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BIRMINGHAM-BLOOMFIELD EAGLE: JUNE 24, 2009
Senior did it all for Rice baseball
If it was a big game, the ball was in his hand. If it was a key hit that was needed, there was no better player digging into the box then him.
Heck, if it was a state championship on the line, he was in there frustrating batter after batter while tossing a shutout with an ease that almost seemed unfair.

 

 

MACOMB COUNTY
Hats off in the MAC
MAC baseball coaches honor league’s top players of 2009

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Lakeview baseball finds identity with senior class
ST. CLAIR SHORES — Lake Shore senior works way to MVP honor
 
 

 

OAKLAND COUNTY
Naming the best
OAA names its top baseball players after successful season

 

CLAWSON — Clawson High senior hits way to MVP, All-State honors

 
GROSSE POINTE TIMES
Young GPS squad exceeds expectations
All Grosse Pointe South baseball did after graduating 14 seniors — nine of whom went on to play college ball — was come within nine outs of a Division 1 regional title.
 
• Blue Devils take second straight district
• North and South gear up for playoffs
• North suffers first loss to state champ
• University Liggett picks up where 2008 grads left off
• South takes new roster into new league
 

TROY TIMES
Athens defeats Troy in opener, falls in district semifinal to Eisenhower
“I figured with our overall youth and inexperience, this would be a rebuilding year,” said Mike Morris, the Troy Athens skipper. “But looking back on everything, I have to admit, this is probably the year I will take the most pride in as far as coaching is concerned.”

• Athens senior signs to continue career with Concordia University
• Troy gets early crack at defending D-1 state champ
• A year after semifinal appearance, Troy is set on getting back
• With nine seniors, five pitchers gone, Athens is rebuilding

 
MACOMB CHRONICLE
Baseball talent excels behind plate
Wearing the “tools of ignorance” — as a catcher’s gear was dubbed by 1920s catcher Herold “Muddy” Ruel — takes a commitment to absorbing foul balls, diving in front of 80-plus mph pitches and standing strong while runners sprint toward home.
 
• LC North baseball looks to rebound
• Dakota baseball returns core from record-setting 2008
 

ST. CLAIR SHORES SENTINEL
Lake Shore baseball ends season in regional final
Following the St. Clair Shores Lake Shore baseball team’s 4-3 loss in a Division 2 regional final against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s June 6, coach Chris Kuppe was proud of what he saw. After watching his team work its way to a Macomb Area Conference White Division title and a D-2 district crown, Kuppe told his players to be proud of what they accomplished.

• Lakeview, Lake Shore bring baseball titles back to Shores
• Lakeview epitomizes skippers' style, teachings
• Spring Break tourney gives glimpse of MAC races
• Macomb County Spring Break baseball tournament
• Lake Shore looks to pitching for further success
 
 
ROYAL OAK REVIEW
Clawson High takes league title
Clawson High baseball coach Colin Quinn has just one regret about his team’s 9-1 Macomb Area Conference Silver Division record and the accompanying league title — that it came perhaps a year later than he would have liked.
 
• Road trip is key to Royal Oak bonding
 

WARREN WEEKLY
Warren De La Salle baseball wins state title, caps year
After seeing their football team fall in a Division 2 state final, their basketball team reach a Class A state quarterfinal and their soccer team reach a Division 1 regional final, the Pilots’ baseball team knew it had to bring home a Division 1 state championship.

• Warren Woods Tower baseball calls on history during rough start
• Veteran De La Salle baseball team focused on victories
• Warren Mott baseball sets sights on MAC White title
 
 
MADISON PARK NEWS
Lamphere tops Warren Woods Tower
 April 29 was one of those days. It was a day where seemingly everything the Madison Heights Lamphere team did worked, while the host Titans just couldn’t make the key plays at key times in their 16-4 Macomb Area Conference Gold Division loss.
 
• Madison looks forward to new league with new roster
• Lamphere looks to capitalize on talent
 

BIRMINGHAM-BLOOMFIELD EAGLE
Country Day back on baseball map after magical 2009 playoff run
As far as meaningless hits are considered, this was one of them. Down by seven runs and with just five outs remaining in a Division 2 quarterfinal, it was a looping single that landed softly in front of the right fielder.

