the day when Griffin’s single was shot over the glove of a leaping Izzy Nooe at shortstop to score Elizabeth Onyskin in the top of the sixth.

Bracali sent one into the gap in left-center field for a double in the bottom of the sixth, then Glowacki doubled up the middle to drive her in for the Lions’ final run.

Glowacki would advance to third on a wild pitch in the sixth. It was one of four innings that ended with a runner a base short of home for the Lions.

“We just couldn’t take advantage of the runners in scoring position and cash them in,” South Lyon head coach Jerry Shippe said. “We’ve worked on it a lot, we just couldn’t get the clutch hit when we needed to. Hats off to Saline. They hit the ball hard. They’re a really good team. They deserve it. We just couldn’t get that timely hit when we needed to and sometimes it catches up to you.”

A portion of the success for Curtis in limiting South Lyon and the teams that came before — the Hornets (40-3-2) allowed 10 runs over their seven playoff games — can be attributed to an increased reliance on her changeup.

“I kind of picked up that I think they were prepared for her rise ball when we were watching film,” Suiter said. “So I told (Abigail) today, ‘Okay, let’s try a different pitch.’ And she has really great off-speed a lot of people don’t know about, so after that first inning I had a good feeling if we could mix speeds and keep them off-balance, we’re going to be in good shape.”

Photos of South Lyon vs. Saline in a D1 softball state championship

Most wouldn't have picked South Lyon to get a stage past their semifinal finish last spring after graduating Ava Bradshaw, but Bissett's ability to help fill into her shoes and the effort of her teammates allowed the Lions to get out of a region that included top-ranked Mercy and beat a pair of top-10 teams in Northville and Walled Lake Northern to reach Saturday's final.

"I mean, I'm proud," said Shippe, an assistant coach for last year's side. "I'm sitting here, I'm emotional, choked up. I love these kids. It means a lot for the kids who have been here four years, the ones who are still in the program, and it means a lot to everybody who's going to be in this program to see the work they put in and the never-give-up attitude."

Miller, a freshman, finished 3-for-4 to lead South Lyon (33-8) at the plate in the loss. The Lions will graduate a handful from this year's team, but return Miller and Bissett, among others.

Asked how it felt to return to East Lansing again this spring, Nooe, one of those seniors, responded, "It means a lot, especially with this team. We didn't really have any expectations this year and we were just playing for each other. To make it this far, it just feels good knowing that you went as far as you could in your last year, and playing with these girls, it means everything to me."

NOVI – Calling South Lyon starting pitcher Havanna Bissett’s circumstances in the fifth inning of Saturday’s regional championship against Northville a high-leverage situation might have been an understatement.

An error coupled with several singles put the go-ahead runner on first for the Mustangs, who trailed just 2-0 at the time, and getting out of it all unscathed at the time seemed like a dream scenario.

But that dream became a reality. Bissett, aided by a few spectacular plays throughout by her teammates, never allowed a run, and the Lions dispatched Northville 3-0 to claim the regional title at Novi High School.

The Lions were already fortunate to get the first out of that fifth inning when a Northville player advanced too far past second and couldn’t make it back in time, but a single after that followed by a laser hit by Kennedi Adams that clipped off South Lyon shortstop Izzy Nooe’s glove juiced the bases for the Mustangs.

It’s no wonder then with jams like those that Bissett, who got a line out followed by a strikeout swinging to escape that particular one, was “very relieved” when her duties in the circle for the day had concluded. 

“I’m just saying to throw strikes,” Bissett said of her thoughts going back to that fifth frame. “I have to trust my defense. I really couldn’t do it without them, and my catcher (Mady Ferstenau) really helped me out.”

Make no mistake, Bissett helped herself, too, allowing six hits in the seven-inning effort — her second of the afternoon — but the Lions’ defensive effort was integral to keeping their hopes of returning to East Lansing alive.

There were several nice highlights, among them Furstenau gunning a runner out at second in the third inning, or Maggie Badrak backtracking to make a catch in center the play after that. The clear one, though, was a diving effort by Nooe on a ball hit by Jocelyn Burns to shallow left where the ball popped out of Nooe’s glove as she hit the ground, but she was able to trap the ball with her right arm as her body nearly folded over itself to secure the out for what would be another scoreless Northville inning.

“That was insane,” said Nooe, who had an inside-the-park home run the second at-bat of the game and finished 4-for-4 at the plate. “I didn’t know where my left fielder was, but I was feeling it out. I just went for it, then I had to transfer it to my other hand to keep it up. It was crazy.”

South Lyon’s collective heart rate elevated again when, after Bissett recorded consecutive outs to begin the bottom of the seventh, Adams singled between a pair of walks that gave Northville a chance to win it with one swing, but a hard one-hopper back to Bissett and a throw over to first triggered the Lions’ victory and celebration around the circle.

