Jonesville's Stemen named Big 8 baseball MVP

All-Conference Big 8 baseball team


Jay Bearden (Jr.) Jonesville
Zach Brigham (So.) Concord
Sam Creel (Sr.) Reading
Ryan Dillon (Sr.) Reading
Brian Edwards (Sr.) Homer
Joe Hubbard (Jr.) Reading
Joe Kroa (Sr.) Jonesville
Nick Pease (Sr.) Homer
Shane Rider (Jr.) Quincy
Johnny Sigler (Jr.) Jonesville
Jake Smitley (Jr.) Athens
Brandon Stempien (Sr.) Quincy
Eric Stelter (Jr.) Quincy
Randy Taylor (Sr.) Union City

Honorable mention:
Athens: Ryan Chapman; Concord: Michael Kaplinski, Trevor Martin; Homer: Evan Camburn, Zach Collmenter; Jonesville: Casey Clow, Chase Jacks; Quincy: Bryan Craig, Jesse Flores; Reading: Chad Berger, Alex Eastwood, Trevor Shafer; Springport: Don Cousino, Jesse Raymond.

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Hillsdale County high school diamond roundup from May 14

[caption id="attachment_587" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Not even bunts were working for the Comets Thursday, on a night where they loss a pair to Big Eight foe Quincy. Photo courtesy of Gary Baker / Gatehouse News Services."][/caption]

Baseball


Rangers hit Spartans hard
Reading baseball head coach Rick Bailey said Thursday night’s doubleheader at Springport seemed to last “forever and a day”, but it was worth it, as his Rangers earned two league wins.
In the opener Reading scored in six of the seven innings, including 10 in the seventh in a 24-14 slugfest.
Joe Hubbard, Ryan Dillon and Trevor Shaffer all had four hits, while Sam Creel tallied three.
One of Creel’s was a homer and he drove in four runs, while Shaffer, Hubbard and Tyler Ferrier all had three RBI.
Kyle Gibson picked up the win, pitching in relief.
The nightcap was Dillon’s own proving ground, as he smacked a grand slam and drove in six runs in a 13-1 four-inning Rangers win.
Chad Berger pitched well in victory, going four innings, giving up just two hits and no earned runs, while striking out four.

Softball


Harmon is too much for Comets
Former Hillsdale pitching ace Bree Harmon tallied 27 strikeouts against just three walks as Quincy took both games of a doubleheader from Jonesville Thursday.
The Orioles won the opener 2-0 behind a pair of hits from Sarah Cutler.
Harmon struck out 16 and walked zero.
The nightcap was a 10-0 Quincy victory.
Kelsey Aemisegger suffered both losses for Jonesville, but gave up just two runs and struck out five in the opener.

Reading loses pair on road
Springport downed Reading 6-1 and 6-2 Thursday.
Reading scored its only run in the first inning of the opener and in the nightcap errors squashed their hopes.
They went into extra inning tied at two in the second game, but four straight errors allowed the Spartans to score four runs.
KateLynn Wilson struck out a total of 12 batters and allowed just six hits in two wins for Springport.
Kasie Owens suffered both pitching defeats, but allowed just five hits and walked just one in 15 total innings of work.

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Orioles ace tosses perfect game

[caption id="attachment_498" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="It took Quincy's Brandon Stempien only 67 pitches Tuesday to orchestrate a perfect game against Springport. Photo courtesy of Gary Baker / Gatehouse News Services."][/caption]

It took Brandon Stempien only 67 pitches to achieve perfection Tuesday.

Sometimes perfection is used in very imperfect contexts, but not in this case, as the Quincy Orioles pitching ace struck out 11, allowed no hits and walked zero in a 4-0 win over Big Eight foe Springport.

"There's only one time I can remember anything like this, and it was when I was a coach at Eastside in Indiana, and a guy struck out 20, but he had a few walks," Quincy head coach Brett Allman said. "It's the first perfect game I've been a part of as a coach and I think the guys were pretty excited about it, it's pretty cool."

