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Michigan Diamond Notes: April 28-May 4

Matthew Rahilly is more than just a little hot with the bat for Newberry.

How does a .928 batting average for the week sound?

The senior shortstop was 13-14 with four doubles and two home runs. Rahilly also walked three times while driving home 16 runs, scoring 11 and stealing six bases for the school located in the Upper Peninsula.

Not enough?

Rahilly struck out 14 in picking up wins over Atlanta and Cedarville DeTour, allowing six hits and one walk in seven innings while not surrendering an earned run.

For the year he is 4-0 with 42 Ks in 23 innings, giving up nine hits and five earned runs. At the plate, Rahilly is now 23-30 for a .766 average with three home runs, six doubles and one triple to go along with 29 RBIs, 19 runs, 15 stolen bases and eight walks.

Still not enough?

The 4.015 GPA student who played football, hockey, basketball, track and golf as well as baseball all four years of high school, was just named the Valedictorian for the Newberry class of 2025. 

So who else had big weeks? Read on… 

HOT STICKS

When you are from Negaunee, a small community in the Upper Peninsula, getting recognition can be difficult, but a 12-hit, 13-run, 11-stolen base week should certainly open a few eyes. That is what Jack Siik did this past week.

The senior, who plays left and center field for Negaunee, went 12-20 at the plate, while also reaching base three times on walks and three more on HBP. Siik also drove in eight runs and scored four.

On the season, Siik is batting .477 with 18 stolen bases, 17 runs, nine walks, six HBP and six doubles. 

There were other standouts with the bat to talk about as well…

- Cam Kaul is becoming a weekly regular in the Diamond Notes and this week is no exception. The Saginaw Nouvel center fielder scored nine runs during a 4-10 week at the plate that included five walks in addition to a pair of doubles, a triple, two RBIs and two stolen bases. The 29th-rated senior outfielder in the state, a Lansing CC commit who has struck out just once this season, is now 22-38 on the year with 26 runs scored, eight doubles and five triples.

- It was a week to show off the power for Aden Bailey, the 13th-ranked 2026 catcher in Michigan who was 10-14 with four doubles and a home run, driving in 10 and walking three times. The Brighton junior had a 1.214 slugging percentage for the week and a 1.937 OPS. Bailey now has eight doubles on the season while hitting .370.

- Lawrence Tech recruit Patrick Vance has 21 RBIs and a .422 batting average on the season after going 11-17 with eight runs batted in for the week. The senior outfielder for Kalamazoo Christian, the No. 5 D-3 team in the state, scored six runs, doubled twice and walked two times.

- James Dempsey is not your typical catcher and that’s a good thing for the No. 3 team in the state in D-2. The Forest Hills Eastern senior, who runs a 6.64 time in the 60, hit three doubles and drove in six during a 9-15 week to push his season batting average to .500 with 24 RBIs and 10 doubles to go along with three triples. The sixth-ranked 2025 catcher in the state is a commit to MIT. 

- Central Michigan recruit Drake Roa went 9-12 with eight runs and five doubles for Notre Dame Prep & Marist Academy, the No. 5 Division 2 team in the state. Roa is the fourth-ranked junior shortstop in Michigan.

- Shepherd junior Sam King batted .500 on the week with six hits including a home run and double. The right-handed hitting southpaw first baseman, who is 2-1 with a 0.969 ERA pitching this season, walked four times, scored three runs and drove in three for the 20th-rated D-2 squad.

- Ryder Vargas of Grand Haven was on base eight times during the week with three singles and five walks, scoring four times and driving in a run. The left-handed hitting junior plays third base and short.

- Connor Sikorski was 9-14 at the dish with eight RBIs this week for Fraser. The senior second baseman belted three doubles, scored four runs, walked twice and stole a base.

TWO-WAY STANDOUTS

Although Ashton Rooney hit .500 on the week while also not allowing an earned run in six innings on the mound, it is his play in the field that made an impression on Trenton head coach Todd Szalka.

“He made two of the greatest plays I’ve seen in 20 years of high school baseball,” Szalka said about a pair of gems the first baseman made against Escanaba, one an unassisted play at home on a squeeze bunt.

But his numbers at the plate are also noteworthy, with the senior going 7-14 with four RBIs, two doubles, two walks and three stolen bases. Rooney is now hitting .484 with 16 steals, 15 runs, 14 RBIs, nine doubles and six free passes.

On the mound, Rooney picked up a win with a one-hitter, striking out 11 and walking two. The right-hander is now 3-0 with a 1.27 ERA, fanning 34 in 22 innings.

There were other players that came up big at the plate as well as pitching this week.

- Trevor Rusnak has been outstanding for Fruitport this season and it continued this past week. The sixth-rated junior first baseman in the state hit three home runs, two doubles and drove in 10 runs going 7-16 at the plate. The right-hander also beat Mona Shores with a complete game, fanning four and walking two while giving up two earned runs. Rusnak is 3-0 pitching while carrying a .417 average with six homers and 26 RBIs to date.