The celebration would be short-lived: South Lyon’s seniors had another hats-off celebration to attend — their graduation — at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, which was slated to begin at 4 p.m., or exactly 30 minutes before the final out.

“It happened last year, too, but with a little different situation,” Lions head coach Jerry Shippe said. “Graduation was in the middle of the regional and we had the early game, so the girls left to graduate, then came back for the regional. It was a little different this year where they had to get out of here real quick, but it makes it more satisfying when you can bring a trophy to graduation ceremony.”

Following Nooe’s four-bagger in the first, the Lions (30-7) had to wait until the top of the fifth before adding to their lead. Ryle Miller doubled, then Nooe dropped a bunt to put runners at the corners, and a sacrifice grounder by Avery Bourlier scored Miller. Despite back-to-back bunt singles by Miller and Nooe that led off the top of the seventh, the Lions’ only run to came out of that inning was from an RBI double by Isabella Bracali.

Bissett spun a two-hitter and struck out nine in South Lyon’s regional semifinal just before that, a 6-1 victory over Bloomfield Hills. Nooe finished 2-for-3 in that one and the tandem of Bracali and Ella Glowacki both drove in a pair of runs.

Anna Carlson and Caroline King had the hits in the loss for the Black Hawks (23-15), who beat Groves 14-6 in a district championship that included a three-run homer by Avery Howland.

“Last year we had four senior graduate, and this year we have six, and all six made all-district,” Bloomfield Hills head coach Phil Appel said. “Like I just said to them, I’m like, all you guys have to do is watch how (the seniors) played this year and we’ll be fine next year. Because if they learned anything from them, it’ll be a great shot. They were amazing seniors.”

Like Bissett, Northville’s Mary Gugala also tossed two complete games on Saturday. The first resulted in the Mustangs’ 1-0 upset of top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy.

Photo gallery of South Lyon vs. Northville in a D1 softball regional championship

McKenzie Stevens tripled to lead off the third against the Marlins (28-3) and later was walked in to score the lone run, which in itself has been a rare occurrence all year with Kaitlyn Pallozzi on the hill. Gugala allowed two hits and struck out six in the win, while Pallozzi's ended as she fanned a dozen.

"Going against No. 1 Mercy, and their pitcher, obviously, we felt we had to come in here and do things a little bit differently and try to get her and their whole team off-balance," Northville head coach Scott DeBoer said. "We did a lot of looking at things, studying of things, spent a lot of time on the machines and working on bunting and just trying to distract and make (Mercy) try to make some plays.

"(Pallozzi's) going to strike out 12, 14, I mean, she strikes out over 70% of the batters she faces, so we knew we had to do something different. And Mary, a junior, went toe-to-toe with her. She's not gonna throw 65 (mph) right now, but what she can do is spin it in multiple pitches keep multiple people off-balance, and to throw a two-hitter against them, in that game, was phenomenal."

DeBoer did confess his believe that the discrepancy in speed between Pallozzi and Bissett probably negatively effected the Mustangs' performance at the plate in the final and led to being out front and lots of fly balls. Still, he said "to go 35-7 after 34-8 (last year), while starting four freshmen, if you had told me that at the start of the year, I would have signed up for that in a heartbeat ... I'm really proud of this team. There's no losers in a game like that. There's no losers when you get to play in this atmosphere."

South Lyon will see a familiar opponent in Walled Lake Northern in Tuesday's quarterfinal that will be hosted by Northville. The Knights beat Grand Blanc and Lake Orion in their own regional on Saturday. Northern won the only meeting between the teams 5-1 on May 20.

"(Northern is) a very good team, always are, and the girls will be ready for it," Shippe said. "We'll be ready to go on Tuesday."

After beating Bloomfield Hills in a semifinal earlier in the day, South Lyon blanked Northville 3-0 to claim a D1 regional championship Saturday, June 7, 2025 at Novi High School.

The No. 1 Dakota Cougars defeated the Lake Orion Dragons, 4-0, in a Division 1 baseball state quarterfinal game on Saturday, June 7 at Grand Blanc HS.

ANN ARBOR – The South Lyon United girls lacrosse team displayed such a strong offense throughout the 2025 season that its potent defense could often go unnoticed.

On Saturday, it would be that defense that would propel United to a perfect season and the program’s first-ever state championship.

Trailing Hartland 3-2 at halftime, United refocused with an emphasis on defense and possession, and proceeded to hold the Eagles scoreless in the second half on its way to a 6-3 victory in the MHSAA Division 1 final at the University of Michigan.