Maybe the most impressive stat of all is the fact Stempien (5-1) threw just nine balls the entire evening, and averaged just over nine pitches per inning.

"He just got stronger the last three innings," Allman said. "After every inning he would tell me he was good. He didn't say anything (about the chance for a perfect game), but he knew he was pitching well today."

Allman said it was a neat experience for the entire team, and it also required strong efforts from everyone involved to make it happen.

"You get no-hitters in high school ball once in a while, but a perfect game takes your defense playing a perfect game and everybody getting the job done," Allman said.

Stempien also helped himself out at the plate, with two doubles and an RBI.

Bryan Craig added two hits and an RBI, while Joe Neely had two hits as well.

With the win the Orioles improve to 5-1 in league play.

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Recaps and notes from Tuesday's boys high school hoops action

By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor

A Walters 'n Words exclusive blog post

Here is a quick look at the three high school boys basketball games from Tuesday night.

And three quick thoughts of my own to go along with the brief recaps: 1.) I think I'm finally realizing Hillsdale isn't as good as I once believed they were. Four league losses in a league that has a few teams in rebuilding years is two to many for my liking. And the inconsistency of Nick Kelley in the post from game-to-game is something I actually overheard a few Hornets faithful talking about at the Hillsdale College men's basketball game last night, and come district play they're going to need A+ performances out of him to keep up with Marshall and Colwater. Well, that is if Coldwater's 6-4 play-maker Jake Robinson plays in the first-round battle. He apparently was picked up by the cops over the weekend (I've been told by several sources what for, but have no legal confirmation) and is in jeopardy of being forced to sit out for the district opener via a suspension by the program. So at least that's one positive thing for Hillsdale. 2.) Unless Hudson is somehow a whole lot better now then when I saw them earlier this year, Pittsford is going to make a perfect regular season a reality. North Adams-Jerome should be a 20-point win Thursday night and I don't think the Wildcats will succumb to pressure against the Tigers at home on Friday. 3.) I wouldn't want to play Jonesville right now. They played Homer extremely tough, they just beat Quincy and they have Mitch Miller outside and Kyle Flint and Logan Jenkins on the inside. They can't win a slug-fest where the score is in the 60s or higher, but if they control the tempo and do what they've been doing as of late then they are a dangerous team.

Stockbridge 59, Hillsdale 55

A 25-point fourth quarter from the Stockbridge Panthers was just enough to overcome Hillsdale Tuesday night, in a 59-55 victory.

The Hornets are now completely out of the SMAA title race and have only Lansing Christian left on their schedule, at home on Friday.

The Hornets made seven 3-pointers and Mitchell Gabriele had 18 points and Nick Kelley pitched in with 17, but Stockbridge was 24-of-31 from the foul line, while the Hornets were only 8-for-12.

Jeff O’Brien lead the Panthers with 22 points, after being held to 10 in the previous meeting and Jake Powers added 18.

Gabriele fouled out with about 3:30, greatly hurting the Hornets chances down the stretch.

The Hornets are now 13-6 overall.

Pittsford 50, BC St. Phil 47 (OT)

Just two games remain in the Pittsford Wildcats quest for perfection in boys basketball, but only after a road thriller against of one the state’s best teams.

The Wildcats trailed Battle Creek St. Phil, a team that was ranked in the Top 10 earlier this season, by five points heading into the final quarter Tuesday, but a furious rally and a big bucket by junior Garet Lee in overtime helped them prevail 50-47.

Lee was held to 12 points and shot just 4-of-12 from the foul line but he pulled down 17 rebounds.

Wes Smith added 12 points and Corey Gamble put in 11 for Pittsford, who is now 18-0 overall, with home games against North Adams-Jerome and Hudson remaining, on Thursday and Friday.

Chris Riley paced Battle Creek St. Phil with 19 points.

