What's the outlook for Livingston County baseball in 2023?
Winning a league championship seems like a bare-minimum goal for a successful baseball program, but whoever wins the KLAA West can rightfully claim to be one of the top teams in Michigan.
Five of the eight teams in the West Division are ranked in the top 20 in Division 1 in the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches’ Association preseason poll.
That group is led by defending KLAA champion Northville, which is No. 2 behind an Orchard Lake St. Mary’s team coming off a rare unbeaten season.
Hartland is No. 7, Howell No. 14, Brighton No. 19 and Canton No. 20.
“I don’t think there’s any question how talented the league is,” Hartland coach Brad Guenther said. “I’ve been saying that for a while now how ridiculous the talent is. I coach a summer ball team that has some Brighton kids on it. We think our pitching’s pretty good. We have four kids who can throw above 85 (miles per hour). They have three kids throwing 90, stuff like that. Dante Nori (a sophomore all-state outfielder last season) for Northville might be one of the best players I’ve ever seen in my career, as a player or coach.”
A big change for the KLAA this season is the elimination of division doubleheaders. Teams will now play single games on Mondays and Wednesday, with the potential for twinbills on Wednesdays if the Monday game is postponed.
“That will make those games more competitive when you’re shrinking the pitching staff a little bit for those single games,” Brighton coach Charlie Christner said. “I’m a big fan that if I’m going to travel someplace, go play two games. We still have doubleheaders, just not within the league.”
Following is the outlook for Livingston County’s six baseball teams:
Brighton
► Last season: 22-12-1 overall, 6-8 KLAA West, district champion
► Top returners: Cooper Andrzejewski, P-OF, Jr.; Carter Gregg, 3B-C, Jr.; Hunter Hopman, 2B, Sr.; Evan Larson, C-3B, Sr.; Ryan Metz, SS, Jr.; Luke Micunek, Of-P, Sr.; Lane Petit, OF, Jr.; Connor Prahl, 1B, Sr.; Easton Storey, P, Sr.; Jack Storey, 1B, Sr.; Aidan Thomas, P-3B, Sr.
► Outlook: The Bulldogs hope to pick up where they left off after going 14-4-1 in their final 19 games and reaching their first regional championship game since 2014. The Bulldogs return 13 players, including six who hit .306 or higher in at least 60 plate appearances. Metz (.429) and Larson (.404) had the top two averages last season. The pitching staff will be bolstered by the return of Easton Storey, who pitched only one inning before being shelved with an injury. Micunek (3-3, 1.73 ERA) hopes to build on a strong junior season. Brighton went 2-2 in scrimmages down south during spring break.
► Coach Charlie Christner: “Expectations are pretty high, large because we’re returning a lot of guys. That’s part of the nature of baseball at a lot of schools in our area is that expectations are pretty high. There are five teams in our division in the top 20 in the preseason.”
Charyl Stockwell
► Last season: 19-6 overall,7-3 MIAC Red (2nd place), district champion
► Top returners: Drew Goodwin, OF-P, Soph.; Braden Leverenz, CF, Sr.; Aidan Liedeke, P-SS, Sr.; Caleb Moore, C-P, Sr.; Chris Petroski, U, Sr.; Nolan Petroski, 2B-SS, Sr.
► Outlook: The Sentinels return one of the most dominant pitchers in Division 3 in Liedeke, who has struck out 268 batters in 125 innings the past two seasons. Stockwell also brings back six players who batted at least .328 from a team that won a district championship. Moore hit .414, Leverenz .377, Goodwin .366, Nolan Petroski .362, Liedeke .356 and Chris Petroski .328. The Sentinels should be competitive in games Liedeke doesn’t pitch with capable starters in Moore (4-3, 2.27 ERA) and Goodwin (4-1, 3.45 ERA).
► Coach Dawson Kling: “Our expectations are set high. We have a lot of aspirations this year. This team knows how frustrating it was the way last season came to a conclusion, given the momentum they had and the talent they have. That’s definitely a chip on the shoulder. Having so much senior leadership who played an important role on the team for three straight years is huge. The makeup of that district-winning team is still there, by and large.”
Fowlerville
► Last season: 6-20-1 overall, 4-6 CAAC Red
► Top returners: Lucas Anderson, 2B, Sr.; Dalton Daniel, SS, Sr.; Griffin Gonzalez, P-3B, Jr.; Ryder Lukasik, C, Jr.; Ryan Perras, OF, Soph.; Brendan Ray, CF, Jr.
