Seniors Baseball All-Stars Bow Out of Regional Tournament

The District #9 Boy's Senior Baseball team lost a best of three Sectional series with the District #12 team from Holton this weekend.

Here is a recap of the games.

Game #1: Mike Priest pitched a strong game for Southern. He battled throughout the game, allowing a few unearned runs, while getting out of multiple jams. Offensively, Southern had chances to score, but could not string anything together against Holton's pitcher who kept them off balance by mixing up his pitches well. Holton played a strong defensive game nailing a couple of Southern runners on the base paths. Southern scored their only run when David Zwiers hit a long double, and was driven in on a sacrifice fly from Austin Huizinga. Final score: District #12 over District #9, 3 to 1.

Game #2: Southern jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st. By the end of the 2nd it had increased to 5-0. Jake Lewis started the game on the mound for Southern but due to the early lead, was removed and saved for the championship game. Chris Collins did an excellent job in relief in this game to make sure the game ended in a Southern victory. Leading the hit parade were Austin Huizinga with 3 hits and 3 RBI, Taylor Martin with 2 hits and 4 RBI, and Nick Wojcynski with an RBI double. Final score: District #9 over District #12, 11 to 0.

Game #3: The rubber game was a well played game through the first 7 innings. As expected out of two teams good enough to make a Sectional Final Game, each team got some great pitching and defense through regulation. Jake Lewis pitched into the 8th inning, having a no-hitter for the majority of the game. However, once his pitch count required removing him from the mound, things fell apart for Southern. The Holton bats came alive against a trio of Southern relievers, coupled with some walks and Southern errors to blow open an exciting game scoring 12 runs. True to their character, the Southern team did not give up fighting scoring 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th, before bowing out of the tournament. Leading hitters included Taylor Martin with 2 hits and an RBI, and Mike Priest who was on base many times. Final score: District #12 over District #9, 12 to 4.

The Southern Senior Boy's baseball team represented itself well, going 6-2 during their tournament run. They came together as a team (from different school teams including East Grand Rapids, Catholic Central, Christian, and Ottawa Hills) and battled not only other teams but also the high heat, playing 8 games in a span of 11 days in 90+ temperatures. While the outcome was not what everyone wanted, Manager Steve Lewis, coaches Jeff Huizinga and Jay Martin, along with all the parents that watched these games are all very proud of the effort put forth by the Southern kids.