Howell beat one of the best baseball teams in Michigan while going 2-1 during the Flint Tournament of Championships over the weekend.
After losing 7-1 to Macomb Dakota, last year’s state Division 1 runner-up, the Highlanders had a 4-3 walk-off victory over fifth-ranked Bay City Western on Friday, May 22. Howell concluded the tournament with a 10-2 victory over Davison on Saturday, May 23.
Against Bay City Western, the game was tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Howell’s Mason Enders led off with a walk and was bunted to second by Brogen Forney. After Danny Hampton was intentionally walked, Enders scored the winning run on an infield error on a ball put into play by Nick Myers.
Johnny Cove pitched 3⅔ scoreless innings for 17th-ranked Howell, allowing three hits.
Against Davison, Brady Hamilton had two doubles and drove in four runs, while Hampton had three RBIs for the Highlanders (21-13-1). Dylan Closson-Torres pitched four no-hit innings for Howell, allowing one run.
Howell will face East Lansing in a Division 1 district semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30 at Hartland.
Lake Orion 4, Hartland 3 (8)
Hartland 6, Lake Orion 3
Dylan Crowe singled to give 13th-ranked Hartland a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning in the opener, but Lake Orion (18-15) won it by getting the equalizer on a Brady Griffin single with two outs in the seventh and the winner on a single by Riley Bendle in the eighth.
Fin Stanaway threw the first five innings for Hartland, allowing one run on one hit while striking out seven.
In the second game, Ethan Aho threw a complete game for Hartland, giving up three runs on four hits. Owen Credo drove in two runs for the Eagles (21-11).
Hartland will open postseason play by hosting Brighton in a pre-district game at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 26.
Holly 4, Pinckney 2
Holly 9, Pinckney 2
Jax Raymond went 4-for-4 in the first game for Pinckney (15-17). The Pirates will take on host Chelsea in a district semifinal at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 30.
Softball
Howell 11, Algonac 1
Howell 20, Algonac 13
Howell sophomore Clem Stevens went 3-for-5 with four runs, two triples and five RBIs in the second game. Sophia May was 3-for-6 with three RBIs. Howell scored 11 runs in the top of the seventh to break open a 9-6 lead.
With the opening game tied 1-1, the Highlanders had a 10-run sixth to win the game via the mercy rule.
Kate Anderson allowed one run in six innings and Leighton Scott was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Highlanders (18-11).
Howell will host Hartland in a district semifinal at noon Saturday, May 30.
Jackson Lumen Christi 10, Pinckney 3
Pinckney junior Addison Wroblewski went 3-for-3 with a home run, boosting her Livingston County-leading batting average to .500. She has gone 13-for-17 in her last five games.
Pinckney will play Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard in a district semifinal at noon Saturday, May 30 at Chelsea.
Track and field
MITCA Division 3 team state
Charyl Stockwell finished 12th out of 14 girls teams and 17th out of 17 boys teams in a meet that emphasizes team depth over elite individuals.
Becka Lethorn was second in pole vault with a leap of 9 feet, 6 inches. Ella Heffner was second in the 800-meter run in 2 minutes, 25.13 seconds.
Lauren Hammond took fifth in the 200 in 27.47 and seventh in the 100 in 13.35. Bailey Yates was fourth in the 100 hurdles in 16.92. Freshman Jessica LeFeve had three ninth-place finishes in the 100 (13.57), 200 (28.10) and long jump (15-3).
Elijah Killinger had the top finish for Stockwell’s boys, taking 11th in the 800 in 2:06.48.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell gets top-5 win as baseball playoffs near
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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