“This is only the second game this season that we fell behind. We are normally able to pick up the lead and pull away pretty quick. When we weren’t, coming out of the half, we knew we needed to start playing our game and not letting (Hartland) play their game,” South Lyon United junior Shaelyn Perry said. “On defense and transition, we really locked things down. On offense, we used that momentum to pull ahead.”

Perry was the spark in all phases for United (24-0) as she came through with key plays on the draw, defensively, and on offense. She tallied three goals and an assist to lift her team to a win.

“I could have never imagined it. I am beyond excited,” Perry said of being a state champion.

Averaging nearly 14 goals per game on offense, South Lyon United couldn’t get into a groove with the ball to start Saturday’s D1 final.

Hartland (20-6) held United to two goals, while grinding its way to a 3-2 lead at the break thanks to scores from Ella Ebright, Claire Brown, and Amanda Norton.

To complement its offense in 2025, the South Lyon United defense was allowing just under four goals per game. That defense stepped up on Saturday and locked down Hartland for the final 24 minutes of play.

“We really weren’t playing our game, so we had to just settle down and play like South Lyon lacrosse and not Hartland lacrosse,” South Lyon United coach Deanna Radcliffe said. “I just told them that if they remained poise and do what we have worked on all year, eventually (the lead) would come.”

The lead did come in the third, thanks to a 4-0 period for United. Perry scored her second goal of the game midway through the period to tie things at 3-3 and start a run of three goals in two minutes for United.

Reagan Shields followed to give South Lyon the lead on a free protection shot, while Cate Cumberland added another goal seconds later on an assist from Perry. The junior, Perry, then finished the scoring with 24.3 seconds left in the third to make it 6-3.

“I definitely did put a lot of pressure on (myself), but it was all for my team and I don’t regret it at all,” Perry said of leading the second-half charge.

The fourth quarter was scoreless as South Lyon United held possession most of the frame. When Hartland had the ball, it couldn’t find a way past United goalie Teagan Wesner.

Photo gallery of South Lyon United vs. Hartland in a D1 girls lacrosse state championship

A team with just four seniors, the young South Lyon United team carried the added pressure of being undefeated on Saturday as it sought its first state championship. Coach Radcliffe admitted even the nerves were getting to her.

“I didn’t even turn around until the very end of the game because I didn’t want to look (at the crowd). Even I was (nervous),” Radcliffe said. “It’s a different setting, a different stage.”

Despite the young team, Radcliffe had belief that 2025 could be special when her team was ousted by Brighton in last year’s playoffs. Brighton had won the previous three D1 state titles, but South Lyon defeated the Bulldogs two times this year, including in the regional final.

“At the end of last year, when (the team) lost to Brighton and they realize they didn’t do what they could have done, I think they had belief that if they worked…I told them that if everybody just works a little bit harder, you can surprise yourself next year,” Radcliffe said of her team. “I think they all bought into it, and here we are.”

South Lyon United defeated Hartland 6-3 in the MHSAA Division 1 girls lacrosse state championship game on Saturday, June 7, 2025 from the University of Michigan.

The No. 1 Dakota Cougars defeated the No. 10 Brother Rice Warriors, 2-0, in a Division 1 baseball regional championship game on Saturday, June 7 at Grand Blanc HS.

ANN ARBOR – The last thing Detroit Country Day goalie Campbell Lindner wanted to see in Saturday’s Division 2 girls lacrosse state championship match was overtime.

Fighting exhaustion from the heat after two competitive halves, Lindner had to dig deep when regulation ended with the Yellowjackets tied 9-9 with Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

Lindner fought off the fatigue and came through with two timely saves to keep the Pioneers off the scoreboard, while Country Day netted the lone goal of overtime to claim the 2025 championship, 10-9, at the University of Michigan.

“It’s surreal. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Linder said of the state championship. “(I told myself before overtime,) don’t get in your head, don’t lose your mind. Stay calm, shoulders back. Don’t do things you usually wouldn’t do. Just play your game, be scrappy, and do what you know how to do, what you were trained to do.”

The game-winning goal for DCD came from freshman Charlotte Cook just a minute into the first overtime session. Cook got some encouragement from a teammate to go for the goal when she had the opportunity to do so.

“I just saw an opening,” Cook said of going for the game-winning goal. “I had been trying to go all day, but had been laying off. I didn’t want to push it too much. My teammate and one of my best friends, Adriana Zuk told me I was going to get the winning goal. I saw an opportunity and I wanted to make her prediction come true, so I went for it.”

Cook has been one of the leading goal-scorers for the Yellowjackets this season, having the trust of her coaches and teammates.