Jonesville 47, Quincy 40

Jonesville’s boys basketball team continued it second-half push to end with a winning season, at the expense of the Quincy Orioles who have been trailing off as of late.

Mitch Miller led the Comets with 16 points, including a 9-for-12 effort at the foul line and Kyle Flint put in four points and 10 rebounds, while Logan Jenkins tallied four and eight.

The Comets end the regular season at 11-9 overall and 8-6 in conference play.

Dustin Truitt and Drew Stetler both scored 11 points to pace the Orioles, while Ben Olmstead pitched in with 10.

Quincy is now 11-8 overall and 9-5 in the Big Eight.

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Slow start proves to be no problem for Quincy girls

[caption id="attachment_169" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Quincy senior Megan Loveberry hit several key shots down the stretch to help lead the Orioles to a Big Eight road win over Jonesville. Photo by Larry Jose."][/caption]

By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor

As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on Feb. 18

The Quincy Orioles played their worst half of basketball this season according to their head coach and trailed by as many as 16 points midway through the third quarter Tuesday, but somehow still pulled out a Big Eight victory.

After going scoreless in the first quarter and putting up only nine points in the first half, the Orioles rallied behind some timely offensive firepower from seniors Megan Loveberry and Krisy Force to pull out a 40-35 road win at Jonesville.

"I just told them great comeback and I was proud of them," Quincy head coach Bob Stewart said. "At halftime I think my comment was 'That's the crappiest half we've played all year and we're only down nine, so you take care of the business you need to and you'll be okay,' and we did.”

The Orioles (11-6 overall, 6-6 Big Eight) didn't even get on the scoreboard until the 6:49 mark of the second quarter, but it mattered little because the Comets couldn't capitalize on their quick start.
Ashlende Teller led the Comets to an 18-9 lead at the intermission with eight points off of strong drives to the lane, but Jonesville's defense went from causing havoc in the first half to losing track of Oriole players in the second.

"I think we lost some intensity in the second half obviously and they knocked down shots they didn't make in the first half," Jonesville head coach Tom Dunn said. "They got open, they hit shots and I don't think we played hard enough on the defensive end, so they deserved to win the game and they outplayed us in the first half."

For the first 20 minutes or so the Orioles settled for contested outside jumpers, but something clicked after the Comets went ahead by as much as 27-11 with 3:49 left in the third quarter.

Marissa Wilkinson put in a pair of quick buckets, Loveberry started finding teammates who had open looks and Jonesville "missed some bunnies on the other end" as Dunn put it.

The Orioles finished the period on a 10-0 run and eventually took their first lead of the contest on a Loveberry triple with 4:45 remaining.

It was a big basket from the senior after a night full of shots that fell short and few good scoring chances.

"Tom and I were talking about this before hand, that if she has a game where she shoots poorly she does other things well and involves other people and gets rebounds and steals and I'm sure she still did a pretty doggone job," Stewart said.

To help her out Force knocked down several key free-throw line jump shots and the Comets couldn't draw closer than three in the final two minutes.

"We knew that they were going to have to either guard Megan down on the blocks or Krisy at the elbow or our perimeter people and I think we made them make some decisions and it paid off," Stewart said.

Loveberry finished the contest with a game-high 13 points, Force added nine and Sarah Denning pitched in eight for Quincy.

For Jonesville Teller scored 12 and had four steals, while Shaila Rossman tallied six points and 10 boards.

The two teams will butt heads against on March 2 in the first round of districts at Quincy.

"The girls know it's going to be a war the third time and we're just going to go get 'em the best we can," Dunn said. "I expect it's going to be a backyard brawl. We got complacent when we got a lead and we've got to learn we can't do that."

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Hornets fly past Orioles at The Hive

[caption id="attachment_107" align="alignright" width="197" caption="Hillsdale guard Kyle MacDonald attacks the Quincy defense in the first half Tuesday night. "][/caption]

By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor

As published in the Feb. 4, 2009 edition of the Hillsdale Daily News

Quincy likes to walk the ball up the court, while Hillsdale is obsessed with running the ball up the floor, making the opposition pay for costly turnovers.