• Brother Rice learns how tough it is to defend state title
• Country Day upends defending D-2 champ, wins regional title
• Brother Rice baseball earns second straight regional title
• Brother Rice and Country Day earn baseball regional crowns
• Trio of seniors has been starring for Groves baseball team since 2006
• Seaholm players say chemistry is fueling strong season
• Brother Rice and Grosse Pointe North baseball squads duel
• Brother Rice has eye on second straight state title
• Groves offense heats up in league opener with temps falling to the 40s
     
 
FARMINGTON PRESS
Pelletier rewrites Harrison record book
The sequence of events that played out in the win early in the 2009 season is something Farmington Hills Harrison baseball coach Pete Lamerato and senior Steve Pelletier won’t soon forget.
 
• Season comes to a close for Farmington teams
• Farmington High regrouped and refocused
• Harrison basbeall coach confident this could be the year
 

THE EASTSIDER
Roseville High baseball team reaches its potential
For the Roseville High baseball team, it was just a matter of sticking with it. The Panthers spent much of the regular season battling injuries and wrapped up the year 5-5 in the Macomb Area Conference Silver Division, 6-9 overall.

• Pitching leads young Eastpoint East Detroit team
• Roseville baseball plays through injuries with young players
 
 
SHELBY-UTICA NEWS
Titans ride young pitchers to semifinal
If the Utica Stevenson baseball team’s 2009 Division 1 district championship is a preview, 2010 should be a very exciting season. The Titans rode a roster with only five seniors to regionals, where they met Warren De La Salle and fell 9-0 June 6 at Anchor Bay.
 
• Eisenhower offense rolling in MAC Red play
• Eisenhower offense rolling in MAC Red play
• Team chemistry, work ethic and defense leading Utica
 

ROCHESTER POST
Prep baseball team ending the year in CHSL final is no small task
There was nothing easy about walking off this field in this fashion. There was nothing fun about dropping a game of this magnitude in the way it was dropped. At the same time, there’s something to be said about being on this field on this day. There’s some solace in the fact they had the chance to win, or lose, a game like this.

• Rochester Adams and Avondale baseball teams end ’09 in regional play
• Adams has 18 wins in 21 games, VanRobays credits entire team
• Stoney Creek players enjoying baseball again
 
 
STERLING HEIGHTS SENTRY
Parkway makes it to state final
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian baseball coach Angelo Gust knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity. After battling prostate cancer, which he has been clear of for five years, Gust has a unique perspective on life’s challenges.
 
• Parkway baseball team gets the job done
• Stevenson successfully plugs in youth
 
WOODWARD TALK
Berkley and Southfield baseball teams play game for cancer
It’s affected practically everyone in one way or another, whether they’re a close family member or a distant friend.
 
• Teams play to raise cancer awareness, research funding
• If Berkley successful ’09 season, it could come thanks to a difficult loss
 
 
SOUTHFIELD SUN
Two teams, two winning seasons
It was the end of a season, but if you ask Steve Sharp, this was the beginning of something very special with the Southfield High baseball program. The Blue Jays ended their 2009 campaign following a Division 1 regional semifinal loss to Detroit Western International June 6.
 
• Southfield wins Division 1 district title
• Southfield-Lathrup is becoming a baseball school
• Blue Jays use 2009 to get back on the baseball map
 
WEST BLOOMFIELD BEACON
Eaglets end 2009 season in Division 2 semifinal loss
Championship games aren’t often intended for teams with records anywhere below .500. As a matter of fact, entering the 2009 baseball finals in Divisions 1-4, the combined record for every team not named Orchard Lake St. Mary’s was an astonishing 222-40.
 
• St. Mary's headed to Battle Creek for baseball semifinals
• St. Mary's outlasts Country Day in Division 2 quarterfinals
• St. Mary's baseball team earns district title
• With playoffs set to begin, West Bloomfield baseball hitting its stride
• Youthful OLSM baseball team keeps focus set on the postseason
 
 
THE JOURNAL
Clintondale wins MAC Bronze title
Teams win championships for a number of different reasons, and the 2009 Macomb Area Conference Bronze Division champion Clinton Township Clintondale baseball team is no different.
 
• Young L’Anse Creuse baseball team ends season with 20 wins
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