“She is absolutely phenomenal. I haven’t seen a player like that in a long time. Just her raw talent, her (lacrosse) IQ as well,” Country Day coach Liz Nussbaum said of Cook. “This is the second time she’s come up with game-winning goals. It’s rare to have that level of trust, not just from a coach’s perspective, but the player’s (too). Our leaders could have told her to pull back, but they knew that she had it.”

With the lead, Lindner shut the door on GRCC, part of a 10-save performance from the junior goalie.

“It took her a minute to get into her head space, but once she did, she was unstoppable,” Nussbaum said of Lindner.

Country Day overcame a four-goal deficit in the first half to win its second state championship in three years. The Yellowjackets trailed 6-2 early in the second period, as their offense wasn’t able to find much success.

“We still had to get our bearings. We have a lot of freshmen that it’s their first time playing at a scene like this. It took them a minute, but once we got our feet rolling, we had the game plan and we started sticking to what we know we needed to do. I had so much confidence that we were going to get it done,” Nussbaum said of the four-goal deficit.

Country Day scored four of the final five goals in the first half to make it a one-score game at the break.

The Yellowjackets then held the Pioneers scoreless in the third, and Georgia Pavlou scored the lone goal of the period to make it 8-8 entering the fourth.

Jackie Calso gave DCD a 9-8 lead in the first minute of the final period, but GRCC answered with two goals from Lily Engstrom, who had a match-high six goals on Saturday.

With 1:15 left in regulation, Mary Pavlou found the net to tie things up at 9-9, then came through with a key defensive play as GRCC was looking for a last-second shot.

“We knew we were going to be in a close game,” Nussbaum said. “We were mentally ready for those tough moments and it showed in the end.”

Photo gallery of Detroit Country Day vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central in a D2 girls lacrosse state championship

The 10-9 victory for Country Day avenged a 10-9 loss to GRCC in the 2024 state championship match.

“I feel like that score was burned into all my players’ minds after last year,” Nussbaum said of the 10-9 final score. “We started preparing the next day after (the 2024 final). Last year we came in with two losses (against GRCC), this year we came in with two wins, so I think that gave us more of a confidence boost.”

Calso’s three goals led Country Day in the game, while Georgia Pavlou and Cook each scored twice. Pavlou added two assists.

Detroit Country Day defeated Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 10-9 in overtime, to win the 2025 MHSAA Division 2 girls lacrosse state championship on Saturday, June 7, 2025 from the University of Michigan.

Saturday’s meeting between the No. 1 Dakota Cougars and No. 10 Brother Rice Warriors at Grand Blanc was an elimination game with a spot in the Division 1 state quarterfinals on the line.

To Luke DeMasse, it was “just another game.”

Dakota’s ace fired off seven scoreless innings surrendering just two hits as he and the Cougars beat the Warriors, 2-0, to win a regional championship and give themselves a chance to earn one of four spots in the state quarterfinals.

“I have more confidence in myself than anyone else,” DeMasse said. “I didn’t go into that game nervous. Nothing really changes. Kind of another game.”

A Ball State commit, DeMasse toed the rubber opposite another Division I arm, Brother Rice’s Blake Ilitch – an Ole Miss commit.

It clearly didn’t phase him. DeMasse sat down the Warriors, 1-2-3, in the top of the first, all on strikeouts, including two looking.

“I’ve coached him for four years and I feel great when I’m on the mound,” said Dakota head coach Angelo Plouffe. “So I don’t care who they’re pitching – I just know he’s on the mound.

“He had everything working. If he’s on, it’s tough. He can throw a changeup, throw a slider, throw his curveball. He’ll locate. He doesn’t walk people. He makes you have to beat him. He makes you have to have a great advance. That’s why he’s who he is – he’s a dude.”

Dakota threatened to score early and often, but stranded two runners in the first, one in the second and three in the third.

And with two out and two on in the fourth inning, it looked like the Cougars might let another golden opportunity go by the wayside.

Enter Braylon Ryan – the Alma commit and No. 2 hitter in Dakota’s lineup smoked a line drive double into right field, scoring Jacob Gjonaj and Andrew Borowicz, who both walked.

“It was like waiting and waiting and waiting to kick the door down, and we finally did,” Plouffe said. “There’s not a guy on our team that I’d rather have the bat in his (Ryan’s) hand in that moment. He’s pretty special. He’s been doing that stuff all year for us.”

Walks were part of the game plan for Dakota. They approached Ilitch with the fastball in mind, and as his offspeed pitches dipped from strike-to-ball, they let them go. The Cougars ended up drawing five walks, forcing the future Rebel out of the game before the end of the fifth inning.

Ilitch finished the game with 4.2 innings, four hits, two runs, five walks and six strikeouts to end his Brother Rice career.