Tuesday night the Hornets were the ones actually turning the ball over more often than not, but they kept running and gunning and Quincy couldn’t keep up.

Senior point guard Mitchell Gabriele turned in his usual stellar performance with 30 points, 10 assists and seven steals and the Hornets overcame 24 turnovers in an 86-55 rout of the Orioles.

Usually an easy win to improve to 7-3 on the season would cause for celebration, but not in the Hillsdale locker room, where they have their sights set high this season.

“You would’ve thought we got beat in the locker room. The guys realize as much as the coaches do that we really didn’t play very well defensively. Our containment was bad, I thought we gave up too many layups and too many offensive rebounds and that’s a concern for us,” Hillsdale head coach Brad Felix said. “Obviously we’re scoring points, I’m just concerned that when we get against a team that can stop you from scoring 60-65 you’ve got to win with your defense and we’ve struggled all season long.”

Struggle is a relative word though and the Hornets hardly struggled on offense. They used a 12-0 run to start the game and 8-0 burst right out of halftime to give them a majority of their cushion.
On the evening the Hornets shot 53 percent from the field and drained eight 3-pointers and Felix admitted that shooting has been something he’s been stressing more of late.

“I don’t want to take credit but I have to say I’ve committed more time to shooting in practice then I probably have ever done in my career,” he said. “You’re always ‘X’ing and ‘O’ing in practice and kind of get away from just shooting the ball a little bit.”

Senior Nick Kelley scored 17 points, mostly on bunnies that he has had a tendency to miss as of late, and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.

Scott Lantis pitched in 10 points, Kyle MacDonald put in nine, including two 3-pointers and Kurtis Condon scored seven.

For Quincy, effort was never a question, but it was a constant battle to find open shots they could knock down. When they were trying to stay close in the second quarter they couldn’t finish several offensive putbacks and throughout the game their jumpers just wouldn’t stick.

Nonetheless, Quincy head coach Ritch Adams thought it was a good learning experience for his boys, especially since it didn’t count in the conference standings.

“I thought we learned a lot. I think Hillsdale plays a little bit more intense than we’re used to seeing night to night and I thought after about the first three minutes we matched them pretty well,” he said. “I thought the big difference was they lit it up from outside and we had trouble buying anything from outside.”

Adams said he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort for the most part, but admitted Gabriele was at times more than his team could handle.

“We didn’t do a very good job of stopping him, but we’re not the only ones and it’s not like he had a bunch of open layups. We had guys there and he knocked them down anyway,” he said.

Dustin Truitt had a strong outing for the Orioles with nine points and 11 rebounds and Eric Stetler led Quincy with 12 points.

“We usually run more sets and are patient offensively and against them it’s just tough to do. If you’ve got a guy in your face you’ve just got to dribble past him and make a play,” Adams said referring to his team’s performance on offense.

Felix said the Big Eight is just a different style of basketball than his team is used to seeing and despite wishing for a little more out of his defense, it was still a win to be proud of.

“We’re all talking about what we didn’t do well, but it’s not that grim, it’s still a good win for us,” he said. “They have a  winning record and are having a good season and we beat them handily. We’ve got to be happy about that.”

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Thanks to a handful of fans who ruined my entire evening

By RJ Walters

Exclusive Walters 'n Words blog post

Nothing in sports at any level gets my blood boiling quite like piss poor sportsmanship — so I must say thank you to a handful of Quincy fans at last night's Hillsdale, Quincy boys basketball game — because my blood was at least at 106 degrees fahrenheit by the end of the contest.

Before almost every single MHSAA sporting event the P.A. announcer reads off a statement on how good sportsmanship is an essential to the game at hand because high school sports is just an extraciricular form of education in some ways.

