Monroe’s baseball team keeps changing coaches.
And keeps winning district titles.
The Trojans won their third consecutive district championship under their third different coach on Saturday, May 30.
It started with Chris Clark in 2024, continued under Dave Forgach last spring and became a three-year streak with Greg Depew at the helm.
“I messaged all the guys last night and told them how proud I am of them,” Depew said Sunday. “They said, ‘Coach, we wanted to do it for you. We wanted to get you started right.’”
The season didn’t necessarily start right for Monroe.
The Trojans brought a losing record into the state tournament, but chased away all the bad memories with wins over Belleville and Bedford when it mattered most.
They will continue their state-title quest on Wednesday, June 3 along with St. Mary Catholic Central, New Boston Huron and Summerfield.
DIVISION 1
Monroe returns to the site of its district title to play Livonia Franklin at Saline at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Franklin, which has emerged as a district champ four times in the past five years, would seem to be the favorite with a 22-8 record.
But Depew firmly believes his team is better than its 17-17 record.
“We lost 9 or 10 games by two runs or less,” he said. “We’re playing really good right now. We’ve just got to cut down on little mistakes. Yesterday was our best baseball this year. The guys playing for each other.”
Depew so far as very little information on Franklin and has received no reports on Howell or Dexter, the two teams the Trojans could play in the regional finals at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Northville.
“I don’t even know right now,” he said when asked about a possible championship game opponent. “We’re taking it one game at a time. We’ll see what happens Wednesday.”
Howell and Dexter wound up No. 17 and 18, respectively, in the final Michigan Baseball Coaches Association poll of the season.
The winner regional winner, will stay on the same field in Northville to play in a state quarterfinal game at 3 p.m. Saturday.
DIVISION 2
New Boston Huron coach Phil Yancey is very aggressive in scheduling.
“We’ve played (Birmingham) Brother Rice (No. 1 Division 1), Detroit Catholic Central (No. 6 Division 1), (Grosse Pointe Woods University) Liggett (No. 7 Division 3), Detroit Edison (No. 4 Division 3) – basically all the teams in that Power 25,” he said. “It gets us used to harder pitching and stronger competition. I used to believe that playing weaker teams builds your confidence, but iron sharpens iron.”
One team Huron hasn’t seen is Tecumseh, its opponent in the regional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Adrian.
“We’ve played them every year until this year,” Yancey said. “They wouldn’t schedule us. I assume it’s because we are in the same Regional this year.”
So, Yancey has limited information on Tecumseh, but he knows he has one of the best hitting teams in his 10 years at the head coach at Huron.
“In the 2021 season when we made the (state) semifinals, we had a .227 team batting average,” he said. “This year we are hitting .355 as a team. We’ve got three guys over the 50-hit mark. Usually when you have 50 hits you are an automatic All-Stater.”
If Huron, 31-5 and ranked No. 2 in the state, gets past Tecumseh it will play for the regional championship at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Eastern Michigan against No. 6 Dearborn Divine Child or Grosse Pointe North.
“We’ve faced Divine Child already and Grosse Pointe North has one guy who’s really good,” Yancey said. “I like our chances against either team.”
The regional winner will move into the quarterfinals game at EMU at 3 p.m. Saturday.
DIVISION 3
St. Mary Catholic Central also has played a very challenging schedule.
It owns victories over the Region’s three other district champs – Monroe, Huron and Summerfield.
“We’ve chalked up some pretty good wins,” SMCC coach Jared Janssen said of his 25-7 squad.
Two of those good wins came over Erie Mason and Whiteford in the district.
“I really liked how we pitched it on Saturday and we had some timely hits,” Janssen said. “We did a little bit of everything. That’s what makes us go. We can beat you in multiple ways.”
The Falcons open regional play by playing a defending state runner-up on its home field field. They travel to Plymouth Christian for a game at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“They are really good,” Janssen said. “They have one guy who is committed to play in college. They were in the state championship game last year in Division 4. They got moved up this year.”
Janssen believes his team will be competitive in every game with Cameron Cole and Steel Decator on the mound.
“In the tournament, pitching is the big thing,” he said. “Our pitching is lined up pretty well. I have faith in both of them. They are like 1A and 1B for me.”
If the Falcons get past Plymouth Christian, they will return to the same field for the regional final at 12:30 p.m. Saturday to take on Springport or Jackson Lumen Christi.
“Jackson Lumen Christi has been No. 1 all year,” Janssen said. “That’s who we anticipate playing. We looked at some mutual opponents and we think we can give them a game. We think we can give anyone a game.”
No. 4 Detroit Edison is the likely opponent if SMCC is able to make it through to the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s a gauntlet of a route for sure,” Janssen said. “But we are excited now because we are over the district hump. Now we can go have some fun.”
DIVISION 4
Summerfield gets to stay on its home field to open regional play, hosting Dansville at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“We honestly haven’t played a whole lot at home, but we’ve played really well at home,” Summerfield coach Reid Olmstead said. “Most of our losses have been on the road. We get a lot of support from our community. Districts on Friday was the most I’ve ever seen at a home game.”
Summerfield (16-7) will have the home-field advantage and also should have a talent advantage Wednesday.
“I think they are like 9-19,” Olmstead said.
A win in that game would send the Bulldogs to Spring Arbor at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“It would probably be Kalamazoo Hackett,” Olmstead said. “They have a really solid team. We played them a few years ago.”
Hackett is ranked No. 3 in the state and Summerfield is No. 8.
The regional winner will play a quarterfinal game at Spring Arbor at 3 p.m. Saturday.
“I am feeling pretty good about us in general,” Olmstead said. “The last two weeks, our focus has been the best it’s been all year. Things are coming together at the right time. We haven’t lost to a D4 team all year.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: 4 Monroe County Region baseball teams aim for regional championship
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