The Warriors’ best chance to score was in the fourth inning. Cash Van Ameyde reached on a chopper to second baseman Borowicz, then Maksim Neshov got on with an E5, putting himself and Van Ameyde in scoring position with nobody out.

DeMasse didn’t panic. He forced Broder Katke to ground out, struck out Cole Van Ameyde then got a grounder from Tristan Turner to get back into the dugout.

Brother Rice didn’t get another runner on base until Turner’s two-out single in the seventh.

Photos from No. 1 Dakota’s regional championship win over No. 10 Brother Rice

“Not really going to change anything (in the jam),” DeMasse said. “Those weren’t good hits, and that was just unlucky there. But everything ended up working out, and we just stuck to the game plan. Really, nothing changes.”

DeMasse’s final line saw him go seven scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.

Dakota previously beat Brother Rice this season, 8-4, on May 4.

That advance scouting helped both sides, but DeMasse said it really helped him dissect their hitters’ tendencies.

“Not a lot of people look at the little things that hitters do,” DeMasse said. “I’m not going to say what it is because I don’t want people to know how I’m going to pitch. But we had a game plan. We stuck with it, and it ended up working out.”

Brother Rice’s season ends with a 28-13 mark. They won the CHSL tournament.

PONTIAC – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s got seven stellar innings out of its starter on Saturday afternoon, and a few good at-bats, too.

Junior Luke Crighton pitched a complete game shutout and was also responsible for two of his team’s runs as the Eaglets defeated Notre Dame Prep 3-0 for a D2 district title.

“He’s the definition of a complete player,” Eaglets head coach Nick Di Ponio said. We needed him to step up in that game and he did so. That’s a really, really good team that we played, and especially in that last inning, we didn’t want to get back to the top of their lineup. Those guys can swing it. We know them well, they did a great job, and it was a really good game all-around.”

Crighton and St. Mary’s (23-12) cruised through the seventh other than a leadoff single to Jack Fallon, but it was the sixth that looked like the one where the Irish might finally chase the Indiana commit.

Notre Dame Prep led off that inning with back-to-back singles by juniors Tomassino Offer and Derek Roa, then had the bases loaded with one out when Owen Fulsher walked. But Crighton induced a grounder to third for a force out at home, then a strikeout swinging to keep the shutout intact.

“About the fifth inning I said to our pitching coach that this was his game,” Di Ponio said. “He was around the zone with all his pitches and give us the best chance, and with that team, we wanted him out there as long as we could have him. He did a really good job being efficient.”

The final line for Crighton included six hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. “My fastball, I was throwing it whatever I wanted; inside-out, I like to do that a lot,” he said. “Then I was just working the curveball and slider off of that.”

There were several other frames where the Irish, who came into the final having won 21 of their last 22 had runners in scoring position — seniors Michael Wiebelhaus and Ethan Janssen each had doubles — but the clutch hits never materialized.

“Going into it, we legitimately knew we had to score three or four runs to win the game,” Irish head coach Jason Gendreau said. “That was the talk before the game.”

He continued, “There were three goals, and the first, the only one we didn’t meet, was that we had to figure out how to get to (that many) runs. The second goal was to not let (Andrew) Tribul or (Hudson) Brzustewicz beat us, and we didn’t allow that to happen. And the last goal was, could we be within three runs in the seventh if we don’t have the lead? They did that. We had some opportunities offensively, but when you’re facing a kid that’s throwing 89, 90 (mph), a Division 1 athlete, it’s going to be hard at times, and you really have to buckle down and execute in those situations. Credit Orchard Lake for cashing in on their opportunities a little bit more than we did.”

St. Mary’s broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the third when Crighton’s ball hit to left field scored Preston Duff. Crighton doubled off the fence in deep center to score Anthony Elezaj in the fifth, making it 2-0, then Nate Bauman followed it up with a knock into right that fell just fair of the first-base line and scored Crighton.

Junior Henry Ewles pitched well enough to give the Irish a chance, going all six innings of the defeat. ND Prep also had it working on the mound in its district semifinal earlier in the day, an 8-1 victory over Lamphere. Fulsher threw six innings of four-hit ball — two of those hits were by Aidan Grzeskowski — then Roa came in to seal the deal.

Janssen had three hits in the win over the Rams, while Offer went 4-for-4 and scored three times.

“Fulsher did what he’s been doing all year,” Gendreau said. “He finished 8-0 on the season. Henry ends up finishing 7-4, but he also threw against the majority of the big dogs. I have a lot of respect for both of the young men. They had outstanding years. And give a lot of credit to Owen (today) for throwing almost 80 pitches, then going back and catching a great game.”

Photos from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in a D2 baseball district final

The 29 wins this season marked a program-best for Notre Dame Prep.

"It beat the 2018 team's record, and we just came up one short of 30," Gendreau said.

