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Michigan Diamond Notes: April 13-19

It was another superlative week of baseball for Notre Dame Prep senior Henry Ewles.

The second-rated 2026 first baseman in Michigan batted .500 in six games of action, ripping seven doubles and a pair of home runs while driving in an impressive 15 for the third-rated D-2 team in the state. The Miami of Ohio commit had a 1.591 OPS and 1.091 slugging percentage for the week and now boasts a .432 batting average with 20 RBIs and a 1.210 OPS.

The 6-3 215-pound left-hander also sparkled on the mound, throwing seven innings of two-hit baseball, giving up one earned run while not walking a batter and striking out eight. 

TWO-WAY PERFORMERS

Brett Palmer is getting the job done at the plate and on the hill for Williamston.

The uncommitted senior left-handed pitcher won a pair of games, including a one-hitter against Midland Dow in a game the uncommitted senior also had three hits and three RBIs. Palmer did not permit a run in six two-hit innings for the week, retiring five on strikes.

At the dish, the Williamston two-way was 7-14 with six runs, five RBIs, a walk and three steals.

For the year, Palmer is batting .500 at 15-30 with 16 runs, 14 RBIs, seven base on balls and a 1.267 OPS. On the mound, the southpaw stands 4-1 and has not surrendered a run in 19 innings of six-hit ball, walking four for the No. 4 Division 2 squad in Michigan.

- Ryland Watters hit a pair of doubles during a .500 week at the plate for Rochester Adams, but it was on the mound where the Central Michigan football recruit shined the most. Watters did not permit an earned run or a walk in six two-hit innings, striking out 11 of the 20 batters he faced in a win over Clarkson, throwing 77 percent strikes for the No. 2 Power 25 team in the state.

- Fraser senior Jack Manzella garnered win number three of the season with five innings of three-hit shutout pitching, striking out nine to beat Lakeview. The No. 4 2026 RHP in Michigan has not given up an earned run with 24 Ks in 12 innings, allowing six hits. The Michigan State commit is also batting .500 with a .667 OBP after hitting two doubles, walking once and driving in three for the week.

- Josias Ferrett pitched 6.2 innings on no-hit baseball striking out 13 and is now 3-0 on the year with 30 Ks in 15.2 frames, giving up just one hit and no walks while yet to permit a run. The junior left-hander also did well at the plate for Gaylord, going 5-7 with two triples and three runs scored.

- North Muskegon’s Kylan Nielsen earned his second win of the season with a two-hitter in a 2-1 victory over Shelby. The senior struck out six and did not allow an earned run, dropping his ERA to 0.93. The Muskegon CC recruit also had five hits, scored two runs and contributed a walk, RBI and stolen base. For the season, the RHP/SS is hitting .367 with six RBIs, six runs and five walks.

- The weather did not permit Three Rivers to improve on a 9-1 record as Aidan Williams waits to get back at it after a strong start to the season. The junior RHP has a 0.344 ERA with 35 Ks and five base on balls in 20 eight-hit frames, while opponents are batting just .118. Williams, on the other hand, is carrying a .429 mark with a .512 OBP and 1.226 OPS for the No. 19 D-2 team.

- A three-inning no-hitter was thrown by Nick Brown in a 16-0 victory, with the Fenton senior fanning five and not walking a batter. The Kellogg CC signee also had seven RBIs with a double, triple and home run, batting .417.

- Shepherd’s Bryce Smith did not allow an earned run in a win over Big Rapids, throwing six innings of one-hit ball with two walks and seven strikeouts. The senior also scored six runs with three doubles, three RBIs and three steals in a 5-13 week.

SHUTTING DOWN OPPONENTS

One week Conor Rentfrow is lighting it up with his bat, the next week it is with his arm.

After going 8-12 with four doubles and two home runs a week ago, the Columbia Central senior logged a pair of wins against Napoleon on Monday and Jonesville on Friday. The Taylor commit gave up just one run in 12 innings on the mound, fanning 27 and walking only one.

- Brody Parrott threw his fourth career no-hitter in shutting down Coldwater. The Parma Western junior fanned 12 on the week while earning a pair of victories to improve to 3-0 on the year, not allowing an earned run while limiting opponents to a .077 batting average. 

- Bangor 2027 right-hander Jaret McCoy no-hit Bloomingdale, fanning nine and walking a pair in a five inning masterpiece. The junior RHP has yet to allow an earned run in nine one-hit innings, striking out 18 and walking four in a 2-0 start to the season.

- Grandville's Josh Crater tossed six one-hit innings to beat Gull Lake, striking out seven and not permitting a free pass. The Davenport recruit, now has 17 Ks in 12 frames, giving up one run, four hits and four walks.

HITTING EXTRAORDINAIRE

“I’ve never seen it in all my time coaching.”

Those were the words of Forest Hills Northern head coach Tom Canute. 

What the new mentor for Northern was talking about is the outing Devin Tiedgen had for the Huskies in a game against Forest Hills Central. The three-sport standout had two inside-the-park home runs in consecutive innings, one a grand slam. For the game, Tiedgen finished with six RBIs, going 2-4 with a walk and a pair of runs scored. Tiedgen also pitched 3.1 innings, allowing no earned runs or walks with one strikeout.

- The batting average continues to climb for Shepherd center fielder Brady Robinson. The junior went 7-7 with eight runs, four walks, an RBI and a HBP to go along with eight stolen bases. Robinson is now carrying a .650 average at 13-20 with 10 runs, five walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches. 

