05-23-2019 Tri-City Area Sports

Watervliet Press Box by John Oliphant

Panther Softball wins one of three

The Lady Panthers played their only games this week in a tournament at River Valley on Saturday, May 18. The girls started with a blowout 20-2 win over Saugatuck and then dropped close games to River Valley 4-1 and New Prairie 6-3. In the first game the Panthers pounded out 13 hits, including a solo home run by Sabrina Klimkiewicz. They took advantage on nine walks and six errors to end this one after just five innings. Celina Klimkiewicz got the win. In the second game River valley scored all their runs in the fourth inning, and strong pitching kept the Panthers in check as they only managed three hits. In the third game New Prairie scored two runs in each of the first three innings, while the Panthers put up all their runs in the second. On the day Sabrina lead the offense with five hits and Brenna Langston had four. The Panthers are now 10-15 after the non-conference tournament. Celina Klimkiewicz leads the offense batting .405 with 10 extra-base hits and 12 RBI. Sabrina Klimkiewicz is batting .356 with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBI. Watervliet plays in a tournament at Berrien Springs on Saturday, May 25 to close out the regular season.

WATERVLIET OUTSTANDING SENIOR ATHLETES… Garrett Matthews and Emma Yazel were recently named Watervliet’s male and female Outstanding Senior Athletes. Matthews played four seasons of varsity baseball, three seasons of varsity football, and one season of varsity basketball. He earned First Team All-Division and the Panther Pride awards in baseball and football, and will attend Grand Valley State University next fall. Yazel played four years of varsity track, two years of varsity volleyball, and two years of varsity basketball. She earned Panther Pride awards for basketball and track, and will attend Wayne State University in the fall. (TCR photo by John Oliphant)

Baseball has losing week

The Panther baseball team played just one game last week, losing to Galesburg-Augusta 8-6 in 12 innings. The teams were tied at 5-5 after six innings, but the Rams rallied to score three unearned runs in the 10th inning, and the Panther comeback wasn’t big enough. Garrett Matthews led the offense with two doubles. The loss puts the Panthers at 6-8-1 on the season and they remain in third place with a 4-2 record in the SAC Lakeshore division. Girls Soccer wins one, loses one The Panther girls soccer team played at Coloma on Monday, May 13, where they gave up four goals in each half, losing 8-0. On Thursday, the girls went to New Buffalo where they beat the Bison 3-0. The Panthers started the game cold, and struggled to mount any offensive chances in the first half. Coach Dave Armstrong noted the effective defense played by Trinity Crain, Susanna VanLente, Aria Richards, Katherine Schmidt, and Abbi Roberts kept the Bison from scoring. Emma Kraklau scored two goals and Vicki Smith had one goal and two assists. Coach Armstrong said Jada Prignano and Elena Alvarado played their best games of the season. On Friday, May 17 Watervliet traveled again, this time to Lawton where they beat the Blue Devils 4-0. Goalie Alex Hays earned her second shutout in as many nights. On the offensive side Vicki Smith scored two goals and had an assist. Erika Nykamp and Emma Armstrong each scored one goal. Susanna Van Lente chipped in one assist. Coach Armstrong said a tenacious effort was given by Jada Prignano and Danyel Munson, and VanLente was everywhere when needed on that night.

