High school sports rewind: Saugatuck soccer tops Black River
The Saugatuck girls soccer team kept its good start to the season going on Thursday with a 1-0 over Black River.
Alyvia Downer scored the game's lone goal off an assist from Adele Nieuwsma. Kennedy Gustafson and Emma DeBoer combined for three saves in net to help preserve the shutout.
Olivia Hayes made 10 saves in the net for Black River.
Saugatuck improves to 4-1 on the season with the win. Black River falls to 1-2.
GIRLS SOCCER
Reeths Puffer 4, Zeeland East 1
The Chix lost their matchup on Thursday night. Despite having the game tied at one at halftime, they couldn't hold off a potent Puffer offense for the final half.
West Ottawa 2, Grandville 2
West Ottawa recorded three first-half goals and held on to beat Grandville 3-2 on Thursday night. Panther goals were scored by Anna Krupka, Brenna Rohloff, and Heidi Gomez.
West Ottawa is now 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in the OK Red. The Panthers will play again on Saturday at Holland Christian.
Zeeland West 1, Mona Shores 1
The Dux varsity soccer team earned a hard fought and physical 1-1 draw against Mona Shores Thursday night. Some confusion on the sideline over a throw-in resulted in the Sailors striking first in the opening two minutes of the game, taking the early 1-0 lead. GK Grace Caywood got her fingertips on the initial shot, but it caromed into the far side of the net.
Despite being down early, the Dux remained composed and continued to gain confidence and momentum over the course of the first half. Though the Dux dominated the time of possession, they were unable to net the equalizer.
The Dux netted the equalizer midway through the second half. Anna Miller drove down the right side of the field before laying a ball back across towards the top of the 18 to a wide-open Marissa Ybarra. As the defense collapsed on her, Ybarra calmly turned and slid a ball back to Jordyn Klaasen who confidently placed the ball up and over the tips of the outstretched arms of the keeper from about 25 yards out.
"Our kids really stepped up their intensity and pace of play in the second half, which created all kinds of problems for them defensively. Our back line matched their speed and physicality, did a great job limiting their counterattack, and really kick-started our own attack by playing with confidence, poise and patience," said coach Ben Hondorp. "Our midfield won the game for us tonight. We were quick and decisive with our decisions and distribution, taking away some of their physicality, which really opened things up. We moved much better off of the ball and were more willing to attack and run at them in the second half, which kept them from generating any dangerous chances. Really proud of our team energy, encouragement and effort tonight."
Grace Caywood made three saves in net for the Dux, who are 2-0-1 on the season (1-0-1 in the OK Green). They turn around and head to St. Joseph tomorrow night for a non-conference match before returning to league action next Tuesday night at Reeths-Puffer.
Holland 8, Wyoming 0
On Thursday, Holland traveled to Wyoming and came away with an 8-0 win. LayRay Paw converted three goals and Alia Garcia, Riley Gainey, Riley Elders, Emma Margaron, and Angelica Goitia each scored.
Gainey also had two assists and Melina Garcia, Angelica Goitia, and Elders each chipped in an assist.
"Wyoming was very strong and determined, but they were not a deep team, and I think they got tired," said Holland coach Greg Ceithaml. "We moved the ball well and created good scoring chances. It was one of our better possession contests."
Holland is now 2-2 on the season.
GIRLS TENNIS
Holland 7, Unity Christian 1
On a cool and windy day, the Holland girls varsity tennis team was finally able to play a match, defeating Unity Christian by a score of 7-1.
Lizzi Munster put the first point on the board for the Dutch, winning her #2 singles match, 6-1, 6-3.
"The wind and the cold did not stop my teammates from doing an amazing job," Munster said. "I'm so proud of my teammates today and I'm excited for the rest of the season."
Holland coach Kyle Kreps echoed Munster. "I'm impressed with how the team handled some tough conditions today. It was great to be able to get our first match in and I'm excited for us to continue to grow." Holland is now 1-0 on the season. The Dutch will host a quad this coming Saturday.
Libby LeFebre earned the point in the one singles, winning 6-3 , 6-2. Abby Sanches, the No. 3 singles player captured a 6-4, 6-3 win.
The Dutch swept all four doubles points, led by Cora VanFaasen and Ava Wall, who won 6-2,6-2 in the one doubles match. Natalie Legg and Emma Hulst had a tight first set but rolled in the second to win 7-5, 6-1.
In the No. 3 doubles match, Claudia Kurniawan and Lena Vanderbilt Mancinelli won in three sets, coming away with a 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7 victory. Haleigh Souder and Nicole Souder won the No. 4 doubles point 6-4, 7-5.
SOFTBALL
Unity Christian 10, Zeeland West 0
The Dux took a tough loss Tuesday night against a solid Unity Christian team.
The weather wasn't great, but it didn't slow down Unity who gave West its first loss of the season, winning10-0 in five innings.
Sophomore Alexa Brott took the loss on the mound. She threw five innings giving up twelve hits, striking out four and walking two.
