Prep Baseball: Ace helps SMCC top Jefferson for first League win

Navigating through the Huron League in baseball is not easy.

St. Mary Catholic Central was off to an 0-2 start in the league, but it was hard to fault the Falcons.

Photo Gallery: SMCC at Jefferson baseball

Their losses came against a New Boston Huron team that opened the season ranked No. 2 in Division 2 and an undefeated Airport squad.

"The Huron League is tough," SMCC coach Zach Parran said. "We will beat up on each other all year. You have to try to steal a win when you can."

That's why it was important for the Falcons to come up with a victory Wednesday against a young Jefferson squad.

So, they turned to their ace.

Junior Nolan Moore scattered six hits to lead SMCC to an 11-2 win that pushed its record to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the league.

"Nolan is a bulldog," Parran said. "He's our No. 1 and that's what you need to win in the Huron League. ... There was a lot of pressure on him, but he was the right guy for the job."

Jefferson got to Moore for two runs in the first three innings when his curveball wasn't curving.

"They scored a run in the first and another in the third, then I got comfortable," Moore said. "I didn't have my curve early, then I found it."

Moore is honored to have Parran call him the Falcon ace.

"It feels great," he said. "I was probably a top-five pitcher (on the team) last year, but this year I have been working on my leadership. I love getting the ball in a big game."

And Moore agrees with his coach that Wednesday was a big game for SMCC.

"In the Huron League, it's really hard to win baseball games," he said. "You can't dwell on one or two losses."

Tommy Rogoff singled home a run in the first inning to get SMCC started, but the outcome was in doubt until the Falcons broke loose for five runs in the fifth. An RBI single by Drew Bylow and a double by Joel Treece were the key hits in that inning.

It was a disappointing outcome for Jefferson, which won a pair of games Saturday on walk-off hits by freshmen.

Prep Softball: Pitcher-catcher bond key to Jefferson's 9-0 start

“We had really started to play well, but we had a whole new infield today,” Jefferson coach Tyler Bondy said.

The Bears were shorthanded by injuries and illness. Starting pitcher Shane Johnson deserved a better fate.

“He gave up one earned run,” Bondy said. “We shot ourselves in the foot.”

Johnson led the offense for the 6-4 Bears, going 2-for-2.

“Hopefully this was just growing pains,” Bondy said.

Monroe 10-8, Ann Arbor Huron 2-0

ANN ARBOR – Monroe (8-1-1 overall) ran its Southeastern Conference Red record to 5-0 with a sweep of Ann Arbor Huron.

Owen Yount stole 6 bases for the day, had 2 hits in the first game and was the winning pitcher with 11 strikeouts over five innings in the second game.

Logan Loveland led in the opener with 3 hits and Drew Scznsny and Ryan Sieler added 2 each.

Scznsny and Noah Miller each had a pair of hits in the second game.

Monroe’s junior varsity earned its first victory of the season as Devn Brossia struck out 9 and Garrett Gottschalk and Cody Snead notched 2 hits each in a 4-2 win.

Gottschalk went 3-for-3, but Monroe dropped the second game 10-8.

Huron 4, Airport 3

CARLETON – Gavin Moczydlowsky struck out 11 batters in six innings and drove in the winning run helping New Boston Huron hand Airport its first loss of the season.

Huron scored three times in the fifth inning as Tyler Ramsby, Austin O’Dell, and Myles Grace drove in runs. Moczydlowsky and Grace had two hits each for Huron.

Jack Mills lead the Jets in hits going 2-for-3 and Jordan Footlander pitched all seven innings.

Nate Matsos’ throw from centerfield to cut down a runner at the plate was the highlight as Huron won the junior varsity game 7-5.

Bedford 12, Lincoln 8

WILLIS – Nolan Laskey went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI to lead Bedford past Ypsilanti Lincoln.

Tommy Huss and Brendan Korsnack added 2 hits each.

The second game was suspended by darkness after four innings with Bedford leading 5-2.

Milan 16, Grosse Ile 0

MILAN – Milan improved to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the Huron League with the help of 11 Grosse Ile walks.

Gavin Kruise went 3-for-3 and scored four runs to lead the offense while Gary Linzell and Matt Bowman added 2 hits each. Connor Dessellier tossed a four-inning shutout.

Erie Mason 13-4, Morenci 1-2

ERIE – Freshman Anderson Moore (3-hitter, 8 strikeouts) and sophomore Collin Brooks (9 strikeouts) both earned their first varsity win as Erie Mason swept a doubleheader for its first two victories of the season.

Brooks went 2-for-3 and scored three times in the first game and Moore, Brody Hoffman, Brody Koehl, and Zack Miller drove in two runs each.

Koehl logged two hits in the nightcap and got the final two outs for a save.

Addison 7-2, Summerfield 6-8

ADDISON – Summerfield bounced back after losing the first game as Bryce Kalb delivered 3 hits and Brenden Myshock 2 to support strong pithing by Logan Keane.

Jacob Wadsworth homered and Tyrus LaRocca doubled.

The Bulldogs carried a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning of the opener before Addison rallied to win. Keane had 2 hits including a double and Wadsworth also doubled.

Dundee 7-4, Blissfield 2-5

DUNDEE – Trevor Schroeder collected 5 hits and 5 RBI for Dundee in a doubleheader split.

Ryan Zanger, Chris Lafountain, Bradley Kanitz, and Schroeder drove in runs in a four-run fifth inning in the first game.

Drew Bolster had 2 hits in the second game.

Adrian Madison 2-1, Whiteford 1-3

ADRIAN – Whiteford (2-3) split with Adrian Madison to open Tri-County Conference play.

Madison pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and win Game 1.

Logan Tammerine and Brenden Masters managed Whiteford’s only hits. Noah Stevens went the distance on the hill, striking out seven and giving up one earned run.

In second game, the Bobcats got 2 hits each from Tammerine and Shea Ruddy. Ruddy also scored twice.

Tammerine also got the win, striking out 8 in 6.1 innings of work. Masters closed out the win, striking out one of the two batters he faced.

Blissfield 6, Ida 2

IDA – Dean Thomas rapped out 2 hits for Ida, but the Blue Streaks managed just four in the game.

“Just didn’t hit it well enough to win today,” Ida coach Jimmy McMonagle said.

Riverview 6, Flat Rock 3

RIVERVIEW – Adam Szalay struck out 7 in five innings work and Jayden Yancy added a home run, but it wasn’t enough for Flat Rock.

Allen Park 4, Carlson 1

GIBRALTAR – Gibraltar Carlson managed just four hits as Carlson dropped its first Downriver League game in three tries.

“We have to minimize our mistakes and create offense against good teams,” Carlson coach Matt Kolak said.

McCullen Greene, Nico Reach, Matthew McBride and Evan Jones had the hits for 5-4 Carlson. Starter John Hojnowski pitched well.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Prep Baseball: Ace helps SMCC top Jefferson for first League win