Charlevoix, Boyne City baseball split to stay in LMC race
BOYNE CITY — The Boyne City and Charlevoix rivalry in any sport rarely needs any extra fuel for the flames.
But, the Lake Michigan Conference baseball matchup between the two came with some Tuesday.
Both near the top the LMC standings heading in at 6-2, the winner of Tuesday’s doubleheader would stay neck and neck in the race with Traverse City St. Francis.
Turns out, both will stay neck and neck after a series split. Boyne City earned a 6-5 walk-off victory in the opener, then Charlevoix topped the Ramblers in the nightcap of a 4-2 final.
The split moved Boyne City to 12-13 overall on the season and 7-3 within the LMC, while Charlevoix moved to 15-3 overall and 7-3 in the league. St. Francis had Tuesday off, though currently leads the league at 8-2 and is 15-7 overall.
In game one Tuesday in Boyne City, Charlevoix took advantage of the international tie-breaker rule with Patrick Sterrett driving in Ryan Pearl to make it a 5-4 Rayder lead, though back came the Ramblers in the bottom of the seventh.
After a wild fielder’s choice play opened the inning and a pair of balks by Charlevoix advanced runners, Boyne’s Charlie Dobbelaer stepped to the plate and sent a double to left field, which scored Mason Wilson and Chas Stanek to give the Ramblers a 6-5 walk-off win.
Kaden Jewett pitched one inning for the Ramblers, striking out two, before Aaron Bess took over and went six innings with four hits allowed and 10 strikeouts.
Riley Dittmar singled and doubled and drove in two runs, Bess doubled and had an RBI and Dobbelaer had the two-RBI double. Wyatt Stinger and Kacey Gray also each had an RBI.
For Charlevoix, Sterrett doubled, singled and had one RBI and Josh House added an RBI.
Jack Jarema went 1.2 innings with a strikeout before giving way to Bryce Johnson, who went five innings with six hits allowed and nine strikeouts.
While game two wasn’t a walk-off win, it came with some late-inning drama, as the Rayders carried a 4-0 advantage heading to the bottom of the sixth, before the Ramblers plated a pair with only one out. Charlevoix eventually got Boyne to fly out and ground out to end the night.
Sterrett earned the win after five and a third innings, allowing four hits and two walks, while striking out nine. Troy Nickel then came on for the final two outs.
House doubled and drove in two runs at the plate, Johnson added an RBI and Sterrett also had two singles and two runs scored.
For Boyne, Jewett took the loss through six solid innings, with just six hits allowed, two walks and nine strikeouts.
Jewett also doubled in two runs at the plate and Mason Wilcox doubled.
Boyne City returns to the field at East Jordan on Thursday, May 19, while Charlevoix welcomes East Jordan on Monday, May 23.
SOFTBALL
Charlevoix at Boyne City
BOYNE CITY — Charlevoix’s softball team earned a sweep over league rival Boyne City Tuesday night, snapping a cold streak against Lake Michigan Conference foes.
Charlevoix earned a 9-3 victory in the opener, as Anna Kemp and Grace Lentz put on a show at the plate.
Kemp went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base, while Lentz finished 3-for-4 with a home run, double, four RBIs and two runs scored.
Catherine Wagner added an RBI double and Emma Meadows drove in a run on a single.
Dorst earned the pitching win behind six innings, seven hits allowed and two strikeouts.
Delaney Vollmer took the loss for Boyne City through six innings, striking out six with 10 hits allowed.
Sophie Franchowiak singled twice and Vollmer singled and drove in two runs.
Score and game statistics were available for only the opener.
GOLF
Harbor Springs LMC Match
HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Springs boys’ golf team had the chance to host a Lake Michigan Conference match Tuesday at Boyne Highlands’ Moor course, welcoming in the seven other league teams.
Elk Rapids earned the overall win by just edging out Traverse City St. Francis in a 326 to 329 final tally.
Charlevoix was third with a 349, followed by Boyne City, 364; Harbor Springs, 379; Kalkaska, 432; Grayling, 442; and East Jordan, 498.
Happy for the chance to host and happy his team continues to lower their game, Harbor Springs coach Pete Kelbel knows there’s still some work to be done to achieve their ultimate goal.
“We keep improving our team and individual scores,” said Kelbel. “We are still a bit short of where we need to be to get through regionals and qualify for the state championship, however, that goal is still very possible. Only three teams of the 15 make it to the state championship. Right now we are clearly fourth.”
Joshua Lavely of Elk Rapids earned the medalist position again with a 73, while Josh Slocum was second with a 79, a stroke ahead of Charleovix’s Hudson Vollmer.
Charlevoix also had Sam Pletcher and Jack Gaffney shoot 88, Eric Arlt shot 93; Joshua Shultz, 94; and Henry Herzog, 96.
For Boyne City, Kolton Stadt led with an 86, Nic Santina shot 88; Andrew Stadt, 92; Jack Neer, 98; and Bobby Hoth, 104.
Harbor Springs was led by Donovan Sylvain with a 90, Olin Alonzi carded 91; Stewart Osterlund, 98; Carson Chumbler, 100; and Mitchell Caron, 101.
For East Jordan, Alexander Rodger led with a round of 92.
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, Boyne City baseball split to stay in LMC race
