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Michigan Diamond Notes: May 4 - 10

Cameron Thorning just keeps driving in runs for Woodhaven.

The 37th-rated 2027 catcher in the country now has 42 RBIs on the season after bringing home 16 this week for the No. 5 team in the Power 25 rankings. Four home runs were part of an 11-19 week for the second-ranked junior backstop in Michigan. The left-handed hitter also had four doubles and two walks while scoring seven runs.

The Wright State commit is batting .475 on the season with 38 hits in 80 at-bats, belting out 11 doubles and five bombs while walking 17 times and touching home on 17 occasions.

TWO-WAY STANDOUTS

Javion Gray did not permit an earned run in picking up two wins for University Liggett this week while also pounding out 10 hits.

Gray was 10-18 with two doubles, a triple and a home run, scoring four times, driving in four and stealing four bags while walking twice. Overall, Gray has 24 RBIs, 21 runs, 16 steals and 11 extra-base hits.

On the mound, the senior defeated Cardinal Mooney during a 2-0 week that included 16 Ks, two walks and just one hit allowed in 10 innings. Gray is 6-0 on the year with a 0.91 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, striking out 44 in 31 frames.

- Kylan Nielsen did not permit a run in 10 innings on the hill, picking up a win while fanning 10, walking one and giving up six hits. The senior shortstop for North Muskegon also went 7-19 at the plate with five walks, three runs, three stolen bases and a pair of RBIs. The Muskegon CC signee is batting .377 overall with 13 base on balls, 12 RBIs and 10 runs. The right-hander is 5-2 on the mound, allowing seven earned runs in 44.2 innings with 44 Ks.

- Andrew Jerome did not give up an earned run in six innings to garner his fourth victory in six decisions for North Branch, striking out 10 to push his season total to 46 in 29.2 frames with a 0.876 WHIP and 2.59 ERA. The outfielder in Michigan also hit two homers, a double and a single in 14 plate appearances with six walks and four runs batted in.

- Nine RBIs during a nine-hit week was one of the highlights turned in by Lennox Peacock of Escanaba. The Western Michigan commit was 9-18 with eight runs, three walks, a double and a stolen base to push his season totals to 19 RBIs, 18 runs and a .464 batting mark. The 12th-rated 2026 right-handed pitcher in the state also beat Saginaw Swan Valley 5-2, going seven strong with seven Ks in a four-hit outing against the ninth-ranked team in Division 2. 

- Oxford’s Bradley Bieniasz threw a two-hitter allowing one run and a walk with seven Ks in a seven-inning victory over Rochester Adams. The junior also hit a three-run homer in the league win over the No. 1 squad in D-1.

- Conor Rentfrow struck out 16 and hit a home run in a 2-3 performance for Columbia Central against Homer. The Taylor University recruit, was 7-13 overall for the week with two doubles, a bomb and seven RBIs.

- Lucas Sinkler stole seven bases and drove in four runs for Lawrence in a twinbill sweep of Comstock, going 4-5 with a double and a walk. The junior right-hander also pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and one walk while fanning nine in an 11-5 first-game victory.

HOT HITTING

Okemos takes a 16-3 record into action this week, ranked 17th in Division 1 and 23rd in the Power 25. Three seniors and a junior were a big part of success this past week, combining for 29 RBIs.

Keagan Noble drove in eight runs and scored seven with three walks, two doubles and a triple in a 7-16 performance, swiping three bags. The Northwood commit has eight doubles, three triples and two homers overall with 26 runs, 22 RBIs, 21 steals and a .459 batting average.

Jimmy Pignataro also had eight RBIs and seven runs, going 6-18 with a double, three free passes and a stolen base. The left-handed hitting senior third baseman has a .472 average for the year with 26 runs while plating 24.

The third senior that brought home eight runs was Madonna University recruit Ray Smith who was 7-14 with two doubles, a pair of home runs, three walks and three runs scored.

Junior center fielder Carter Haremski went 8-15 with two doubles, five RBIs and four stolen bases while scoring eight to push his season total to 23 runs scored along with 15 RBIs and 13 steals. 

- Bennett Gaston went 12-20 with four doubles and three home runs, scoring 13 runs and driving home nine. The impressive performance by the third-rated junior shortstop in the state helped Jackson Lumen Christi to a 7-0 week and the top spot in the Division 3 rankings.

- Clutch described the week for Monroe St. Mary’s Lukas Linzell, who had a walkoff hit to beat D-2 No. 2 New Boston Huron and a grand slam against Whiteford. The senior catcher was 5-13 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBIs for the No. 6 team in Division 3. The Toledo signee now has 17 RBIs and 15 runs scored with six doubles and a .413 batting average.

- Winners of 14 in a row, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s is the regular season CHSL champions and Hudson Brzustewicz is a big reason why. The 95th-rated senior shortstop in the nation and top-ranked in Michigan went 10-18 with three doubles and a home run with seven RBIs during a 6-0 week by the No. 1 team in the Power 25. The Notre Dame commit really stood out in a sweep of Rochester Adams, going 6-7 with a double and home run while driving in six.

