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Baseball regionals: Allen, Lakers rally to beat Marion; West's Griffiths tosses no-no vs. Dow

james cook, the record-eagle, traverse city, mich.
·7 min read

Jun. 8—FRANKFORT — Welcome to the big time, Benji Allen.

The sophomore sensation did a little bit of everything to help No. 11-ranked Glen Lake to a 6 — 3 victory in the Division 4 regional baseball semifinal Wednesday over No. 14 Marion at Frankfort's Lockhart Field.

Allen was 3-for — 4 with two RBI as a hitter, and he came on in relief to pitch 4.1 innings while allowing just one hit and striking out 11, including a 1-2-3 sixth all on whiffs.

"If he keeps doing the things that he's doing, he's going to be one of the best that the school has ever seen," Glen Lake head coach Kris Herman said. "I don't say that in the heat of the moment or emotionally. I just say it logically. He's a sophomore. He does it at the plate; he does it on the mound. He has the potential to be one of the best we've ever had."

Neil Ihme also drove in two runs for the Lakers.

Allen led off the game with a rocket to right-centerfield and scored on a Noah Lamb RBI single.

West Michigan D League champion Marion (31-3) led 3-1 after three. Allen came on with two out in the third and fanned the lone batter he faced that inning.

"Just get up there, throw strikes, try and keep it low," Allen said. "I don't worry much about what's going wrong. Just control what we can control and throw strikes and do our best."

The Lakers added one back in the fourth when Peter Gelsinger came across on a squeeze bunt by Ihme.

Ihme drove in Michael Galla in the sixth with an infield single to tie the game at 3-3, and Allen put Glen Lake back in the lead with a two-run single to center to score James St. Peter and Ihme. The Lakers added an insurance run in the seventh on a St. Peter bloop single that brought home Aiden Gokey.

Allen stayed under 75 pitches, needing only 67, meaning he can pitch Saturday when the Lakers face No. 4 Beal City (28-8) at 10 a.m. in Holton. The other regional final at that site pits No. 3 Fowler (26-7) and No. 10 Muskegon Catholic (30-7-1) with the two winners facing off later Saturday for a spot in the state semifinals at Michigan State University.

DIVISION 1

Griffiths no-hits Midland Dow, West wins 1-0

Jack Griffiths shut down Midland Dow's offense completely, throwing a no-hitter to propel Traverse City West to the regional finals Saturday.

"He had himself a day," West head coach Matt Bocian said. "To throw a no-hitter against a team that has a D1 kid going to Coastal Carolina and their middle of the lineup is very tough, that's just great."

Griffiths struck out nine, gave up no hits and walked only two in seven innings. He threw 89 pitches in Wednesday's game in Midland, so he won't be able to pitch Saturday.

The Titans (28-11) move on to play Caledonia (16-22) in Saturday's 10 a.m. regional final at Central Michigan University. Mattawan (22-10-1) and Cedar Springs (24-14) face off in the other regional final there, with the two winners meeting in the state quarterfinals later that day.

Isaac Kelsey led off the second inning by getting plunked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Hunter Witham walked but ran out of the batter's box on the wild fourth ball, and the Titans ended up with runners on second and third. Sawyer Vanderlinde came through with an RBI single for what would be the game's only run.

"Anything can happen this time of year," Bocian said.

Vanderlinde, Owen Hendrix and Mike Healy had West's only base hits.

DIVISION 2

Petoskey beats Soo 9-1 for regional finals berth

Petoskey got back to the regional championship game for the second consecutive year with a 9-1 victory over Sault Ste. Marie

"Everybody had a hit and Max Ferrin pitched a complete game," Petoskey head coach Shawn Racignol said.

Stephen McGeehan gave Petoskey an early lead with a first-inning, two-run double.

Six Petoskey players drove in runs — Ely Pethers, Haden Janes, Trevor Swiss, Jordan Laura, Ferrin and McGeehan.

Petoskey (20-15) hosts the regionals finals and quarterfinals Saturday at Turcott Field, playing Spring Lake (20-13) at 10 a.m.