Boys Track 3rd at divisional meet

The Watervliet Panther boys track team performed well at the SAC Lakeshore divisional meet, capturing third place. The team picked a great day to set 31 personal bests. Notable finishes were the first place 4×800 team of Matthew Hanks, Ezra Troyer, Gus Hinch and Trever Pelton. Gus Hinch also finished first place in the 3200 meter run. Comet boys finish second in SAC Lakeshore meet The Coloma Comet track teams competed on Monday, May 13, in the SAC Lakeshore Division track meet held on the Watervliet track. The Comet boys had a more than respectable showing with a second place finish, with the girls also competing well with a fourth place finish. Sin’cere Taylor had a big day for the Comet tracksters in picking up three firsts, by winning the 200 and 400 meter runs, and also running a leg on the 4×400 relay team. In the 200 run Taylor won with a time of 23.30, with Steven Trosper finishing third in 24.00. Taylor’s time in winning the 400 was 54.20, while his teammate Tayte Coleman finished in third place in a time of 55.70. The Comet 4×400 relay team won in a time of 3:43.51, also running legs with Taylor was Nick Fogarty, Adiel Granados, and Tayte Coleman. Cole Alsup, the Comet junior, continued to dominate the competition in the discus by winning with a heave of 138 feet 4 inches. James Clay finished in second place with a toss of 116’07”. Cole also finished second in the shot put with a distance of 40’7-1/2”. Adiel Granados had a second place finish in the 800 run with a time of 2:11.09, and he followed that up with a third place in the 1600 with a personal best time of 4:56.37.

Coloma Press Box By Dave Vollrath

The Comet runners picked up a second place finish in the 4×100 relay with a time of 47.30. This team consisted of Steven Trosper, Nick Fogarty, Noah Schwanke, and Kenny Crowder. Coloma also received second place points in the 4×800 relay, running a time of 9:26.84. Team members were Cam Neubecker, Blane Sutherland, Cannon Hodges, and Luke Phillips. Hodges finished fifth in the 3200 run but ran a personal best time of 11:26.78. Sutherland also had a personal best of 11:40.24 in finishing in sixth. Alec DeLaTore had a personal best showing in the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.61, though he finished in sixth place. The Comet girls competed well and picked up a couple of firsts with Samantha Scott winning the high jump with a vertical jump of 4’8”, and Marissa Sherburn winning the 200 run in a time of 29.65 Ava Genovese was kept extremely busy, and probably slept well following this meet. She had three second place and a third place finish for the day. Ava finished second in the 400 meter run in a time of 1:08.14, 800 meter run in 2:42.26, ran a leg on the second-place finishing 4×400 relay team also made up of Taylor Imler, Marissa Sherburn, and Briana Tillotson. She capped her day with a third place with a leg on the 4×200 relay team with Evelyn Morales, Sherburn, and Imler. Imler also had a personal best time of 14.72 in the 100 meter dash which garnered her a fourth place finish. Cole Alsup qualifies for state meet for second year in the discus Cole Alsup will be going back to the state track meet in Division 3 after finishing in second place in the discus, in the D-3 regional meet held Saturday, May 18 in Centreville. Cole qualified with a toss of 149’03”, after winning the regional event a year ago. Coloma’s team however could not follow up on the success they had a year ago, as they finished in tenth place, far below the second place the team finished in 2018. The first two places in each event qualified for state. Sin’cere Taylor came very close in two events, with a third place finish in the 400 run, and running a leg on the 4×200 relay team that also finished in third. Also running with Taylor were Tayte Coleman, Nick Fogarty, and Steven Trosper. For the girls, Samantha Scott finished just out of the running for state with a third place finish in the high jump. Samantha cleared a height of 4’10”. Comet girls soccer shuts out Watervliet The Comet girls soccer team defeated the Panther girls at McDaniels Field on Monday, May 13, by a score of 8-0. Cali Grenon had a huge day for the Comets as she was constantly running by the Panther defense and finished with three goals. Emma Vandermolen and Mackenzie Ecker also had big games by picking up a pair of goals each. Hannah Guntz had the other goal for Coloma, as they improve their season record to 14-2-1 overall and have a conference mark of 6-2-1. Emma Watson had nine saves in goal for the winners, in earning another shutout.