- Walled Lake Northern won five of six games and Landon Wilkoff led the way with two doubles, two triples and a home run in going 11-18. The Hope College commit had nine RBIs, scored eight, walked three times and was hit by a pitch, while also stealing six bases. With no strikeouts at the dish, the senior outfielder has just two on the year while batting .552 with a 1.532 OPS, driving in 28 and scoring 20 runs. 

- Alma 2026 catcher Ethan Helinski belted three home runs and a double in a 5-10 week that included seven RBIs, seven runs and seven walks. The senior was also hit by a pitch twice, had a sac fly and swiped six bases. On the year, Helinski has 26 runs, 20 walks and 17 RBIs to go with four homers and eight doubles.

- Owen Tappenden is in the midst of a big senior season. A left-handed hitting Kellogg CC recruit went 12-19 this past week with six home runs and three doubles, driving in 18 in the six games played. Tappenden now has 13 home runs on the year.

- Jack Manzella features a fastball into the low 90's on the mound but is also having a big spring at the plate. Reaching base on eight of 10 plate appearances, Michigan State commit went 7-9 with three doubles, a triple and a walk for Fraser, scoring five and bringing in three. The ninth-rated senior in Michigan has a .479 season average with six doubles, 14 RBIs, 11 runs and 10 walks.

- Mikaiden Hughes went 10-20 with three doubles, five runs, six RBI's and a stolen base. The junior backstop for Escanaba now has five two-base hits and a .365 batting average for the No. 15 team in Division 2.

- Brady Detwiler has scored 26 runs on the year after a 10-run week for Imlay City. The senior second baseman was 9-15 with two doubles, three RBIs and four steals.

HARD TO HIT

Josh Vanderlugt is the second-rated 2027 left-handed pitcher in Michigan and is showing why.

The South Florida commit tossed a no-hitter at Grand Haven this week, striking out 14 and walking one in the seven-inning masterpiece. The 6-0 win has Hudsonville entering this week with a 19-4 record and a No. 10 rating in Division 1 and 14th in the Power 25.

- Ethan Armstrong fired a one-hit shutout, striking out 15 to lead Garden City to a win over Freeland in a battle of ranked Division 2 squads. Facing the minimum number of batters in the game, the only hit off of the Michigan recruit was an infield single by the second batter of the game, who was then caught stealing.

- Niles Senior’s Jax Racht did not allow an earned run in an eight-inning win over Vicksburg in a matchup of state-ranked teams. The Youngstown State signee, the seventh-rated senior RHP in Michigan, gave up four hits, one walk and two runs in eight innings, fanning 11 to lift D-2 No. 14 Niles past D-2 No. 17 Vicksburg.

- Brady Lindstrom came up big in helping Rochester Adams rebound from a game one defeat to beat Oxford in game two of the OAA series. The junior right-hander threw a six-hit shutout against the No. 7 team in the state in Division 1, giving up three hits while recording seven Ks for the No. 1 team in D-1.

- A trio of pitchers came through for Sacred Heart in three wins versus Division 2 competition. Junior Nathan Siler fanned four in 5.1 innings in a 2-1 victory over D-2 No. 16 Freeland, allowing six hits and three walks. Senior Brady Davis went 6.2 three-hit frames in a 3-1 triumph against Freeland, striking out four and walking two. Three days later, senior Noah Zeien got the start against Big Rapids and had six strikeouts in 6.2 innings, giving up four hits and three free passes for the top-ranked team in D-4.

- North Muskegon senior Logan Slimko threw a three-hit shutout at Ravenna, striking out 15 and walking four in seven innings. The eighth-ranked 2026 right-handed pitcher in Michigan is a Dartmouth commit.

TEAMS PLAYING WELL

Late-game heroics was the name of the game last week for Flint Powers Catholic.

On Monday, freshman Kane Sekelsky had a three-run bases-clearing hit in the bottom of the sixth against Davison to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead and Aidan Corcoran earned the save with a scoreless seventh.

The nightcap was suspended with Davison up 6-2 after four, but when play resumed on Wednesday, Powers cut the deficit to 6-4 in the last of the sixth and then took the lead on an Eli Sturgess three-run homer. After the bomb by the seventh-rated junior shortstop in Michigan, Corcoran then came on for another save in the seventh.

On Saturday, Powers trailed visiting Fenton 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh when Sekelsky delivered a bases-loaded walk-off double for a 4-3 win.

- University Liggett enters the week riding a 12-game winning streak after beating Gabriel Richard 14-0 and 7-0, Royal Oak 5-1, Grosse Pointe North 5-2 and Cardinal Mooney 10-1.

The fifth-ranked team in Division 3 is 17-9 after the 5-0 week.

- It was not an average 2-2 week for Monroe St. Mary’s. The No. 6 team in Division 3 split with North Boston Huron, the second-ranked team in D-2 and sixth in the Power 25, beat Whiteford, and lost to Columbia Central, the fourth ranked team in D3.

- Woodhaven is fourth in Division 1 and fifth in the Power 25 after scoring 55 runs in a 5-0 week that moved the Warriors to 24-3 on the season.

- Three D3 and D4 powerhouses will be in action Saturday when D-4 No. 1 Sacred Heart hosts defending D3 State champs Traverse City St. Francis and defending D4 state champs Portland St. Patrick in a round robin.

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