The Dux offense was stymied by Unity pitching and only put up two hits. Junior Carly Sleeman led the way and went 1 for 1 with a single and a walk. She also stole two bases. Brott added the other hit for the Dux.
"We play, we learn, and we grow." said coach Scott Sliva. "Unity came to play and unfortunately we were not ready. They are a really good team and we had planned to be more competitive this early in the season."
Zeeland West falls to 2-1 on the season and head to Softball World on Saturday to play in a tournament.
BASEBALL
Hamilton swept by Unity in tight games
The Hawkeyes lost two games on Thursday to Unity. The first game, which was a continuation of Tuesday's game which was called off early, was a 5-4 Hamilton loss. Unity scored two late runs to come out on top.
In the second game, an 11-12 loss for Hamilton, Unity scored two runs in the seventh to capture the lead for good. Tyler Berkimer had two hits and Brayden Geurink had three RBI for Hamilton.
Zeeland East 15, Holland 2
The Chix earned a win over their OK Green conference foe on Thursday night.
Zeeland East baseball completed the three-game OK Green conference sweep of Holland on Thursday afternoon. The Chix finished a continuation game from Tuesday winning 15-4 and then won the final game 15-2 (5 innings).
Easton Remick recorded the win in the continuation game, pitching a complete game. Remick struck out nine batters in six innings of work, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits. Offensively, Zeeland East was led by Austin Keur who tallied three hits in the game including a double, two stolen bases and a run scored. Brenston Brown also added three hits and three RBI while Max Cochran had two hits and a double. Easton Remick and Aidan Jaworowski also both added doubles in the game. The Chix tallied 13 total hits in the game.
In the second game, Jake Meyering pitched a complete game (five-innings) in the win for Zeeland East. Meyring allowed two runs on five hits while striking out six. Offensively the Chix again exploded with 13 hits led by Brenston Brown who had two doubles and five RBI in the contest. Max Salas and Aidan Fredricks also had multiple hits in the game.
The Chix improve their record to 4-0 and 3-0 in the OK Green Conference.
Sean Ruhf led the Dutch with three hits, accounting for two of their runs with an RBI and a run of his own. Emmett Book, Zach Hop, and Andon Grigg added hits to the total as well.
Black River drops doubleheader to Sacred Heart Academy.
In game one Jack Davis pitched 4-1/3 innings for BR striking out seven in the 9-5 loss, Toren Elmer led the River Rat offense with a two-run single in the first inning.
In the second game Nick Wreschinsky took the loss 2- 9 against a tough Sacred Heart line-up striking out four in two innings, Julian Fowler led the offense with two hits.
Next up for Black River is a home doubleheader against Lee on Tuesday.
BOYS GOLF
West Ottawa finishes 6th at Rockford Jamboree
The Panthers traveled to Blythefield to compete in the Rockford Jamboree and finished 6th. They were led by sophomore Carson Witvoet with a 47, senior. Gavin Hardy with a 48, junior Nash Bosma added a 50, while freshman Carter Green and sophomore Will Niziolek both carded 51s
BOYS LACROSSE
West Ottawa 17, Spring Lake 5
Trent Mulder led the Panthers with seven goals and an assist and Cole Tulgetske poured in four goals and three assists. Cooper Nienhuis had two goals and seven ground balls. Brody Becker also scored twice for the Panthers. Owen Armstrong had four ground balls and Ian Geiersbach had nine saves in the victory.
Holland Christian 6, Kenowa Hills 4
Holland Christian went on the road and beat Kenowa Hills 6-4 Thursday night. Holland Christian overcame a slow offensive game with a strong defensive performance led by captains Jackson Engbers and Parker Bareman.
Andrew Chesser and Ben Nelson led the scoring with two goals each while Aidan Delcazo and Will Overway each added one.
BOYS TRACK & FIELD
Holland Christian competes against Spring Lake
Landon Culver won the 400 in a time of 53.63. Will Engbers came out on top in the 3200 with a time of 10:49.87. Jordan Duncan won the high jump, clearing 6-feet-4-inches. Nathan Bengelink took home first place in the pole vault clearing 10 feet and finally, Duncan earned the victory in the long jump, hurling himself 20-feet-10 inches.
GIRLS' TRACK AND FIELD
Holland Christian competes against Spring Lake
Abbe Baas set a new personal record in the 200 meters, crossing the line in first place with a time of 29.38. Senior Sarah Schloff won the 3200 meters, finishing the race in 16:22.14.In the field events, Samara Brinks won the shot put, throwing 33-feet 7-inches as well as the discus, tossing it 88-feet- 3 inches. Alyssa Gerritsma won the pole vault for the Maroons, clearing 7-feet and 6.5 inches.
—Contact Assistant Sports Editor Will Kennedy at Will.Kennedy@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByWillKennedy and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: High school sports rewind: Saugatuck girls soccer tops Black River