Baseball and softball each pick up a doubleheader sweep of Delton Kellogg

The Comet softball team led by their standout junior pitcher Megan Koenigshof shut out DK in a pair of games by scores of 13-0 and 7-0. Megan picked up the win in both games striking out a total of 13, and also got on base with three singles and a double in the two games from her leadoff spot in the batting order. Mia Cole also had a nice night as she pounded out a home run, and had two singles and knocked in two runs. Mari Echols also had a home run and three RBI, as Sam Stewart chipped in with a double as did Gracie Whitaker. Coloma stays in first place in the SAC Lakeshore with an 8-0 record, and moves to 18-6 overall.

FIRING HOME… Coloma junior Ethan Price fires home after fielding a Berrien Springs hit in the second inning of game one Wednesday, May 15. The Comets won the game 9-8 but lost the second card 10-4. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

The boys baseball team had a little rougher time but still picked up a pair of wins by scores of 8-5 and 16-1. The first game was close most of the way, but after Delton Kellogg scored a run to take a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth, the Comets came back in a big way. Hunter Crist hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the inning to give Coloma their first lead in the game 4-3. The Comets tacked on four insurance runs in the sixth. Ethan Vandermolen pitched the first five innings striking out eight, but issued six free passes, and picked up the win. Jake Ickes pitched the final two innings in relief. In addition to his home run, Hunter also added a double and Ethan Price contributed a double to the 8-hit Comet attack. In the second game the Comets jumped all over DK scoring 16 times in four innings for the short game win. Coloma only had six hits, but had plenty of help as the Panther pitchers could not throw a strike in walking a total of 13 batters as well as plunking a couple. Nick Eastman pitched four innings for the Comets in getting the win, as he only gave up a pair of hits. Coloma improves their SAC Lakeshore record to 7-1 and stays in first place, as they move over the .500 mark overall at 12-11. On Wednesday, May 15 the Comets split a pair of nonconference games with old foe Berrien Springs at home. Coloma hung on to win the first game 9-8 before dropping the night cap by a 10-4 count. On Saturday, May 18 the Comets played two games at the Calvin Christian Invitational and split the pair. They lost the first game 3-1 to the home team, and came back to defeat Laingsburg in the second game by a 14-1 score. The school year is winding down quickly, and with that, spring sports in the Tri-City Area are beginning to near their conclusion. However, that did not deter the student-athletes of Hartford, who were seen competing hard on the fields, pitches and track last week. When all was said and done, over a dozen events highlighted the calendar, including four baseball games, six softball contests, two soccer matches and a regional track meet. So, while the athletic season is starting to fade, the action is still red hot!

Hartford Prress Box By Jerrod Birmele

Hartford Baseball

earns two victories, two defeats in topsy-turvy week

The Hartford Indian Varsity Baseball team battled two conference opponents last week, trying to improve their position within the Southwest 10 Conference. The team was coming off of a week in which they struggled, going 1-3 in game competition. That record may look disappointing to most, but it goes without saying this group has won games against better teams this year, and despite being young, has the talent to continue putting up a good fight. In Tuesday night’s doubleheader, two home games against Bloomingdale that were originally scheduled for the night before, but postponed due to weather, the Indians played very well, and managed to dominate both games en route to a sweep. Game one saw Hartford post victory by a score of 10-0, before they took the nightcap by a 15-5 score. In Wednesday night’s doubleheader, a pair of home contests against one of the conference favorites, Decatur, the Indians did not play two of their best games. And, because of that, they suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of the rival Raiders. Decatur took game one by a score of 11-1; before they went on to sweep the doubleheader in the nightcap, winning 13-2. The Indians were also supposed to play in a doubleheader on Saturday against White Pigeon. However, heavy rains the previous night put a halt to the proceedings, and it is unknown whether the games will actually be played at all. Hartford Softball finishes busy week with 4-2 mark The Hartford Indian Softball team was back on the softball diamond last week, and was just as excited to see they would be playing in a slew of games. The ladies were originally scheduled to play eight games in the course of six days; however, they were demoted to just six games in three days due to weather. However, after going 4-2 a couple weeks ago, the ladies were trending in the right direction, and this week, they hope to continue their late-season resurgence. In Monday night’s doubleheader, two home games played against Bloomingdale, the Lady Indians continued their winning ways, sweeping the Lady Cardinals right off the Indian Softball Diamond. Hartford won game one by a score of 16-1, before taking the nightcap by an 11-1 score.

