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BIRMINGHAM — Birmingham Seaholm baseball took a program-altering leap this season behind a slew of junior talent.
Seaholm’s 28-6 record, the winningest record in school history, notched the team an Oakland Activities Association-White title and the school’s first district title since 1988, and junior Nick Shenefelt played a vital role in that success.
“He’s just a great player in every way,” Seaholm coach John Toth said. “He can hit, field and pitch. He’s very measured in a way where he never gets too high and he never gets too low. I think once he realized, and it was probably a little before midway in the season, once he realized he could use all fields and he could do it with power, he pretty much never looked back.”
Shenefelt earned first team all-State honors awarded by the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association after posting an offensive slash line of .417/.524/.698 with a 1.222 OPS (on-base plus slugging) this season. Shenefelt tallied four home runs, 40 hits, 38 RBIs, and 22 walks this season.
While his offensive production was all-State worthy, Shenefelt’s pitching numbers showcased another all-State worthy performance this season.
In 51.1 innings this season, Shenefelt earned a 5-3 record while tallying 75 strikeouts with a 1.36 ERA.
As exciting as it was to watch him on the mound this season, Shenefelt said the moment of coach Toth texting him about the all-State news was a feeling of joy he’ll never forget.
“I started running around out of excitement,” Shenefelt said. “It was a great feeling and I was so happy to get that honor.”
While it was celebration time for Shenefelt, Seaholm and Toth were waiting to see junior shortstop Granden Kinnie’s name on the all-State list as well.
Kinnie posted impressive numbers both on the mound and at the plate, holding an offensive slash line of .429/.483/.561 with a 1.044 OPS, 42 hits, 13 doubles and 34 RBIs while posting a 6-1 record with a 1.20 ERA on the mound.
“He had a great year,” Toth said. “He should be all-State. There’s no doubt about that. He should be all-State.”
Shenefelt and Kinnie will look to continue Seaholm’s successful 2023 campaign into next season.