From the ugly collage of things I heard coming out of some Quincy fans mouths Tuesday I know most of them heard that statement, but regard it? Ha, I think not.

It should first of all be noted that Hillsdale cruised past Quincy from the get-go. This alone wasn't going to help the situation, because Oriole fans, like almost all county sports fans, seem to have a grudge with Hillsdale sports teams because they are bigger, and yes, of course, better too. Every diehard thinks their school is the best and Quincy fans are no exception, so I must state that up front.

But 6-10 Oriole faithful took it too far Tuesday. Late in the second half one such fan blurted out, rather angrily: "That's why everyone hates them so much over here. Because they hire officials who will only make calls for them."

And unfortunately, that wasn't the tip of the iceberg.

The iceberg itself was built on more than a few F-bombs directed at the refs, "bull****" arising from the crowd at least once every three minutes and several fanatics using the Lord's name in vain while directing their displeasure at the officials. All this with a few dozen teenagers mixed in throughout the visiting crowd. What a great example for our youth I must say.

Yet these same adults, who lacked basic self-control or so it seemed, wanted to constantly rag on the Hillsdale High student section across the way for harmless, fun chants when Orioles players were at the foul line.

Sure the Hornet fans belted out "Beeeeeedddddd wettt-tttt-eeer" and "You can't read!" to try and distract the players. But they weren't personal attacks, just the same goofy teenage stuff they scream at the top of their lungs every game.

It wasn't like the student section was screaming out "M.I.P." to a player who had a criminal record or chanting "You are gay!" or some other derogatory, offensive language, which I might add is certainly present at some high school and many collegiate sporting events.

Yet, one of the over-the-top Oriole moms had the gall to continue to yell across the gym at the student section, as if the kids could actually here her.

"Yeah Hillsdale, reallll classy you guys are. Where's the athletic director to step in and take care of the situation? Reallll classy."

She also happened to be the same lady who thought every single time the whistle blew it was against Quincy, even though in truth the Hornets committed more fouls in the contest. She was constantly remarking that Hillsdale players were trying to always trip Quincy players and they needed to "get off them", when all the Hornet players were doing was playing stingy, in-your-grill defense. Imagine that.

It was also the same fan who was enraged when Hillsdale head coach Brad Felix called a timeout early in the fourth quarter to ream his team out for not keeping the Orioles off the offensive glass. Felix is one of the best teachers in the entire county sports scene, and he uses every opportunity to make his kids better, but this Oriole supporter just thought Felix was being mean, evident by her words.

"Yeah sure, yell at your kids when you're ahead by 28 points! That's exactly what I would want my kids coach to do. Geez man, get a grip!"

FHI...a.k.a. For Her Information, Felix has a grip, a grip on winning ,respect and teaching lessons, that is.

At least one other Quincy supporter agreed with the ripping on Felix though.

After Felix took out his starters with about four minutes left a few of the reserves made mistakes, imagine that. And this particular fan made sure he voiced his opinion on the matter to the Hornets coach.

"You should really retire before next year coach! All your horses are going to be gone and then who is going to be doing all the winning?"

So according to this guy coaches don't really matter and they in fact don't mold players, run the X's and O's and establish a programs identity. All they do is wait for good players to show up, put on a suit twice a week and reap the benefits. Riiight.

Then again, this is the same guy who actually yelled this, word-for word, just minutes before the final buzzer sounded.

"Do you know what a hand-check is ref? Probably what you do in your bathroom when you go home."

Well apparently what this immature fan doesn't do when he goes home is give himself a good look in the mirror and think about what he says and what type of example he might be setting.

Sure it's not okay for high schoolers to be high schoolers, but this group of 30, 40 and 50 somethings can say whatever they want, as loud as they want and actually laugh at each other's disrespectful comments as if it's their favorite way to bond together.

Ron Burgundy would certainly be proud of you select group of Quincy fans. Me — not so much.

It's time to grow up or stay home.

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