DIVISION 3

Benzie Central beats White Cloud 5-3

Benzie Central booked a spot in the Division 3 regional championship game with a 5-3 win over White Cloud at Hart.

Dan Wallington went the distance for the Huskies (22-15), allowing six hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out eight.

"Dan Wallington was a workhorse on the mound tonight," Benzie head coach Rich Gottardo said. "With the exception of one pitch tonight, he was executing three pitches for strikes and challenging White Cloud hitters. He did a great job keeping them off balance tonight and trusting his defense behind him."

Cael Katt was on fire with a 3-for-4 night with an RBI, while Wallington and Alberto Lopez each had a hit and drove in a run, and Steve Barron walked twice and had an RBI.

"Cael Katt was solid at the plate for us tonight," Gattardo said. "He's been our leadoff man all year, and was constantly on base tonight and setting the table for Lopez, Wallington and Barron."

Benzie faces No. 13 Gladstone (15-3) Saturday at the Trojan Athletic Complex in Traverse City.

DIVISION 3

#9 Charlevoix gets past Grayling, into regional final

Bryce Johnson and Owen Waha split pitching duties in a 6-0 regional semifinal win over Grayling.

Johnson struck out six over three innings, allowing three hits and one walk. Waha tossed the final four frames, fanning eight as he didn't allow a hit or walk.

Austin Spiegl went 3-for-4 with an RBI, triple, stolen base and two runs to lead the Rayder offense. Patrick Sterrett added a 2-for-4 game with two RBI and a run, while Waha drove in two runs and Ryan Pearl one. Troy Nickel had a hit, a run and a steal. Pearl also walked twice and stole a base.

"Super proud of these guys, they continue to put pressure on opponents early," Charlevoix coach Scott Nickel said. "Our pitching along with solid defense continues to shut other offenses down. We've outscored our opponents 60-2 in the last seven games. We are playing with a ton of confidence heading into the regional final. We are excited for Saturday."

Grayling's only hits came from Owen Triebold, Corbin Allen and Brodie Gross. The Vikings end the season 17-13, coming into Wednesday's semifinal on a five-game win streak.

Johnson threw 55 pitches and Waha 43, so both will be eligible to pitch Saturday when Charlevoix (30-5-1) takes on Standish-Sterling (23-11) at the Trojan Athletic Complex in Traverse City.

DIVISION 4

#8 East Jordan tops #9 Gaylord St. Mary

East Jordan emerged with a victory in a battle of top-10 teams, topping Gaylord St. Mary 9-6 on the Snowbirds' field.

Dawson Carey started for the Red Devils and left with a 9-1 lead after three innings. He allowed three hits, fanned six and walked two before returning to get the game's final two batters on flyouts.

Eli Burns led East Jordan with a double, two singles and an RBI. Korbyn Russell doubled and singled with two RBI, Brenden Aenis added a pair of RBI singles, Ethan Thomas and Steven Anderson each added two singles, and Carey doubled.

"I am super stoked for the boys as we head into Saturday with more baseball to play," Red Devils coach Tom Reid said. "What a great team win tonight."

Carey and Russell both stayed under 75 pitches — 59 for Carey and 73 by Russell — so they can both throw Saturday.

Dillon Croff and Donovan Blust each had two of St. Mary's seven hits and drove in five of their seven runs. Brody Jeffers hit a double and drove in a run. Gavin Bebble and Daniel Jacobson each scored two runs.

East Jordan (25-5) takes on No. 7 Painesdale-Jeffers (23-1) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Inland Lakes.

DIVISION 4

Rudyard 5

#1 Inland Lakes 0

Inland Lakes (31-2): Connor Wallace 4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K; Kaden Hansel 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K; Jacob Willey 2B; singles by Wallace, Grant Blumke, Logan McMullen, Ty Kolly.

DIVISION 4

#10 Muskegon Catholic 11

Bear Lake 0

Bear Lake (20-10-1): Myles Harless 2-2.

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