- The fifth-ranked sophomore shortstop in Michigan is getting it done in more ways than one this year for Whiteford. Tre Eitniear drove in seven runs with two homers and a double during a 6-12 week. Eitniear also struck out nine in 4.1 frames of one-hit ball in a win over Erie Mason, walking one.

- Dalton Williams will be hard-pressed to beat his performance this past week. The Colon junior center fielder went 6-6 at the plate with two doubles, four runs, three RBIs and two stolen bases. Williams also earned a save with one inning of no-run ball. For the year, Williams is batting .464 with 13 RBIs, 12 steals and eight runs.

STRONG PITCHING

An undefeated season came to an end for Fruitport and Levi VanNamen is a major reason why.

The Grandville Calvin Christian junior left-hander permitted just one earned run in a 5-3 complete-game win over the No.19 Division 2 team in Michigan. In moving to 2-1 on the season, VanNamen needed 92 pitches in the seven-inning outing, setting eight batters down on strikes.

There were other good outings reported on the hill as well …

- While Jack Sequin has been outstanding at the plate this season for the second-ranked team in Michigan with a .477 batting average and 27 RBIs, it is on the mound where the 16th-ranked senior RHP in the state stood out this week. The Saginaw Valley State commit did not allow an earned run in a complete-game 3-2 win over D-1 No. 18 Midland, striking out nine. The Bay City Western senior is now 3-1 with a 1.21 ERA, fanning 42 in 23 innings with nine walks.

- There is no slowing down for Ryan Bosch, who led Fruitport to the GMAA Tournament championship. The 46th-rated senior southpaw in the nation followed up a perfect game from a week ago with two wins this week. The Wake Forest commit threw 12 innings and fanned 28, permitting one earned run on five hits and five walks. Bosch was the winning pitcher in the tourney finals for Fruitport, the 19th-ranked D-2 team in Michigan.

- Noah Klein only gave up two earned runs on five hits in six innings to Detroit Catholic Central, the 12th-rated D-1 team in Michigan, striking out five and walking three. The Portage Central junior has a 1.66 ERA on the season with a 1.28 WHIP. 

- Carson Liedel and Bryce Lechner combined to throw a no-hitter for Monroe. Liedel, an Auburn commit, struck out 10 and walked two in 5.1 innings before Lechner, a senior RHP headed to Owens CC, came in to pitch the final 1.2 frames, fanning a pair and walking one. Liedel is the 58th-ranked 2026 RHP in the nation.

- Virginia commit Cole Duhaime retired 16 batters on strikes in a one-hit shutout against De La Salle, the third-ranked Division 1 team in Michigan. The Brother Rice junior, the 13th-rated 2026 LHP in the country, walked two for the No. 9 D-1 team in the state.

- Fraser High School’s Jack Manzella threw a five-inning perfect game against Port Clinton. The 12th-ranked junior right-handed pitcher in Michigan fanned 10.

- Senior right-hander Ben Cretsinger struck out 17 in a win for Parchment, tying Aaron Jasiak for the second-most in school history behind 18 from Troy Moratti back in 2002.

YOUTH SHINES

It has been a smooth start to the sophomore season for Kaden Yuncker. The Shepherd High School 10th-grader is now 5-0 on the season after picking up two wins this week, including a shutout of Spring Lake, dealing the No. 8 team in the state in Division 2 its first loss of the season and helping Shepherd jump to 20th in the rankings in D-2.

The right-handed pitcher gave up one earned run in 11.1 innings for the week, allowing eight hits and one walk while striking out five.

Yuncker has now thrown 29.2 frames surrendering 16 hits and three free passes while setting 24 down on Ks. He not only is 5-0, but has a save to go along with a 0.944 ERA.

The win over Spring Lake marked the second victory against a ranked team this year for Yuncker, who previously was the winning pitcher against Beal City, the No. 3 Division 4 team.

There were two other sophomores that had solid weeks reported this week…

- Tanner Rachels went 8-17 with three doubles, three walks, four RBIs and five runs scored for Niles, the 14th-ranked team in Division 2. The 17th-rated 2027 catcher in the state is hitting .321 with 15 runs scored on the year with a .419 OBP, .491 slugging percentage and .910 OPS. 

- Alex Castelucci had five RBIs and a 1.511 OPS during a 5-8 week at the plate, hitting two doubles for Edwardsburg. The sophomore third baseman, who also pitches, is now batting .333 on the season with a .870 OPS.

TEAM NOTES

- Greenhills won the regular season CHSL Intersectional division with a sweep of Royal Oak Shrine on Saturday. The Gryphons are the sixth-ranked Division 3 team in the state.

- Trenton went 5-0 this week, allowing just one total run, and remained seventh in the D-2 state rankings. Trenton outscored the opposition 35-1 for the week.

- Newberry is now 7-4-1 on the season after a 4-0 week that saw the Indians outpoint their foes 69-3.

- The Spring Lake 1-0 loss to Shepherd, the first defeat of the year for the No. 9 team in the state in Division 2, came on a squeeze in the top of the sixth inning.

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