Charlevoix baseball rolls Kalkaska; Boyne, EJ earn LMC sweeps

CHARLEVOIX — After a first inning deficit in the opening game against visiting Kalkaska Thursday, the Charlevoix baseball team didn't mess around.

The Rayders then went on to put up six runs in the bottom of the second in that opener, mercied the Blazers after five innings, then went on to earn the Lake Michigan Conference sweep.

Charlevoix earned a 12-2 victory in the opener, then closed the series with a 14-2 victory in game two.

The wins helped move the Rayders to 8-2 overall on the season and 4-2 in the LMC.

In the opener Bryce Johnson was dealing on the mound, going four innings with two hits and four walks allowed, while striking out 10. James Dixon then pitched in relief for an inning, striking out one.

Patrick Sterrett singled, doubled and drove in three runs, while scoring two, Troy Nickel drove in a pair of runs, Jake Claflin had an RBI single and Dixon, Max Ostrum and Ryan Pearl all had an RBI.

The Rayders collected even more hits in game two, as the Blazers’ errors went down, but 11 hits at the plate led to even more run production for Charlevoix.

Sterrett went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored, Josh House tripled and drove in two runs, Nickel singled, doubled and had an RBI, Caleb Stuck singled twice and had three RBIs and Owen Waha singled and had two RBIs.

Ostrum also added another RBI as well.

Waha earned the win pitching, going all five innings with just four hits allowed and no walks, while striking out six batters.

Charlevoix will next head to Traverse City St. Francis for another LMC matchup on Monday, May 9.

East Jordan at Grayling

GRAYLING — East Jordan baseball collected a two-game sweep over Grayling Thursday, crushing the Vikings in a 21-2 opener in three innings, before a 6-2 game two victory.

“We came out swinging in game one and came up big when it mattered late in game two,” East Jordan coach Tom Reid said. “We played pretty solid tonight. We were without our ace who is in Dallas for BPA Nationals and the team stepped up to get get it done in his absence.”

A whole lot of action came in game one, with Ben Reid leading the way with a double, two singles and five RBIs, while Kaleb Schroeder went 3-for-3 with four RBIs. Ethan Antaya also singled twice and had three RBIs, Ryerson Whitaker singled twice and had two RBIs and Dawson Carey had an RBI single.

Carey earned the pitching win with seven strikeouts in three innings.

In game two, Schroeder struck out 13 batters on the mound, taking a shutout into the sixth.

Mason Malpass went 3-for-3 with an RBI, Reid was 3-for-3, Hayden Peck singled twice and had one RBI, Schroeder doubled in a run and Whitaker had three runs driven in.

Elk Rapids at Boyne City

BOYNE CITY — Boyne City baseball earned a pair of Lake Michigan Conference wins Thursday, dismantling Elk Rapids in a 17-2 opener, before a 4-3 extra-innings nightcap.

In game one, the Ramblers collected 14 hits led by Aaron Bess with a single, double and triple, along with four RBIs. While Bess came a home run away from the cycle, teammate Kaden Jewett checked that box with a homer, single and four RBIs as well.

Mason Wilcox went 4-for-4, Chas Stanek had two RBIs and two singles and Gavin Hewitt singled, had an RBI and three runs scored.

Bess also earned the four-inning win on the mound with two hits allowed and five punchouts.

Game two came with a bit more work needed, which included a walk-off seventh inning double by Bess that scored Jewett and brought home the win.

Bess went 3-for-4 in the game with a pair of RBIs, Jewett singled and tripled with an RBI and Hewitt singled.

Wilcox and Bess each pitched, with Wilcox notching eight strikeouts and Bess striking out the side twice in two innings.

Boyne City improved to 9-8 overall on the season with the sweep.

Harbor Springs at TC St. Francis

TRAVERSE CITY — The Harbor Springs baseball team took a pair of losses against Traverse City St. Francis Thursday, dropping matchups of 8-1 and 7-0.

In the opener, Brady Keiser singled twice, Kaleb Warner singled in a run and Jude Proctor and Clay Novak added the other two hits.

Warner and Nate Schumaker pitched, with Warner taking the loss. Schumaker struck out three over three innings and allowed just a hit.

Harbor had just five hit again in game two, with Connor Truman, Cassidy Gudakunst, Max Bassett, Warner and Proctor all singling.

Keiser earned the loss after four and a third, allowing eight hits and five earned runs.

Harbor Springs moved to 5-7 overall on the season with the losses.

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix baseball rolls Kalkaska; Boyne, EJ earn LMC sweeps