INDIAN KICK… Hartford sophomore Mayra Naranjo kicks the ball Wednesday, May 15 in the Indians’ nonconference game against Saugatuck. Hartford notched the Senior Night victory, 5-1. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

Game two saw the Lady Indians trail 1-0 going into their half of the fifth inning, before lightning struck in a bottle. Hartford scored all of their 11 runs in the bottom of that frame, courtesy of five extra-base, run-scoring hits, a run-scoring single, a fielder’s choice and an error. The Lady Indians held Bloomingdale in the next inning, and scored the victory by mercy rule. Karly Manning earned the win in the circle for Hartford. She went five innings and allowed just the one lone run on three hits, while striking out eleven. On offense, Cecilia Perales, Megan Nelson and Alexis Griffith each had multi-hit games in the victory. On Tuesday night, the Lady Indians traveled to Mendon to finish a game with the Lady Hornets that was originally played back on April 22, but was suspended due to darkness with the game tied at four. Since Hartford made such a long trek for possibly just an inning or two, the teams agreed to play another game that would not count towards the conference standings. In the suspended game, Mendon took the victory in the bottom of the eighth inning, winning 5-4 on a walk-off dropped third strike. In the full game that was played after the conclusion of the suspended game, Hartford took the victory, winning a thrilling 7-4 battle that also lasted eight innings. The Lady Indians trailed 4-3 going into the top of the seventh inning, when Megan Nelson hit a run-scoring single on the first pitch of her at-bat. Hartford took the lead for good in the very next inning, on a Vanessa DeLaRosa RBI single. The Lady Indians added two more runs in the frame, and held on to win. Descenya Rodarte earned the win in the circle, tossing five innings. She gave up just one run on five hits, while striking out five. Also pitching were Lainey Goodson and Karly Manning. On offense, Hartford belted out 11 hits, led by Ariah Jordan, DeLaRosa, Regan Sinclair and Nelson, who each posted multi-hit games. On defense, the Lady Indians committed two errors. In Wednesday night’s home doubleheader against Decatur, who is among the top teams in the conference, both teams came out victorious, and wound up splitting the two games. In game one, it was the Lady Raiders that came up with the victory, winning by a 12-6 score, before the Lady Indians won a slugfest in the nightcap, 14-11. In game one, Decatur jumped out to an early lead and extended it courtesy of a big top of the fourth inning. However, Hartford didn’t give up, as they put up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring on two errors and an RBI groundout, but could never get over the hump. Lainey Goodson suffered the defeat in the circle. She lasted three innings, giving up six runs on six hits, while striking out three. On offense, Hartford had just five hits via five different players: Destiny Chacon, Goodson, Jaelyne Galvan, Megan Nelson and Regan Sinclair. On defense, the Lady Indians shot themselves in the foot, committing a season-high six errors. In game two, the Lady Indians turned the tide on their rivals, taking the lead for good with a four-run bottom of the fourth inning, scoring on two walks and a two-run triple. They matched their four-run fourth with a four-run sixth inning, scoring on three run-scoring at-bats. They held off a Decatur charge late to seal the victory. Descenya Rodarte earned her second victory of the week in this game for Hartford, tossing three innings in the circle. She gave up five runs on six hits, walked one batter and struck out two. Karly Manning earned the save, recording the final 12 outs. On offense, Megan Nelson led Hartford, going 3-for-4 at the plate. The team was aggressive on the base paths, stealing a total of 14 bases. On