Cade Wilhelmi and Kyler Marvin both drove in a pair of runs for Country Day in the other semifinal, but the Yellowjackets' sixth inning in which they scored all their runs was sandwiched by a pair of four-run frames at the plate by the Eaglets, who beat Country Day 12-5.

Gendreau's aforementioned goal of slowing two of St. Mary's top hitters was something Country Day couldn't hold to. Tribul had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs, while Brzustewicz hit a grand slam in the seventh that effectively sealed the Eaglets' place in the final.

The championship marked just another victory over a top program by the Eaglets this season. They came in ranked sixth in D2, two spots ahead of ND Prep, and started the year 10-8, but had a pair of wins each against Rochester Adams (No. 3 in D1) and Brother Rice (ranked 10th in D1) in the month of May.

"Within our league, we know we're going to see top-level competition every single time," Di Ponio. "There was a point in early April (against De La Salle), I think an umpire looked and me and said it kind of felt like a playoff game. So our team has been accustomed to these situations all year and knew that this was going to be another one. We feel like we're prepared for anything."

The Eaglets will now prepare for Dearborn Divine Child, ranked No. 11 in D2, in a regional semifinal that will also be played at Notre Dame Prep.

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s defeated Notre Dame Prep 3-0 for a Division 2 baseball district championship Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Pontiac. The Eaglets will remain at ND Prep to play Dearborn Divine Child in the regional semifinals on June 4.

COMMERCE TWP. — Like the prep softball version of the Hatfields and McCoys, the rivals from the Battle of Bogie Lake Road, Lakeland and Walled Lake Northern, have ‘gotten’ each other so many times over the years, that’s hard to determine what exactly you might be getting ‘revenge’ for.

So neither coach really wanted to bring up what had happened last year, when Lakeland took out Northern, en route to a quarterfinal appearance.

The junior pitcher had a home run — her third on the day — and an RBI double, and struck out 10, as the Knights beat Lakeland, 6-3, to claim a Division 1 district title on their home field Saturday, their seventh since the 2015-16 season.

“We kind of put it in the past, and we just said ‘New game.’ We beat them in preseason and in the LVC, and we just tried to not let it affect us really, even though we beat them,” Turmell said. “But we just wanted to come out new game, 0-0.”

The Knights (30-6) — who will advance to regionals at Grand Blanc next weekend, facing Lake Orion — did beat Lakeland (25-11) twice back in mid-April, in a high-scoring doubleheader where the two teams accounted for 41 runs.

“It’s always hard to beat a team, a good team, especially a good team like Lakeland, three times,” Northern coach Kristen Woodard admitted. “But no, I didn’t really want to put that (last year’s loss) in their heads at all. I just knew we’d have to come and bring our best, because I know Lakeland would — they always do.”

In the last decade, the two programs have met in the postseason six of the nine times it was held (no season in 2020), with one team or the other winning a district title every single time. In 2017, they both won a district, and met for the regional title.

“They’re a good team. They force you to do things like that (make mistakes) sometimes. And you know, our team, we played really well. I mean, earlier in the year, they beat us up pretty good,” said Lakeland coach Mike Cleary, noting that his team never talked about those April losses again after they happened. “And to go into this game tied in the (sixth) we were in pretty good shape, I thought. But you know what? You know, we did this to them last year. They do it to us this year. It’s tough when both of us are in the same district, because we always have good teams, and it’s seems one of us has to get (knocked) out early, which is, unfortunately, this year it’s us.”

The Eagles were in good shape early, jumping out to a first-inning lead with a solo home run by Brynn Taliercio. But Turmell answered in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot of her own to tie it up at 1-1.

Turmell’s RBI double to the right-center gap in the fourth put the Knights ahead, and they’d add a second run on an error to lead 3-1.

Both teams would pitch around the other’s No. 3 hitter the rest of the way, and that benefitted the Eagles in the sixth, when an unintentional-intentional walk to Taliercio put the tying run on, and Emily Searle’s two-run double tied it at 3-3.

“We just talked about, you know, what we get behind, and we’ve come back with other teams. We were down big against Hartland in the tournament. We came back and beat them, then other teams, we were down, and we battled back,” Cleary said. “So I said, you know, if they get ahead of us, we’re not out of it. And, you know, we came back, we’re down and came back and tied it up again. So that was kind of the team. They didn’t give up.”

Woodard made a trip to the circle to calm Turmell down during the rally, calming her down, making her laugh.

“Sometimes, I do lighten the mood, but there I just wanted her to get dialed in and just, you know, give her a little extra confidence,” Woodard said. “I just wanted to make sure that she wasdoing all right, because she was getting a little wild there. …And just remind her that they have to hit her best pitch, and just to pitch with that in mind.”

