Roundup: Gaylord-area teams starting spring 2024 with wins on the road

GAYLORD — The long wait is over, the snow has cleared and games are finally being played; spring sports in Gaylord are here.

Many teams have been hard at work getting their opening games in while still awaiting their home openers. And fortunately, nearly every team that has started their season has also picked up their first wins of the season.

Looking to get caught up on the spring season's early action? Here is a round-up of the opening games:

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Gaylord softball goes 2-1 at Freeland Tournament

It has been a while since Gaylord softball added anything to the loss column of their record.

Last season, the eventual Division 2 state champions only fell in two games all season, the last loss coming on May 17, 2023. This past weekend, that long winning streak finally came to a close in the first tournament of the 2024 season.

Still, it was an overall great showing for Gaylord against some competitive teams, beating Heritage 18-2 and Freeland 20-5 while falling to Clare in extra innings 5-4.

Gaylord totaled 12 hits in the opening win over Freeland, with Aubrey Jones (2), Taylor Moeggenberg and Hali Lenartowicz all hitting their first home runs of the season. Jones also got the win in the circle, allowing two hits while striking out seven in three innings of work.

The offense struggled a bit more in the next two games, tallying just five hits in the eight-inning loss to Clare while getting just two hits in a 20-5 win over Freeland. While certainly not the norm for one of the most explosive offenses in state history, it is these early games against tougher opponents that have helped shape Gaylord softball into the powerhouse it is today.

Gaylord baseball picks up three wins in three days

The Gaylord baseball team got off to a rocky start last week, falling in both games at Mount Pleasant last Friday to start the season, but rebounded over the weekend for three wins in four tries to bring their record to 3-2-1 through six games.

It started with a weekend sweep of East Lansing on the road, defeating the Trojans 4-2 and 5-3 in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 6. Senior Will Bethuy led the way, tallying four hits, four runs scored and an RBI over the two games. Noah Vanderveer got the win on the mound in game one, while Isaac Collins got the win in game two.

Then on Monday, Gaylord battled with one of the top-ranked teams in Division 3, settling for a tie in game one while winning game two 8-5 for win No. 3 this season.

Again, Bethuy led the way with three hits and two runs scored while Brennan Radulski had three hits and an RBI while Noah Vanderveer and Torino Lamerato had two hits apiece.

Girls soccer draws with Harbor Springs, beats Marquette to start season 1-0-1

Gaylord girls soccer is breaking in a new-look roster this year, with many first-year starters taking over for a large group of playmakers that graduated after 2023.

So far, so good.

Gaylord has scored three goals in both of their opening games, fighting to a 3-3 draw with Harbor Springs in the season opener on Saturday while defeating Marquette 3-1 on Monday.

Paige Moeggenberg and Mariah Turner have been the top performers, both scoring a goal in both of the opening games to lead the team at two goals apiece. Claire Gorno and Ella Cherwinski have the other two goals, Cherwinksi scoring on Saturday and Gorno scoring on Monday.

"We've got a new team, like every single year with that progression of seniors, but the girls are really, really growing and learning," head coach Chris Adams said after the Marquette win. "We've seen the growth and progression from our first game, we really weren't happy with our first-half performance. But as we said in that game, we may have lost the first half but we wn the second half and we took that progression into this game."

St. Mary baseball drops openers

GSM traveled downstate to start its baseball season on Saturday, making the trip down I-75 to Adrian to play the Maples. Unfortunately for the Snowbirds, it was a trip that ended quickly and sent them home without a much to show for it.

Adrian cruised to two victories over St. Mary's, falling 9-0 and 10-0 respectively to start the year 0-2.

Dillon Croff was the lone Snowbird to have a hit in both games, while Daniel Jacobson, Peyton DeWeerd and Joseph O'Connell accounted for the three other hits GSM accumulated on opening day.

JoBurg opens new fields with wins over Mio

After two full seasons on the road, JoBurg baseball and softball are back playing home games at their brand-new athletic complex this season. And, with a packed crowd watching both teams' inaugural games on their home fields, the Cardinals left with four wins over Mio on Monday, April 8, two on the baseball diamond and two on the softball diamond.

JL softball cruised to back-to-back mercy-shortened wins, winning game one 15-0 and game two 24-1. Senior Jayden Marlatt had two home runs, two triples and eight RBI over the two games, senior Cassie Tallman had two doubles and a triple along with six RBI and freshman Lily Crane went 1-for-1 with her first varsity home run in back-to-back blowout victories for the No. 4 ranked softball team in D4.

Meanwhile, JoBurg baseball had to fight a bit harder for their two wins, winning game one 10-0 before fighting back for a 9-7 victory in game two,

Rylan Rosso and Tyler Basinski both had two hits apiece in game one, while Rosso and Benny Lindbert had two hits apiece in game two.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord girls soccer, baseball and softball in action; JoBurg baseball and softball debut new fields