- Two juniors had hot bats for Parma Western with Chase Budd going 9-14 with 12 RBIs and Luke Harrington 7-12 with seven runs scored. Budd had two doubles, a home run and two stolen bases during a week he also had a walk-off hit to beat Coldwater. Harrington had three two-base hits, four RBIs and swiped four bases.

- A grand slam highlighted a 4-11 week by Woodhaven shortstop Lucas Farner, who also hit a double and triple while driving in nine. The sixth-ranked 2027 SS in Michigan scored six runs, walked five times and had five stolen bases for the No. 7 Division 1 team. For the season, the junior is batting .500 with 23 runs, 14 base on balls, 13 RBIs and nine steals. 

- A 6-11 week featuring four extra-base hits has Gull Lake’s Max Markham batting at .480 on the season. The Kalamazoo Valley signee hit three doubles and a home run while scoring five times and driving in five. Markham now has 11 runs, 10 RBIs and five two-base hits on the season.

- Ethan Link stole six bases to boost his season total to 14 for Lansing Catholic, the eighth-rated team in Michigan in D-3. The fourth-rated 2027 shortstop in the state was 6-8 with a triple, two doubles and a walk at the plate, driving in four. The Lansing Catholic junior has a .571 batting average with 10 runs.

- Dylan Lunney was nearly perfect at the dish for Montrose, going 10-11 with five doubles and a home run. The 6-2 200-pound uncommitted senior also had 11 stolen bases and nine RBIs in four games played.

- Karson Worth had eight singles and a double with a .727 OBP for the week, driving in six runs while swiping 10 bases for Freeland, the No. 16 squad in Michigan in D-2. The Calvin University commit also picked up a win on the mound.

- Bennett Gaston walked eight times, five of which were intentional, during an impressive 7-12 week at the plate for D-3 third-ranked Lumen Christi. The third-rated 2027 shortstop in Michigan had a pair of doubles, a triple and a home run, driving in nine runs.

- Lakeland’s Bo Bishop went 8-15 with three doubles, a triple and a homer, walking seven times while bringing home five and scoring eight runs. The Western Michigan commit, who also had four steals, is hitting .563 on the year with a .696 OBP.

- Southgate Anderson’s Rico Valdovinos went 7-11 at the plate in 4 games with 4 extra base hits, 3 runs and 3 RBI’s. The uncommitted senior carries a .632 batting average entering the week

- Quinn Carmody was 6-11 this past week, scoring four times and driving home four, with a double, triple and home run while also swiping a base. The Stevensville Lakeshore senior corner infielder now has three homers, 10 RBIs and a .387 average.

- Three of the six hits by Joseph Bobeda were home runs this week. The junior outfielder also had a pair of doubles during a 6-12 performance at the dish, scoring six runs for DeWitt.

- Wiley Roose had a 1.381 OPS during a 4-6 week that included a walk and two runs scored. The senior catcher for Capac is batting .500 on the year with a 1.183 OPS.

YOUTH LOOKING GOOD

The future is bright for Fruitport, the No. 15 D-2 team in the state, based on the play of Dexter Lillmars and Garrett Olson. Lillmars, a sophomore IF/RHP, was 6-7 with four doubles, six RBIs and three runs scored along with a stolen base while Olson, the second-rated freshman in Michigan who is batting .500 on the season, had a home run and triple in a 6-10 week that included six RBIs and two walks.

But there was more out of the two underclassmen when they got on the mound. Lillmars fanned eight in three no-hit innings for a win, moving to 2-0 on the year with 12 Ks in 7.2 two-hit frames and an ERA of 0.00. Olson, the No. 10 2029 left-handed pitcher in the nation, was 2-0 for the week with 20 strikeouts in nine innings, giving up one earned run on one hit and five walks against Kelloggsville and Sparta. 

- South Christian’s Luke Spoelma threw a 5 inning no-hitter in a win over Thornapple-Kellogg. The sophomore right-hander hasn’t allowed an earned run in 17 innings entering the week.

- It was a great first start for Comstock Park ninth-grader Jameson East. The freshman threw five shutout innings against Northpointe Christian, allowing one hit and two walks with 12 strikeouts. East also stood out at the plate going 4-4 with four runs and two RBIs and finished the doubleheader 6-7 with seven runs and three RBIs. 

- Left-handed hitting sophomore Will Latra had nine RBIs in a 7-12 week, pounding out three doubles and a triple for North Farmington. The right-handed pitcher also struck out six in just 2.2 innings of work.

- Isaiah Norwood produced nine hits while scoring seven runs and driving in five for Parma Western. The left-handed hitting sophomore also stole three bases.

TEAMS PLAYING WELL

What a week it was for Williamston.

The Hornets split with Power 25 No. 12 Dexter, winning 10-8 and losing 11-5. There was also an 11-0 five-inning victory over Power 25 No. 13 Midland Dow as well as two blowout wins against Lansing Eastern, 27-0 and 15-0, in a pair of three-inning affairs.

“Our best day of baseball so far has been our doubleheader with DeWitt,” noted head coach Ryan Orr, whose squad is now No. 11 in the Power 25. “We’ve had very competitive games with them in the past three years but they’ve had our number. We had great pitching from our top two arms, Brett Palmer and Hawk Harding, and our offense exploded for 31 runs in two games against their top arms, highlighted by home runs from Harding and Brady Elizondo.” 

- Parma Western claimed two wins via walk-off fashion to move to 9-0 on the season.

The Broncos have a .391 batting average, putting up 10 runs a game while only permitting 2.1 runs. Western has a team ERA of 1.760 along with a fielding percentage of .969, while opponents are hitting just .199 versus Western pitchers.

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