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Michigan Diamond Notes: May 11-17

Luke Crighton had a week to remember for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

The Indiana commit threw a shutout in the Catholic High School League finals helping the No. 1 team in the Power 25 complete a sweep of the bracket, beating teams by a combined score of 27-0.

The sixth-ranked 2026 in Michigan, this week’s Prep Baseball Michigan Player of the Week, also got the job done at the plate going 6-12 with a double, triple and an inside the park home run that opened the scoring in the CHSL finals.

PITCHING WELL

Nathan Siler came through when called upon by Sacred Heart, beating Carson City Crystal and defending Division 3 state champion Traverse City St. Francis, the fourth-ranked team in Division 3.

The 10th-rated 2027 right-handed pitcher in Michigan faced 16 batters in five innings and gave up one hit against Carson City Crystal, striking out 15. In the Traverse City St. Francis game, Siler surrendered a hit to the second batter, then retired 21 in a row, finishing with 13 Ks while not allowing a walk.

Overall he fanned an impressive 28 batters in 12 innings, retiring 36 of 39 batters faced while allowing just two hits and one unearned run in helping the No. 2 team in Division IV improve to 27-3 entering play this week

Not enough? Siler also went 6-10 at the plate with three runs and three RBIs.

Over the course of the season, Siler has given up only four earned runs with 98 Ks and only six walks in 47 frames while winning 10 of 11 decisions. 

- Williamston is 16th in the Power 25 rankings and the pitching of Brett Palmer has been a huge part of the success. The uncommitted left-hander has a 0.66 ERA and 0.75 WHIP after throwing 10 shutout innings this past week. The senior southpaw tossed a one-hit shutout at Haslett, striking out 10, while also throwing three scoreless one-hit frames versus Brighton. Palmer finished the week allowing just two hits and three walks with 13 Ks to boost his season total to 62 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. Palmer has a 7-1 record on the year, giving up 20 hits and 12 free passes.

- A dominant season on the mound rolls on for Plymouth Christian Academy’s Michael Fernandez, who struck out seven while allowing one earned run and four hits in five innings of a 12-2 win against Divine Child, the No. 5 team in the state in Division 2 and 13th ranked in the Power 25. The recent USC-Sumter commit has a 0.692 ERA on the year with 36 Ks in 30 innings.

- Jaylen Johnson threw a complete game shutout as Churchill picked up a 2-0 win over Woodhaven. The uncommitted junior right-hander struck out eight, allowing two hits in the outing, and is now 6-1 with a .516 ERA on the year.

TWO WAY PERFORMERS

Conor Rentfrow batted .684 during the week with five doubles, three home runs, 18 RBIs and a dozen runs scored for Columbia Central, the third-ranked team in the state in Division 3, which defeated No. 1 Lumen Christi.

The Taylor University commit also had two wins on the mound, striking out 31 and walking just one in 13 innings allowing only one earned run.

The senior right-hander now has 102 Ks on the year with a 0.447 ERA, while at the plate is batting .529 with six bombs and 17 doubles.

- Caden Sommerfield won a pair of games for Frankenmuth, beating D-2 No. 18 Freeland and Flushing, allowing just one earned run on seven hits in 12 innings with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 19-1. In 49.2 frames on the year, the Saginaw Valley State commit has 84 Ks and a 0.432 ERA, giving up 17 hits with a 6-2 record. The senior RHP/MIF is also doing the job with the stick, scoring six runs in a 6-14 week that included two doubles and a walk with two RBIs and four stolen bases. Overall, Sommerfield is hitting .437 with 22 runs and 22 steals.

- Hudson Brzustewicz threw six shutout innings for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in an 11-0 win over DeLaSalle in the CHSL semifinals. The top-ranked 2026 shortstop in the state also hit for the cycle over the course of the week with a single, double, triple and home run, going 4-9 with four RBIs for the No. 1 team in the Power 25 rankings.

- Luke Spoelma went the distance on the mound as South Christian picked up a 5-1 win over ranked East Grand Rapids last week. The sophomore righthander struck out six and also went 2-3 with a double at the plate in the game. On the week, Spoelma went 5-11 with a pair of doubles as South Christian went 3-0

- Two wins during the week improved Hawk Harding to 8-0 on the year with a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP for Williamston. The right-handed senior had nine Ks in 10.2 innings for the week while walking just one. The Lansing CC commit, a 3B/RHP, also had eight hits and drove in eight with a triple, four runs, four steals and a walk and now carries a .456 batting mark with 27 RBIs, 25 runs, 14 base on balls, 14 stolen bases and a 1.230 OPS for the No. 6 D-2 team in the state.

- Bradyn Harper struck out 29 in 12 innings pitching during the week for Our Lady of the Lake-St. Joseph. The southpaw had a complete game victory and for the week surrendered six hits and three earned runs. For the season, the junior is 3-2 with a 1.477 ERA, fanning 102 in 42.2 frames. The junior also got the job done at the plate, driving in six while going 7-13 with three doubles, three runs and three steals. Overall, Harper is batting .386 with 20 RBIs, 16 runs, eight doubles and 24 stolen bases.

- Mid-Michigan College recruit Tristan Slater won a pair of games during the week to improve to 5-0 on the season for Negaunee. The senior threw 8.2 frames and struck out 11, walking three and giving up eight hits and two earned runs. Slater, who missed the first 21/2 weeks of the season with a pulled groin, now has 27 Ks in 20.2 innings. The center fielder/pitcher also had a strong week at the plate going 8-20 with six runs, three RBIs and five stolen bases. Overall, he has a .462 average with 16 RBIs and 16 runs while swiping 11 bags.