“She told me that, basically, to just throw my game and they have to be scared to hit off of me. And same with hitting too. So they had to throw to me and I had to throw to them,” Turmell said.

Makenna Kresbaugh led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run to put the Knights back up, 4-3, then after they loaded the bases, tacked on two more runs on back-to-back RBI singles by Olivia Frelick and Kendall Morris to make it 6-3.

It wouldn’t be a Lakeland-Northern matchup without a little controversy, and that came at the end of that inning, when Northern’s ninth hitter to come to the plate was initially called safe, then was called out when the home plate umpire overruled the initial decision.

The was more in the top of the seventh, as the Eagles — down to their final strike — had their own runner called safe on a bang-bang play, but Turmell got the next batter to line out to close it out.

Photo gallery from the D1 softball district final between Lakeland and WL Northern

Walled Lake Northern 8, Walled Lake Central 2

The second semifinal of the morning was another close one initially for the Knights, tied at 2-2 until the bottom of the fifth, when the Knights put a pair of runs on the board, then added four more in the sixth.

Sam Gillick was 4-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs scored, while Turmell — who struck out 14 in the circle — homered twice and drove in three runs. Makenna Kresbaugh said a pair of doubles and drove in four runs.

Lakeland 17, West Bloomfield 2 (3 innings)

The Eagles made short work of the Lakers in the first semifinal of the morning, as four batters — Piper Huff, Aubrey VanGoethem, Emilee Dostal and Zoie Gagnon — drove in multiple runs. Gagnon homered and drove in three total.

Melina Wing got the win in the circle scattering six hits and striking out four.

An 11-win team heading into Saturday, the Eisenhower Eagles had to go through 23-win Romeo and 21-win Stoney Creek to win a district championship.

They did.

With a 9-3 victory in the semifinals over the Bulldogs, Ike went on to score five runs in the first two innings of their eventual 5-1 victory over the Cougars to win their first district title in eight years, and just the second in program history.

That last district crown came during Bob Hall’s first stint with Ike. After a hiatus, he’s back with the Eagles, but hasn’t coached for most of the year after a birth defect in his heart caused a stroke.

But he was there on Saturday, and acting head coach Karlene Kilburn – also on the 2017 staff – couldn’t help but hold back tears.

“Eisenhower only has one other district title in school history, and it’s a little emotional because the last time it was coach Bob and I together,” Kilburn said. “So it’s nice that he’s able to come back and we could finish what we wanted to start.”

The Eagles struck first when Addison Viviano cracked a single to score Rease Buza, who walked, in the first inning.

Vivano was given another chance in the second, and again, she didn’t disappoint – with the bases loaded and two outs, the freshman scorched a line drive into center field that got past a diving D Bryant, clearing the bases.

She came around to score herself on a Liz Petrella double right after.

“We feel so excited,” Viviano said. “We’ve been working for this all season, practicing hard every practice. I mean, it feels great.”

Viviano is just one of several young contributors for the Eagles. Their starting pitcher, Anna Bellomo, is just a sophomore – the only run she allowed in the complete game was an unearned one, and she also struck out six Cougars with three hits allowed. She walked four. Rease Buza, who pitched in the win over Romeo, is also a sophomore.

“Both her (Bellomo) and Rease as pitchers bring a leadership that is really helpful in our defense,” Kilburn said. “And so having that pairing has been phenomenal; that when one is down, the other one is pitching well.

“And Anna is a competitor, and she likes a little bit of pressure, and putting her in that situation just makes her throw better. Today was probably the best I’ve seen her pitch all year.”

Out of all five teams in the district – including Rochester, Romeo, Rochester Adams and Stoney Creek – Eisenhower had the fewest wins and worst regular season win percentage going in.

That was then.

“I told them all that, if they put into games what we do in practice, if they just execute that, there’s not a team out there that can beat us,” Kilburn said.

Stoney Creek struggled to find their groove early after winning an 11-10 marathon over Rochester Adams in the game before. Ella Fugate allowed four baserunners while getting just two outs, and Sara Kruczek was tagged for three runs in 0.2 innings.

It wasn’t until Allie Ray finally settled in that they were able to stabilize, but strong pitching by Bellomo and solid defense behind her made it difficult for Stoney Creek to overcome the early deficit.

“The culture of this team has been for the last four years, and as you’ve seen with the first game against Adams, is we never give up,” said Stoney Creek head coach Rick Troy. “It’s a ‘never give up’ attitude. It’s a culture. It’s just how this team has been built and continues to be built. There’s no excuse for the loss, but there is a reality that we’re a very young team.”

The Cougars graduate senior Kate Stephens, a Maryland softball commit, whom Troy dubbed as the best player to ever come out of Stoney Creek.

