Prep highlights: Pitching carries Howell to baseball sweep of Montague
Two strong performances by its starting pitchers Tuesday carried Howell to a 7-2, 1-0 nonleague baseball sweep over Montague.
David Zilch struck out 14 batters and allowed three hits in 6⅓ innings in the opener.
Owen Elsey had two doubles, Aidan Brennan drove in two runs, and Phil Hampton and Jacob Gresham each had two hits in the first game for Howell.
In the second game, Howell scored the only run when Brennan led off the second inning with a single, then scored from second on a throwing error by the pitcher.
Hampton didn’t allow a run or walk in 5⅓ innings, giving up only four hits. Jackson Militello was 2-for-3 for the sixth-ranked Highlanders (27-7).
Charyl Stockwell 8, Southfield Christian 2
The Sentinels (15-5) scored six runs in the first inning. Drew Goodwin struck out six batters in four innings and Noah Piesko pitched three innings of no-hit relief.
Braden Leverenz was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Evan Eikey drove in two runs and Aidan Liedeke was 2-for-5 for Stockwell.
The Sentinels finished second in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red Division with a 7-3 record. Whitmore Lake won the division with a 9-1 record.
Clarkston 3, Brighton 2
Clarkston 4, Brighton 0
Brighton allowed only one earned run, but couldn’t score a run after the second inning of the first game.
Brighton took a 2-0 lead in the opener on a single by Nick Baker in the first inning and a single by Ryan Metz in the second. Clarkston scored three in the sixth, benefiting from two infield errors.
Luke Micunek struck out eight and gave up three hits in 5⅔ innings for the Bulldogs (17-11).
In the second game, Clarkston broke open a 1-0 lead by scoring three runs in the fifth after a dropped third strike with two outs began the Wolves’ rally.
Evan Larson and Cooper Andrzejewski were 2-for-3 for Brighton.
Softball
Pinckney 15, Ypsilanti 0
Pinckney 15, Ypsilanti 0
Pinckney pitchers faced the minimum, as Ypsilanti’s only base runner in six innings in the doubleheader was thrown out trying to steal after reaching on an error.
Sydney Pease struck out all nine batters she faced in the opener. Emma Arnold struck out four and didn’t allow a hit in three innings in the nightcap.
Soleil Weaver had two doubles and five RBIs, Kylee Douglas drove in three runs, and Cece Thorington had a triple and double in the first game.
Alli Novick and Violet McWhinnie each had a home run and double in the second game for the Pirates (23-5-1).
Hartland 6, Linden 1
Kylie Swierkos struck out nine and allowed six hits against the 10th-ranked team in Division 2.
Abby Gardner was 3-for-4, while Skylar Spisz and Faith DeLanoy had two hits each for Hartland (18-8).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Prep highlights: Pitching carries Howell to baseball sweep of Montague