- Bryce Mitchell went 4-7 with six RBIs against Brimley while also fanning two in 0.2 innings for the victory. Mitchell also finished 4-7 with seven RBIs versus Cedarville-DeTour. The Rudyard sophomore 1B/RHP ended the week 9-17 with 14 RBIs and eight runs. The cleanup hitter has now driven in 26 while scoring 19 runs with a .373 batting average.

HOT STICKS

It was not the start to the season Braylen Burrel envisioned but things sure have changed.

After going 0-27 to begin the year, the North Muskegon senior has had 11 hits in his last 21 at-bats including a walk-off hit to beat Division 1 Mona Shores.

That was the highlight of a 7-17 week for the 2026 first baseman, who drove in five, stole three bags and had a double.

Burrel now has 14 RBIs on the campaign for a Division 3 Norsemen team that is 19-9 on the year.

- Maguire Bowles of Vicksburg is the Hitter of the Week in the state. The junior outfielder in Michigan went 12-16 with five doubles and three home runs, driving in seven while scoring 10 runs in five games played by the 14th-ranked Division 2 squad in the state.

- A walk-off bomb to beat Portage Northern stood out in an impressive week at the plate for Max Markham. The Kalamazoo Valley CC signee drove in nine to go along with three long balls, while keeping his season batting average at .500 with a 9-18 performance for Gull Lake. The senior third baseman, who is 2-0 with a save and a 0.84 ERA on the mound this year, now has eight home runs on the season with 40 RBIs, 30 runs and a dozen doubles.

- Dante Perry is having an outstanding season for Woodhaven and it continued this past week. The uncommitted senior outfielder was 6-14 with a triple, home run and two walks, driving in six and scoring five while stealing six bases. The left-handed hitting center fielder for the No. 4 Division 1 team in Michigan now has 44 runs, 28 stolen bases, 27 RBIs and 25 walks on the year, hitting seven doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs while batting at a .457 clip.  

- Levi Mayer and Jaxon Clark both produced nine hits for Rudyard. Mayer, a junior second baseman, hit his first career home run in a 9-18 week that included 14 RBIs, six runs and four doubles to boost his season totals to .357, 22 RBIs, 17 runs and seven two-base knocks. Clark scored a dozen and drove in 10, going 9-20 with three doubles and five stolen bases. Overall, the senior shortstop has a .348 batting average with 30 runs, 22 stolen bases, 20 RBIs and five doubles. 

- Adrian’s Luke Bruggeman boosted his batting average to .302 with an 8-17 week that included a triple, three RBIs, six runs and a stolen base. The sophomore third baseman has 21 runs on the season with three triples while swiping 15 bases.

- Five RBIs on the week has the season total now at 20 for Luke Purves, who went 6-13 with a double, triple and two walks for Frankenmuth. The senior 3B/C has two homers, two triples and a pair of doubles on the season with 17 runs and 16 walks while fanning just three times.

- While Bryce Smith can play outfield, infield, pitcher and catcher for Shepherd, the senior is really excelling at the plate. Smith went 8-20 with two doubles and a walk, driving in five, scoring four times and stealing four bases. On the season, the 12th-grader has touched home 26 times with a .342 batting mark, producing eight doubles and a triple with 15 RBIs and 20 stolen bags.

- A 6-10 week actually lowered the batting average for Evan DellAngelo of Negaunee. The junior shortstop in Michigan had eight runs, seven RBIs, two doubles, two walks and a home run with three stolen bases last week. DellAngelo, who returned to action on May 5 after suffering an injury during football, is now hitting .636 on the season with three homers and three doubles, scoring 14 and driving home 14.

- Powers Catholic won all six games last week, clinching the Saginaw Valley League South Division title. Junior Eli Sturgess had 11 hits in the six games and freshman Kane Sekelsky drove in 10 runs for Powers, which will take on SVL-North Champ Bay City Western in a three-game series this week for the overall league title. 

- Carson Spica was 8-18 with six RBI's in a 6-0 week for Traverse City Central. The junior shortstop also scored nine runs and stole eight bags.

- Junior Mason Marsee went 7-11 with three doubles and a triple for an Allen Park team that went 4-0 on the week.

- Preston Paoletti capped off a big week with career hit number 100 versus Churchill last weekend. The uncommitted junior went 14-20 at the plate with 17 RBI's and 10 runs scored for a Chelsea team that went 5-0.

- Hunter Van Sickler picked up career hit number 150 last week for Williamston. The senior outfielder is a Grand Valley State recruit.

- Andrew Scott collected his 100th career hit for Rochester. The senior outfielder in Michigan is a Heidelberg recruit.

COACHING MILESTONES

Bryan Scheurer became the second coach in the state to pick up his 500th coaching victory recently. The Portland St. Patrick mentor earned the coveted win over the weekend. David Sidebender of Brandywine had previously garnered win number 500.

There have been a number of other coaches that hit milestones recently. 

Juston Miller of Lowell and Ben Wright of Chippewa Hills both have reached 400 victories.

David Checkley at Armada, Eric Magiera at Rochester, Dave Herrick at Oxford and Terry Pant at Ottawa Lake Whiteford all hit the 300-win mark.

Ryan Orr with Williamston and Jared Janssen with Monroe St. Mary Catholic have each obtained win number 100.

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