Michigan girls soccer teams prep for districts
Buchanan girls soccer coach Russ Philip was concerned going into this season.
After the graduation of his daughter Scotland and her 34 goals from a year ago, Philip was concerned where his team was going to get it's offense.
"That was my worry," Philip said. "How are we going to make up for that scoring? But we've done that by committee, which is great. I'd rather have three who can take care of business than one dominant player."
Buchanan has done that with freshman center-midfielder Evyn Pruett scoring 28 goals and assisting on nine others, and senior forwards Julian McKean (11 goals, 12 assists) and Jenna French (10 goals) making big contributions.
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"It comes down to our chemistry," Philip said. "We have seven seniors who have acted like Mother Gooses to the underclassmen. They've put them under their wings and helped them through the process and through adversity. We've been able to beat teams like Niles and Bridgman, who we've lost to in the past. The bottom line has been chemistry. The girls mix really well together."
Pruett has been the key, including back-to-back six-goal games at one point this year.
"Evyn has worked well with our senior center-midfielder Hailey Jonatzke," Philip said. "Evyn is our attacking midfielder and Hailey holds it there. Evyn also wants to distribute to our fowards Jullian and Jenna. And our senior outside midfielders can run forever. They're all in sync together. They know what the others are going to do. They're able to spread it around."
Pruett seemingly was born to play soccer.
"I think Evyn was birthed with a soccer ball on her foot," Phillip said. "She's played since she was 4 or 5 years old. Fall, winter, spring and summer are all soccer seasons for her. She sees the field well. She can see how plays are progressing, going from the middle third to the attacking third. She sees how we're attacking, where the defenders are and where the attackers are. She has a very good field of view."
Buchanan is 10-5, but will have a challenge in their Division 4 district opener Wednesday against Michigan Lutheran. The Titans are 9-5 and led by goal-scoring machine Ellie Primerano, who is headed to St. Cloud University in Minnesota on a full ride soccer scholarship. Primerano has scored 56 goals this year going into a Monday game against Kalamazoo Heritage Christian after tallying 61 a year ago, the ninth highest single season mark in state girls history.
"I call her tenacious to sum it up in one word," Lutheran coach Scott Splese said. "She's incredibly fast and is also a weightlifter, so she's stronger in the field, too. She's so strong that sometimes it works against her with her kicks."
Primerano has a single-game high of eight, equaling the fourth-best mark in state history, and scored seven in Lutheran's 8-4 win over Buchanan back on April 20. But it was that game that Philip thought was the turning point in Buchanan's season. The Bucks went toe-to-toe with Lutheran, trailing just 5-4 at halftime, before wearing down and falling 8-4.
"That game showed we were better than we thought we were," Philip said. "That game made the girls think they could do more."
Buchanan has won eight of 10 since.
"And we're hoping to make a little noise Wednesday," Philip said.
Edwardsburg (7-5-2) also has a difficult Division 2 district opener at perennial power Lakeshore, who beat the Eddies 4-0 Friday night. Samantha Stewart (11 goals, 10 assists) and Macey Laubach (10 goals, 7 assists) are the top Edwardsburg scorers.
Dowagiac (6-7-2), which lost in last year's Division 3 district final, will open at Constantine. The Chieftains are led by Kenya Lee (8 goals) and Hailey Saylor (6 goals).
DISTRICT PAIRINGS
DIVISION 2
Wednesday, May 25
Paw Paw at St. Joseph, 6 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Lakeshore, 6 p.m.
Vicksburg at Niles, 5 p.m.
Sturgis at Mattawan, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 1
At Mattawan
Paw Paw-St. Joseph winner vs. Edwardsburg-Lakeshore winner, 5 p.m.
Vicksburg-Niles winner vs. Sturgis-Mattawan winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 4
At Mattawan
Championship, 11 a.m.
DIVISION 3
Wednesday, May 25
Watervliet at Berrien Springs, 6 p.m.
Three Rivers at Coloma, 6 p.m.
Dowagiac at Constantine, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 1
Three Rivers-Coloma winner at Watervliet-Berrien Springs winner, 6 p.m.
Dowagiac-Constantine winner at South Haven, 6 p.m.
Friday, June 3
At Berrien Springs
Championship, 6 p.m.
DIVISION 4
Wednesday, May 25
Brandywine at Bridgman, 5 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran at Buchanan, 5 p.m.
