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Michigan Diamond Notes: May 5-11

Swan Valley has a 12-game winning streak through last week after beating Bullock Creek and Escanaba, moving to 19-5 on the season.

Jaxon Hartley has certainly done his part, winning a pitching matchup with Lennox Peacock of Escanaba, the 15th-ranked junior right-handed pitcher in Michigan. Hartley, the No. 91 2026 in the state, threw a six-hitter and fanned 17 while not walking a batter in a 4-2 victory.

Hartley, who earlier in the season won a matchup with Hemlock’s Chad Brown, the 157th-rated senior RHP in the nation, is now 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA. In 38 innings the uncommitted junior has 76 strikeouts and just six walks with a .890 WHIP. Opponents are batting just .179 when he is on the mound.

Hartley has also had a big season at the plate with the 14th-ranked junior outfielder in the state carrying a .483 average with  29 runs, 19 RBIs, 16 walks, six doubles and 29 stolen bases.  

So who else had big weeks? Read on… 

HOT STICKS

A trio of seniors had 10 RBIs to highlight hot hitters in the state this week.

Kaeden Rarick of Kalamazoo Christian was 10-17 with 10 RBIs, Micah Lavigne of Plymouth Christian Academy went 9-14, plating 10 teammates, and Mason Brown of Lowell was 8-16 while driving in 10.

Rarick, the 273rd-rated 2025 in Michigan who plays center field for the No. 2 Division 3 team in the state, had four doubles, three triples, eight runs and four stolen bases and is now hitting .364 with 28 RBIs, nine two-base hits and five homers along with 32 runs.

Lavigne, a center fielder for the fifth-ranked Division 4 squad in Michigan, hit his second home run of the season, doubled his yearly amount of two-base hits with a pair and now has 20 RBIs on the campaign.  

Brown, a third baseman, had five two-base hits to bump up his season total to eight, while also scoring three runs.

There were other standouts with the bat worth mentioning as well…

- A pair of Brother Rice players went 8-16 this past week. Maksim Neshov had two doubles and a home run, scoring eight times and driving in four. Broder Katke belted a grand slam, hit a pair of doubles and drove in six for the No. 10 Power 25 team in Michigan. Neshov is the top-ranked freshman in the state and the No. 20 2028 outfielder in the country while Katke, a Duke recruit, is the No. 1 sophomore in Michigan and the seventh-rated sophomore catcher in the nation.

- Grayling center fielder Corbin Allen belted a pair of two-run homers in Saturday’s win over Rudyard, giving the senior six RBIs on the week. Allen was 7-10 with two doubles, two walks, two steals and four RBIS, upping his season totals three homers, 10 doubles, 31 runs, 26 stolen bases and 19 RBIs to go along with a .618 batting average.

- The second-ranked 2028 outfielder in the state is having a monster first high school season with Rochester Adams. Koltyn “Flip” Watters is batting .523 with a .575 OBP and 1.206 OPS for the No. 4 Power 25 team in Michigan.

- Matthew Kane of Traverse City St. Francis went 8-13 with three doubles, a triple and home run, scoring eight times, reaching on six walks and bringing in five runs. The ninth-ranked senior first baseman in the state is a Hope signee.

- Drake Roa scored 11 runs and drove in eight during an 8-14 week that included a pair of doubles and two home runs. The Notre Dame Prep standout, a Central Michigan commit and the fourth-rated junior SS in the state, also walked five times.

- Jace Davis had six hits and brought in six going 6-7 at the plate with a double and home run for Woodhaven against New Boston Huron. The 16th-rated senior shortstop in Michigan is a Lansing CC commit, 

- Nine hits in 11 at-bats to go along with four walks resulted in seven RBIs and three runs scored for Chippewa Valley’s Alex Hall. A Madonna commit, the senior hit two doubles and a home run while averaging .818 for the week.

- Four of the six hits by Jake Franklin were doubles in a 6-11 week that included five runs, four walks and three RBIs. The Buchanan senior shortstop is now batting .444 with 15 runs, 10 RBIs and six two-base knocks.

- Ben Essian had four singles and three doubles to go along with three walks in 17 plate appearances, driving in six and scoring five runs for Fraser. The senior shortstop now has six doubles on the season. 

- Milford junior Craig Borges hit .643 for the week, going 9-14 with six walks and four RBIs.

STRONG PITCHING

Pitching is a major reason that Forest Hills Eastern is the second-ranked Division 2 team in Michigan.

This past week three different pitchers threw shutouts for FHE, all going a different number of innings.

It took seven innings for Landen Lindley to complete a shutout of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, striking out seven and walking three in a four-hitter.

Colton Brinks fanned eight and did not give up a free pass in a one-hit six-inning shutout of Muskegon Oakridge. 

Kenric Penkevich needed just five innings to blank Traverse City Central on one hit, recording eight strikeouts while walking a pair.

Lindley, the 34th-ranked senior RHP in Michigan, is a Southeastern Illinois College commit. Brinks and Penkevich are both juniors, Brinks the No. 41 2026 right-handed pitcher in Michigan.

There were more good outings reported on the hill, including other teams that posted three shutouts …

- Woodhaven also had three straight victories holding opponents scoreless this week, all the games going seven innings. Senior Talan Holladay-Smith tossed a two-hitter with five Ks and two walks against Carlson and junior Kaden Newsted fired a four-hitter with three strikeouts and four free passes versus Allen Park. Tristan Spencer also had a four-hitter, blanking New Boston Huron, the No. 4 D-2 team in Michigan, with two Ks and four walks. The eighth-ranked freshman in Michigan, Spencer is a southpaw.

