Brighton and Howell managed to find a brief break in the mid-March weather between the cold days and rainy days to get an unusually early start to their baseball seasons.
Brighton swept Milford 13-1 and 7-2, while Howell swept Walled Lake Western 8-4 and 9-2 on Saturday, March 21.
It was a fortunate break in the weather for both teams. Howell and Hartland were scheduled to begin KLAA play on Monday, March 23 but the game was moved to Tuesday, March 24 because the high is expected to be 37 degrees. Hartland is scheduled to host Howell in the second game of the set at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25.
Aden Bailey was 3-for-3 with three runs and two runs batted in to lead Brighton in its first game. Nate Houck drove in two runs.
Nick Brevik pitched the first three innings for the Bulldogs, allowing one hit, no runs and no walks, fanning two.
In the second game, Luke Ribble and Ben Holster each drove in two runs for Brighton.
Howell 8, Walled Lake Western 4
Howell 9, Walled Lake Western 2
In the first game, Howell scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Dylan Closson-Torres drove in two runs and threw 3 1/3 shutout innings for the Highlanders. Johnny Cove struck out six in 2⅔ innings.
In the second game, Brady Hamilton had a triple, a double and scored three times. Nick Myers drove in two runs. Starter Greysen Lesniak gave up one hit and no runs in three innings, striking out four.
Girls soccer
Hartland 2, Walled Lake Northern 0
Brinley Neuer and Izzy Armstrong scored for Hartland (2-0) in a rematch of a district semifinal the Eagles won 4-1 last season.
Brighton opened its season with a 2-0 loss to Ann Arbor Pioneer, while Howell played to a 2-2 tie against Livonia Franklin.
Girls lacrosse
Grand Blanc 13, Howell 8
Janie Mitter scored four goals and Nora Rioux two for Howell in its season opener.
Boys lacrosse
Brighton 12, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 11 (2 OT)
Maddox Marlatt scored the winning goal in the second overtime for Brighton (2-0). Joey Skoczylas scored four goals for the Bulldogs.
Huron Valley 9, Howell 8
Ryan O’Dea had four goals and one assist, while Tobias Midlam had three goals and two assists for Howell. Miles Flood had 15 saves for the Highlanders.
Track and field
SVSU Indoor Divisions 3-4
Charyl Stockwell Academy senior Ella Heffner won the 800-meter run by more than five seconds in 2 minutes, 24.46 seconds and took fourth in the 1,600 in 5:58.40.
Lauren Hammond of Stockwell was second in the 60-meter dash in 8.14 seconds and second in the 200 in 26.80. Bailey Yates took third in the 60 hurdles in 10.37.
In the boys meet, Beckett Fitch was fifth in the 800 in 2:06.19 and Elijah Killinger was seventh in the 3,200 in 10:29.87 for the Sentinels.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton, Howell win sweeps to open baseball season
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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