Photos from Eisenhower’s 5-1 district title win over Stoney Creek on Saturday

“We’ve been blessed to have her leadership and her gamesmanship, her skill sets,” Troy said. “She’s the entire package, and that’s why she’s going DI.”

Stoney Creek finishes the year 21-14.

Eisenhower has earned themselves another week, with their next game set to be against Port Huron Northern, who beat Dakota in eight innings on Friday to win their district. Start time is 10 a.m. from Royal Oak High School, with the winner playing either Ford or Royal Oak.

The Eagles are a-ok with having more time to practice, having had one as recently as the night before their 10 a.m. start time against Romeo.

“This feels amazing,” Viviano said. “It’s my freshman year. I can’t wait for the next three years.”

ROCHESTER HILLS – The Utica Eisenhower Eagles claimed their first district title since 2017 with a 3-1 win over the defending Division 1 champion Rochester Adams Highlanders on Saturday afternoon.

“It feels really, really good. We’ve been working very hard all season to win the district, and it means a lot to us because this is our first time, at least for the freshmen class that came in with me,” captain Sonja Peterson said. “So we’re really looking forward to hopefully making an even deeper run in the state.”

Eisenhower dominated the first half, creating most of the best chances even as it battled into the wind. The Eagles got on the board first when Lily Pantaleo scored on a breakaway with 28:21 still to play before intermission.

Later in the half, it was Pantaleo’s turn to play the through ball. Gabby Riggio ran onto the slotted ball and used the outside of her foot to flick a ball inside the near post, doubling the Eagles’ advantage. Eisenhower had a couple of chances to stretch the lead even further, but Adams senior goalie Brooklyn Harding came up with some key saves to keep the Highlanders hanging around.

The Highlanders fought to try and shave the deficit. Adams was especially dangerous after halftime and created a handful of high quality chances, but struggled to finish any of them off. The Highlanders did hit the crossbar twice – once in the final minute of the first half and again early in the second half – and had the ball bouncing around the Eisenhower penalty area on a few different occasions, but the Eagles always seemed to win those battles and eventually cleared the ball or pressured Adams into missing the net.

When Devyn Raymond blasted a ball that went in off the post with 4:26 remaining to make it 3-0 Eagles, any drama left in the game was put to rest. Still, Adams kept in it to the end and spoiled the shoutout with 24 seconds remaining when Riley Walsh set up Sadie Rogers for a 20-yard rip that capped the scoring at 3-1 Eisenhower.

“The story of it is they finished and we didn’t,” Adams head coach Josh Hickey said.. “But I’m proud of the girls for the way they played. They gave a good effort, but that’s a good team, so you can’t make mistakes against those types of teams.”

The win is the first district title for Eisenhower in eight years as they have consistently been drawn into one of the tougher districts in the state.

It was also Eisenhower head coach Merhdad Nekoogar’s 300th career win with the Eagles.

“Honestly, I never thought about. I really didn’t. I’m just happy that I was able to stay with a very, very good school, a school that I’m so proud of. I’m proud to be part of this program, and I’m just happy that I was able to help a little,” he said.

Photo gallery of Rochester Adams vs. Utica Eisenhower in a D1 girls soccer district championship

Eisenhower now advances to the regional semifinals on Tuesday when it will face Troy Athens, who defeated rival Troy for its district title.

“I’m just so happy for them. They worked very hard,” Nekoogar said. “This is the toughest district. Now after districts, Athens another very, very good team, but we will take one at a time. We’re just happy that we accomplished this part of it."

Added Peterson, “I think it’s definitely just the team’s chemistry this year. It’s been unmatched with years before when I’ve been on the team. Everyone cares about each other so, so very much, and we just connect really well. We also have a very talented group of players all working together, and I think all of us together wanting to win and wanting to go as far as possible is what is going to keep us going and what has kept us going."

Rochester Adams finishes the year 13-5-1. The Highlanders will graduate eight seniors from this year’s team.

“We’re happy. I thought we had one of the toughest schedules in the state, bar none, and it definitely got us ready for this. But having 13 wins against that type of schedule is always big,” Hickey said. “I love the seniors. We had girls come for the first time and be able to play high school, which is cool to see. Then I had a few four-year players. Those players are always special to us. And we’re going to miss them.”

Utica Eisenhower scored twice before halftime, then added another goal unanswered after intermission to defeat Rochester Adams 3-1 for a D1 district championship Saturday, May 31, 2025 in Rochester Hills.

No. 6-ranked Walled Lake Northern beat Bogie Lake Road rival Lakeland, 6-3, in a Division 1 district final at Northern on Saturday, May 31, 2025, as the Knights won their seventh district title in the last decade.