defense, they continued to struggle, committing six errors. Like their male counterparts, the Lady Indians were supposed to play in a doubleheader versus White Pigeon on Saturday. The games were postponed due to weather and poor field conditions. As of press time, it is unknown whether these games will be made up. Check back next week to see if the team continues to play well! Hartford Girls Soccer outscores opponents 8-2, finishes week unbeaten The Hartford Indian Girls Soccer team returned home for a pair of matches last week and boy were they needed. Coming into the week, the ladies had played a total of nine matches, but only four were in the friendly confines of the Indian Soccer Pitch. The team was coming off of a three-game stretch where they went 2-0-1, so they have experienced a recent bout of success. The postseason is coming fast. It appears they are playing their best when they need to. On Monday night, the ladies were supposed to play league-rival, Cassopolis, but the match was washed out due to weather and flooded fields. It is unknown as of press time whether that match will be made up, but it isn’t looking likely with the regular season near conclusion. In Wednesday night’s non-conference home match against Saugatuck, the Lady Indians were dominant once again, scoring a 5-1 victory. Hartford led 3-1 at halftime, and added two second-half goals to bring the score to the final margin of victory. Abigail Lopez and Madison Hays paced the Lady Indian offense with two goals each, while Lyla Rosses netted the final Hartford tally. Lopez added a pair of assists to her stat line, while Mercedes Requenes assisted on one goal. Mary Pultz recorded the victory in net, making 12 saves. In Friday night’s non-conference home match against Bridgman, the Lady Indians put another victory in the win column, winning by a 3-1 score. Hartford led 2-nil at the half, and needed an extra goal in the second half to hold off a Lady Bees rally. Three different scorers scored goals for the Lady Indians: Abigail Lopez, Mercedes Requenes and Madison Hays, while Lopez added an assist. Mary Pultz made nine saves in net to earn the victory. Hartford track teams sending three to Division 3 State Championships The Hartford Indian Track teams had to wait until the weekend to compete, but it was the biggest track meet of the season to date. The Indians traveled to Centreville to compete in the MHSAA Division 3 Regional competition, where they would be up against track athletes from 15 other schools in a quest to reach the state finals in two weeks. The Indian track teams have some talented participants that could make it. In Saturday morning’s event, the Hartford Boys Track team placed 12th out of 16 teams, while the girls’ team placed 10th out of 15 teams. However, both teams managed to qualify athletes for the state meet, scheduled for Saturday, June 1 at Jenison High School in the Grand Rapids area. On the boys’ side, Riley Traver was the lone state qualifier, but he managed to qualify in two different events. Traver tied for second in the 100 Meter Dash, with a time of 11.46 seconds, before placing second in the 200 Meter Dash, with a time of 23.80 seconds. On the girls’ side, a pair of ladies qualified for the state meet, and one of those athletes won her event. Nautica Covington was the overall winner in the Shot Put, tossing it 37 feet, 2-1/4 inches to take first. Also qualifying for state was Khashya McCoy, who took second place in the 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles with a time of 51-seconds flat. This week, the Hartford Track teams will finish the regular season, and it concludes with the teams taking on the conference’s best at the Southwest 10 Conference finals. This meet is set for Tuesday, May 21 at Centreville High School. Check back next week to see how the teams finished the season, and get ready for some postseason action! As always, GO INDIANS!