New Buffalo at Marcellus, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 1
Michigan Lutheran-Buchanan winner at Brandywine-Bridgman winner, 5 p.m.
New Buffalo-Marcellus winner at Lake Michigan Catholic, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 3
At Buchanan
Championship, 5 p.m.
GIRLS SOFTBALL
Eddies stay hot
Edwardsburg's girls softball team stayed hot, sweeping Sturgis 15-0 and 15-0 and Paw Paw 20-0 and 17-0.
The Eddies are in control of the Wolverine Conference race at 12-0 with makeup twin bills this week at Dowagiac Tuesday and against Plainwell Wednesday.
Dean Dixon's team is batting .395 and averaging 8.8 runs per game. Edwardsburg has won 19 of its past 21 games after a 4-5 start.
Lindsey Dalenberg leads the way with a 500 batting average, followed by Samantha Baker (.386, 25 RBIs), Abby Bossler (.442, 35 RBIs), Caitlin Tighe (.389, 19 RBIs), Lexi Schimpa (.384, 22 RBIs), Jersie Dawson (.371, 15 RBIs) and Emma Denison (.368, 29 RBIs).
Buchanan BCS champs
Buchanan only got a split with arch-rival Brandywine Tuesday, but it was enough to clinch the BCS Red Division title.
The Bucks won the first game 12-0, but let the second game slip away 5-4 in eight innings. Buchanan finished 7-1 in the division.
Rachel Carlson's team rebounded to crush Centreville 14-1 and 14-4 and Constantine 18-0 and 16-0 and are 28-6 overall. Buchanan is batting .398 and averaging 9.8 runs per game.
The Bucks' trio of All-Staters have had big years. Shortstop Hannah Herman is batting .578 with seven homers and 43 RBI, first baseman Hailee Kara is at .467 with seven homers and 55 RBI and second baseman Alea Fisher is hitting .432 with four homers and 46 RBI. But they've gotten plenty of help.
Outfielders Hannah Tompkins (.463, 2 homers, 29 RBI), Sage Pruett (.381, 4 homers, 33 RBI) and Caitlyn Horvath (.408), catcher Christin Cooper (.413) and third baseman Camille Lozmack (.383, 3 homers, 26 RBI) have all been consistent.
And Kara has been superb of late on the mound with a 15-2 record, a 1.82 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings.
BASEBALL
Bucks champions
Buchanan wrapped up the BCS Red Division title by sweeping Brandywine 10-0 and 10-0. The Bucks finished 7-1 in division play.
Jim Brawley's team also swept Constantine 16-1 and 11-3, but Saturday lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Indiana powerhouse LaPorte.
Now 18-4 overall, Buchanan has pitchers Macoy West (.468, 22 RBI) and Matthew Hoover (.462, 39 RBI), catcher Murphy Wegner (.441, 17 RBI) and shortstop Cade Preissing (.379, 16 RBI).
Bobcats eye rematch
After losing the twin bill to Buchanan, Brandywine rebounded to sweep Bronson 10-4 and 14-0. Now 14-6, the Bobcats are hoping to use a single game Monday with Cassopolis, a single game Tuesday with Marcellus, a doubleheader Wednesday with Lake Michigan Catholic and single games Thursday with Benton Harbor and Edwardsburg to get ready for a district rematch with the Bucks.
Brandywine is led by Jamier (.451) and Jeramiah Palmer (.434) and pitcher Owen Hulett (5-1, 0.36 ERA). Hulett did not pitch either game in the doubleheader last week against Buchanan.
Eddies need help in Wolverine
Speaking of Edwardsburg, the Eddies will need some help to win another Wolverine Conference baseball title. Vicksburg is currently 13-1 in the league, Plainwell is 9-2 and the Eddies are 13-3 after sweeping Sturgis 10-0 and 10-4 and splitting with Paw Paw, losing 7-5 and winning 12-4 last week. A.J. Gaideski's team is 20-3 overall after also blanking Elkhart 10-0 last Thursday.
Shortstop Connor Ostrander continues to lead the way for Edwardsburg with a whopping .522 batting average, .645 on base percentage and seven homers and 29 RBI. But catcher Landon Mikel (.459, 5 homers, 37 RBI) and outfielders Patrick Szlanfucht (.405, 15 RBI), Logan McColley (.382, 2 homers, 18 RBI) and Caleb Layman (.370) have also been consistent.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Michigan High School sports news and notes