- Not to be outdone, Jenison also had three shutouts on the week against Mona Shores. Case Bosch, the 51st-rated senior LHP in the nation, did what he’s been doing all year with a three-hitter, striking out 11 and walking two. Ethan Lenzo, a junior right-hander, permitted four hits and one walk with one K in a seven-inning shutout while Ben Slagter struck out three, walked two and gave up six hits in a five-inning blanking. Bosch is a Coastal Carolina commit while Slagter, the 126th-rated senior in the state, is a Lake Michigan recruit.

- And finally, East Grand Rapids also left opponents shaking their heads. Junior righty Carson Stadel put down 13 batters on strikeouts in a seven-inning no-hitter, walking four. That came after the duo of Callan Royce and Will Hoefer combined on a shutout. Royce, a Kalamazoo Valley CC recruit, gave up two hits and two walks in six scoreless innings, striking out six before Hoefer came in to close it out with two Ks in one frame for the 10th-ranked Division 2 team in Michigan. Teammate Ryer Olsson, the 20th-rated 2026 RHP in the state, had a six-inning three-hitter with nine Ks and just one walk. 

- Dylan Luepke, the 32nd-ranked junior RHP in Michigan, had a pair of complete-game wins for De La Salle, throwing a one-hitter to beat Toledo St. John’s 3-1 and a two-hitter with nine strikeouts to edge Toledo St. Francis 2-1. That win clinched the CHSL Central Division title and gave the third-rated team in the state the top seed in the conference tournament.

- Will Landreth tossed a four-inning perfect game for Grand Rapids Catholic Central. The sophomore right-hander struck out seven in the win over Hastings.

- Jaxon Clark and Tanner Baker combined to throw a no-hitter for Rudyard. Clark went four innings with four Ks while Baker threw the final two frames striking out five.

- Brighton’s Andrew Everson had a no-hitter against Hartland, fanning seven and walking one in the seven-inning masterpiece. The Michigan State commit is the 33rd-rated senior right-handed pitcher.

- Junior left-hander Henry Ewles tossed a three-hit shutout against Division 1 eighth-ranked Grosse Pointe South, striking out four and walking two for Notre Dame Prep. The No. 23 2026 in Michigan is a Lehigh recruit.

- Byron Center’s Kellen Payne, a Nevada commit, threw a pair of shutouts, a one-hitter with 14 Ks against Reeths-Puffer and a three-hitter with four strikeouts versus Grosse Pointe South. The senior for the 11th-ranked Division 1 team is the No. 11 2025 RHP in the state.

- Cooper Letson struck out 11 and did not walk a batter in a five-inning no-hitter against Warren Woods Tower. The Marine City senior is the 27th-rated 2025 catcher in Michigan.

- A pair of infield singles was all that Michael Wambaugh allowed in a shutout of Traverse City Central. The No. 42 senior RHP in the state, a Spring Arbor signee, retired 17 on strikeouts while walking four for Muskegon Oakridge.

- Hunter Whitt won two games for Utica Ford, including a shutout of Rochester to win the Falcons Invitational. The senior left-hander struck out 10 and did not walk a batter in 7.1 innings for the week, moving to 3-1 on the season with 38 Ks in 29.1 innings.

- Despite only giving up one earned run in 11.2 innings for the week, Jacob Michaux lost one of two decisions and is now 3-1 on the year. The Cardinal Mooney junior struck out 15 and walked just two. For the season, Michaux has 46 Ks in 41.1 frames with a 0.677 ERA and .040 WHIP.

- The ERA for Noah Klein is now at 1.81 after giving up two earned runs in six innings of a win over Battle Creek Lakeview. The Portage Central junior allowed six hits while striking out four.

- Davison freshman Braeden Kerns pitched in two losses this week, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings in a 7-6 defeat to Powers Catholic and 6.2 frames in a 2-0 loss to D-1 second-ranked Bay City Western, giving up two hits and one earned run. The 2028 RHP has a 2-1 record, permitting just two earned runs in 20 innings with 28 strikeouts.

TWO-WAY STANDOUTS

Brett Hoffman reached a coveted number with his 200th career strikeout this week.

The Swartz Creek senior did not give up an earned run in eight innings, surrendering two hits while fanning 14. For the season Hoffman is 5-0 with 54 Ks in 33.1 frames while sporting a 2.00 ERA.

An infielder when not pitching, Hoffman is also having a big season at the plate for the 24th-rated team in the state in Division 1. This week he drove in six with two homers in a 6-12 performance, walking five times. On the year Hoffman is batting .429 with four homers, 31 RBIs, six doubles and three steals.

There were a few other players also worth noting that came up big at the dish as well as pitching this week.

- Lucas Zeiger drove in seven runs with seven hits, hitting a home run in a 7-15 week that included a walk, five runs scored and four stolen bases. The Buchanan junior right-hander also beat rival Berrian Springs with six strikeouts in five innings, giving up two earned runs. Zeiger, who is hitting .371, has 17 RBIs on the season and is 12-12 stealing bases.

- Rylan McNally had a no-decision in Portage Central’s game with Battle Creek Lakeview. The 36th-ranked  junior RHP in Michigan had 10 Ks and walked only one while allowing two earned runs and two hits in 6.2 innings. McNally also went 9-22 at the plate with five RBIs for the week.

- The No. 2 sophomore third baseman in Michigan had two doubles and a home run while driving in six. But the 6-17 performance at the plate for Keaton Van Kampen was not the highlight of the week. The Byron Center 2027 threw five no-hit innings with four Ks and two walks against Saline in a battle of state-ranked teams. Byron Center is No. 11 and Saline 15 in D-1.

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