Spring has sprung, but for many of Adrian College and Siena Heights’ teams, it’s been around for a while with the seasons starting up in February.
Here’s a look at how the spring season is going for the Bulldogs and Saints in the early part of the season.
Adrian College
BASEBALL
The Bulldogs are 10-11, not the usually strong start the season the program is used to, but they are coming off of a 2-1 weekend to open MIAA play against Alma.
Adrian lost the opener at Alma, 6-5, in 14 innings before returning to Nicolay Field where the Bulldogs won 18-7 and 9-3.
Tecumseh graduate Jake Burns had a strong series, going 5-of-12 with four doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored. Burns is batting .421 in 14 games with seven doubles, a home run and 15 RBIs with four steals.
Burns is far from the only local talent on the team as the mound hosts a number of Lenawee pitchers.
Hudson graduate Ambrose Horwath had a strong start in the third game against Alma, tossing 4.2 shutout innings while allowing five hits and two walks while striking out two. Onsted graduate Broc Shoemaker made two appearances in the series, throwing two shutout innings and allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two.
Adrian High School graduate Sean Parker got his first collegiate win against Piedmont, going five innings and giving up one run, on five hits and a walk while striking out nine. Another Onsted graduate Lincoln Lipinski has made one appearance, giving up a run, on one hit and no walks while striking out two in a three-inning save early in the season.
One more Onsted graduate, Logan Hunt, has made five appearances. He had a run of four shutout innings where he gave up two hits and no walks sandwiched between a pair of three and five run outings.
SOFTBALL
The Bulldogs are 12-8 and will start MIAA play this weekend at Calvin.
Adrian is hitting the ball well with Taylor Gerhardt leading the way with a .371 batting average, eight doubles, two triples and two home runs to give he 17 RBIs and 17 steals. Meghan Lupu is hitting .353 with a home run, eight RBIs and 10 steals.
Maggie Leveille has 22 RBIs with four home runs, eight doubles and a triple while hitting .348 and Peyton Russell leads the team in home runs with six while driving in 16 runs with a .340 average.
Macee Schang is the ace of the pitching staff with a 4-3 record and 1.59 ERA.
LACROSSE
The women’s team is off to a great start at 8-1, including six-straight wins going into MIAA play.
Mariana Miller has a team-high 25 goals to go with 15 assists while Madeline Turcotte leads the Bulldogs in points with 22 goals and 34 assists. Abby Malone has 22 goals and six assists while Zoe Weber had 21 goals and nine assists.
Bella Norton has been strong in net with a .513 save percentage.
Head coach Amanda Asher is in her second season after going 5-9 last season.
The men’s team is 6-5 going into MIAA play. Tecumseh graduate Trace Tidswell is fourth on the team in goals with 12 while Michael Jonas leads the way with 44 and has 26 assists.
The Bulldogs went 8-8 last year, this is Brett Wetzel’s seventh season leading the program.
TRACK AND FIELD
Jackson Hayward is coming off a great week where he posted personal records in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash at 10.79 and 21.51 respectively. Those times are the fifth and fourth fastest times in program history.
GOLF
Madison graduate Cameron Bozyk was co-champion of The Ruckus recently while Joe Renfer took eight at the Pfeiffer Invite to start the spring season.
Ainslee Hewitt has led the women’s team through the first two meets, placing 13th as her top finish this season.
TENNIS
Both the men and women teams are off to good starts as the Bulldogs’ men are 8-4 while the women are 7-4.
The women’s No. 1 doubles team of Claire Earley and Hye Jin Elliot are 9-2 this season and both are 10-1 in singles play. The men’s side is led by Brandon Falk at 10-2 at No. 2 singles and teaming with Sean Ruhf at No. 2 doubles where they are 6-2.
Siena Heights
BASEBALL
The Saints are 9-18 this season while head coach John Kolasinski recently passed Gordon Theisen for the program record for coaching wins.
Kaleb Woods is hitting .323 with nine steals while Devin Eads is hitting .306 and Caden Gomes is hitting .299 with a team-high 15 RBIs
SOFTBALL
After an 0-4 start, the Saints have gone 11-4 since to post a record of 11-8.
Clinton graduate and Grand Valley State transfer Libby Fair is hitting .370 with 14 RBIs while her sister, Emma Fair, is batting .318 with seven RBIs. Britton Deerfield graduate Sydnee Hazlett has also played in six games.
Lee Clinton is having a tremendous season, batting .529 with four home runs, 12 RBIs, 29 runs and 20 steals.
Shyann Traux and Cassi Kieper are leading in the pitching circle as Traux is 5-5 with a 2.18 ERA and Kieper is 6-3 with a 2.48 ERA.
LACROSSE
The men’s team is 5-2 with Lachlan Conway leading the team with 14 goals and 15 assists. Tecumseh graduate Joey Keck has seven goals.
Tecumseh graduates Larry Keck and Trey Strand have made a handful of appearances.
The women’s team is 5-5 on the season with Jenna Allie leading the way with team-highs in goals at 33 and assists with eight. Tecumseh graduate Grace Holland has 13 goals while her sister Avah Holland has a goal and an assist in three games.
GOLF
Longtime Clinton coach Nito Ramos is leading the Saints men’s and women’s programs now and the spring season has begun.
The women’s team placed eighth in the first meet of the spring where Skylar Whitman placed 16th overall. The Saints roster is full of local talent including Clinton graduate and Ramos’ daughter, Kyleigh Ramos, who was one of SHU’s scorers to start the season.
Adrian’s Lainey Betz, Onsted’s Ainsley Brezvai and Clinton’s Josilyne Schanz are on the team as well.
The men also took eighth at the Lawrence Tech Invite with Ramos’ son, Clinton graduate Garrett Ramos, taking 28th to lead the team. Also on the team are Lenawee Christian graduate Connor Parisien and Tecumseh’s Joe Nowak.
FLAG FOOTBALL
The first flag football season has got underway and the Saints are 7-7 going into their home Michigan Invite this weekend.
SHU started the season 0-4, but are 7-3 since. There’s one local former standout on the team as the county’s all-time leader in girls soccer goals, Clinton graduate Madalyn Frietas is on the team and plays wide receiver and defensive back.
Freitas is also on the women’s soccer team.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee athletes helping lead many Adrian College, Siena Heights spring programs
Reporting by Kristopher Lodes, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