8U CHAMPS… Watervliet’s 8U Maroon Kinzlers Team won the Watervliet Recreational Girls Midseason 9-team 8U Division. Team Kinzler lost on round two of the tournament bracket play putting them into the loser’s bracket. The team fought back and won five more bracket plays for the championship, including three games on Saturday. The final contest being a doubleheader game against Hartford’s undefeated 8U Team Riley. Coach K was quoted as saying, “Coach Z promised the girls ice cream and every time they walked out of the dugout they were on fire! I am so proud of our girls. They tried as hard as they could throughout each game. No coach could ever ask for more than that! Hartford Riley is a tough team. Her girls are good, she’s a great coach!” Pictured (from the left) Front row: Alex Zuniga, Aleah Sheetz, Emma Kirksey, Shyanna Elder, Karina Short, Anna Rosales, Sophia Rader, Paisley Wallace, Kiera Clay; Middle row: Coach Jorge Zuniga, Coach Erica Kinzler, Madison Morse, Zoey Metz, Coach Nicole Smith and Olivia Kinzler; Back row: Head Coach Rod Kinzler.

Press Box Player of the Week!

By Jerrod Birmele Abigail Lopez, a junior at Hartford High School, is this week’s Tri-City Record Press Box Player of the Week. Abigail has been on a mission all season long for the Hartford Girls Soccer team, and her play so far has lifted the Lady Indians to a 7-3-1 record. This past week, you could say that her magic number was three. That is because she had three goals and added three assists in just two matches. She began the week by scoring two goals in a 5-1 victory over Saugatuck, a match in which she added two assists to her stat line. And, later in the week, in a 3-1 victory over Bridgman, she put a goal on the scoreboard and also added an assist.

So far this season, Abigail leads in many of the statistical categories for the ladies that wear green and white, including goals and assists. She has played in all eleven matches, scoring 19 of the team’s 39 goals, while assisting on seven other tallies. She has totaled three hat tricks on the season, scoring three goals in matches against Brandywine, Berrien Springs and New Buffalo. She has also had three matches, against Bangor, Watervliet and Saugatuck, where she scored two goals. Outside of playing soccer on the high school level, Abigail also participates in travel soccer, playing for the Kingdom Soccer Club in Kalamazoo. On the high school sports side, she can be found on the cross country trail in the fall competing for the Lady Indians. She has competed for the team the last two seasons, and ran a season-best 25:50 at the Bangor Invitational last September. Congratulations on this great honor, Abigail!

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Cardio drumming club donates to Mary Free Bed

We want to help our community”, says April Gilson, Health Coach at Healthy To The Core in Coloma, located at 6560 Red Arrow Highway. “We also support a cardio drumming group that meet weekly to enjoy an hour of cardio drumming in the cafeteria at Coloma School.” March was Traumatic Brain Injury month and this group supported “traumatic brain injuries” by gathering in the gym at Coloma Middle School and did cardio drumming for two hours. The cardio drummers were there for their health but also for Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports. The group of cardio drummers raised $605 toward the purchase of an adaptive bicycle for a traumatic brain injured person. “This group was so eager to support this cause. One of our members personally benefited from this program last year, so this group wanted to help Mary Free Bed this year. This group is POWERFUL and I’m so very proud of them,” says April Gilson. If anyone would like to send a donation to help a person with a traumatic brain injury, please contact Laura Dulay, Mary Free Bed (616) 840-9740 or laura.dulay@maryfreebed.com. For those wanting more information on cardio drumming, please contact April Gilson at (269) 876-0113.

Lane Automotive Car Show this weekend

The Coloma and Watervliet area will get a little noisy on Friday night as Lane Automotive hosts the 31st annual Cruise-in and Car Show. The event starts Friday, May 24 at 5:00 p.m. with the Open Header Cruise, a parade of hot rods launching from the Coloma Lanes parking lot. The hot rods, a wide mix of old and new vehicles, will travel about five miles. They travel north on Friday Road through Coloma, head east on Paw Paw Avenue, then south on M-140 through Watervliet to the Lane Auto facility where Lane is hosting a Cruise Night Celebration. The 2018 cruise featured 140 cars and this year’s should be just as big. Along the entire route the cars must obey all traffic laws, but local police agencies have allowed them no restrictions on the amount of noise the cars can make. On Saturday the Lane Car Show runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at their facility just south of I-94 on M-140. They expect well over a thousand classic, collector, and show cars to be on display. Events include a pedal car challenge, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge, and Noisefest at noon. Food will be available along with a midway featuring over 200 manufacturers from the automotive industry. The show is free for attendees and participants.