► Outlook: The Gladiators, who have been perennial district contenders, will look for a return to normalcy after back-to-back losing seasons in which they went a combined 14-43-1. Daniel has hit over .300 each of the last two seasons, hitting a team-high .333 last season. Gonzalez was the team’s second-leading hitter at .307 and leading run producer with 13 RBIs. Gonzalez was also Fowlerville’s most effective pitcher in 2022, going 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA, striking out 35 batters and walking only 11 in 39 innings.
► Coach Colin Boak: “Our pitching should definitely be our biggest strong suit. Last year, we had very minimal pitching, not a lot of depth. This year, we have a bigger roster of 21; about 16 of them pitch. We’re going to be more aggressive on the bases. Down in Florida, we worked on that a lot. I installed that last year. The kids grasped what I was looking for in my first year about halfway through the year. I’m hoping this year they get it from the get-go.”
Hartland
► Last season: 24-13-2 overall, 7-7 KLAA West, district and regional champion
► Top returners: Mitch Cavanaugh, C-OF, Sr.;Sam Clay, SS, Sr.; Colin Farquharson, 2B-P, Sr.; Gannon Grundman, P-1B, Sr.; Colton King, P, Sr.; Gavin Nash, P, Sr.; Ben Pouliot, OF, Sr.; Mike Zielinski, OF-P, Soph.
► Outlook: Hartland is the highest-ranked team in Livingston County, and with good reason. The Eagles’ roster is virtually intact from the one which produced a regional championship last season. Hartland has seven seniors who have been part of two teams that have gone a combined 50-18-4. Clay (.410), King (.370) and Grundman (.356) were Hartland’s top three hitters last season. The Eagles bring back four top-notch pitchers in Farquharson (5-1, 1.36 ERA), Nash (5-2, 1.81 ERA), King (5-2, 2.07 ERA), Grundman (3-2, 3.16 ERA).
► Coach Brad Guenther: “Our team feels like it’s stronger than our state championship year (2015), according to the other coaches. The year Hartland won it all, they had a really scrappy team. They were 14-15 at one point, then got hot at the end and Johnny Baker was one of the best high school pitchers in Michigan of all-time. A lot of it has to do with getting hot at the right time. High school baseball in Michigan is crazy good right now. We’re just kind of grinding.”
Howell
► Last season: 30-9 overall, 11-3 KLAA West (T-1st)
► Top returners: Owen Elsey, CF, Sr.; Andrew Hiller, OF, Jr.; Logan Leppek, P, Sr.; Nick Mason, OF, Sr.; Bryce Poss, P, Sr.; David Zilch, P, Sr.
► Outlook: As usual, Howell got a head start on everyone else in Livingston County, playing part of six games over four dates before another team played one official game. The standout in the early going has been Elsey, a returning all-county outfielder who is 12-for-17 (.706) with nine runs from the leadoff spot. Zilch also made all-county last season, going 8-2 with two saves and a 1.58 ERA. Leppek, Poss and sophomore newcomer Nick Hoorn will add depth to the pitching staff.
► Coach Jason Ladd: “Any time you can bring back as many guys as we’re bringing back, with the mix of young and old, we feel real comfortable playing against anybody. It’s just a matter of whether you get a few breaks here or there. It’s where the ball bounces sometimes. One play can make a big difference in any game; hopefully, we’ll be on the right end of that.”
TOP 5 PLAYERS: Who are the top 5 baseball players in Livingston County in 2023?
Pinckney
► Last season: 12-21 overall, 5-9 SEC White
► Top returners: Mason Allan, OF, Sr.; Nolan Carruthers, CF, Soph.; Joey Downer, P, Sr.; Evan McGlothin, C-3B, Soph.; Ethan Putnam, C-SS, Jr.; Dale Westphal, 1B-3B-P, Sr.
► Outlook: The Pirates took some lumps with a young lineup last season, losing their first 12 games before going 12-9 the rest of the way. Pinckney will look for a stronger start and better overall record with the return of two sophomores who started as freshmen and three players who hit at least .317. Westphal led the Pirates with a .368 average and 18 RBIs, Allan hit .325 with 18 RBIs and Carruthers hit .317. Pinckney hopes Downer can fill the ace’s role following the graduation of Alex Geyer.
► Coach Bill Cortez: “We’re still a little young, but with that experience of these young guys getting lots of playing time last year, we’re expecting good things.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: What's the outlook for Livingston County baseball in 2023?
