Haavisto nets game winner Story and photos by Tara Hefferan Newaygo Lions soccer traveled to Tri County on Wednesday night, securing a 2-1 win over the Vikings. With similar conference records, the Lions and Vikings both brought intensity to the field in pursuit of a seeding advantage in next week’s CSAA conference tournament. After several shots, the Lions gained the upper hand with just eleven minutes left in the first half, when Grace Painter netted a goal off an assist from Connelly Hefferan Nordlund. Tri County responded five minutes later, with a shot from distance outside the reach of Lion Keeper Barbara Toth. At halftime, the game was tied. It would stay that way for most of the second half. Then, Toth sent a long ball up the field, finding Laura Haavisto, who broke away from two defenders. Haavisto was able to fire the ball over the Viking Keeper, in a dramatic moment that switched the game. Coach Painter: “"Coming in, we knew this was going to be a tough, physical game and we knew that we were going to have to be focused and ready to defend quick counter attacks. Tri-County delivered last night and our girls responded just like we hoped they would. It was a great back and forth game for a full 80 minutes with both teams creating good chances on goal. I was proud of how our girls played through the ups and downs of the game and they remained true to our team values! We are looking forward to ending the regular season and moving on to the conference tournament next week!"
The Lions play their final regular season conference match on the road Friday at 5:45 PM against Chippewa Hills.
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Bode slams in opener; McGowen plates 2 and scores winning run in nightcap
Photos By Bobbi Sue Cruzan In a pair of games that kept an enthusiastic crowd on the edge of their seats the White Cloud Indians swept the Morley Stanwood Mohawks by the scores of 9-5 and 8-7. In the first inning of game one with the bases loaded, Taylor Bode stepped to the plate and blasted a long home run over the left center field fence for a Grand Slam. Bode finished the game with 2 hits and 4 RBI's. Alex Cruzan, Mason Cruzan, and Christian Ringler, each collected 2 hits in the game. On the hill, Bode scattered 4 hits and struck out 10 in 4 innings of work, while allowing only 1 earned run. Mason Cruzan pitched the final 3 innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 earned run. In game #2 - with White Cloud trailing 7-5 in the bottom half of the 7th inning, Landyn McGowen hit a 2 run double to tie the game, then scored the winning run on a throwing error. McGowen finished the game going 3 for 3, scoring 3 runs, and driving in 5 runs. Alex Cruzan also went 3 for 3, while scoring 3 runs. Jacob Francis joined the hit parade with 2 hits. Alex Cruzan picked up the win on the hill, pitching the final 2 innings, while striking out 3. White Cloud is in action again on Friday, when they travel to Lakeview. Boys- Fremont finished atop the conference besting second place Tri County by 65 points. Newaygo placed 7th and Grant 8th. Girls- Chip Hills dominated the meet posting 200 points to second place Fremont’s 119. Newyago finished 6th and Grant was 8th. Boys From Packer Coach Somers: “I am super proud of the way the boys ran. Going into a championship meet there is always a little concern with how the team will respond. This morning I went through the heat sheets and projected how the meet would go. I was a little conservative on a few events and had us winning the meet with 159 points. The boys showed up to compete and outperformed that scoring 178 points for a decisive win. They outscored my projections in the shot put, discus, long jump, 200 dash, and 4x800 relay, and despite the wind turned in several personal records. The boys started out strong and finished strong winning both the first (4x800) and last (4x400) events. Here are our event winners and athletes who set PRs. I am really proud of the way the boys represented themselves at a championship meet.” 800, 1600 – Conor Somers – 1st Henrik Quist PR 3200 run 300 Hurdles – Daniel Romero – 1st 4x200 Relay – Conner Roesler, Khai Noordyk, Connor Pettis, Gabe Whittle – 1st 4x400 Relay – Gary Springstead, Daniel Romero, Gabe Whittle, Conor Somers – 1st and PR 4x800 Relay – Gavin Schuler, Sean Pettis, Johnny Christensen, Gary Springstead – 1st and PR Andrew Steger PR Shot Put Briar Hambrock PR Discus Michael Romero PR Discus Long Jump – Gabe Whittle 1st and PR Newaygo Top 3 finishers 200m Mallaci Mayle 2nd 24.61 4x100 Relays Tim Dosch, Mayle, Chad Saucier, Jayden Joseph 1st High Jump Cole Hefner 3rd 5-06 PR Long Jump Blake Kerr 2nd 19-04.5 PR Girls 100m Victoria Ekkel (Fremont) 3rd 14.2 200m Ekkel (F) 2nd 29.61 800m Maria Riddering (Newaygo) 2nd 2:42.09 1600m Remington Arney (N) 2nd 5:43.16 100m Hurdles Kennedy Christoffersen (F) 1st 17.76 Lauren O’Malley (F) 2nd 18.5 300m Hurdles O’Malley (F) 3rd 56.81 4x100 Relay Ekkel, Justina Reimerova, K Christoffersen, Avery Christoffersen (F) 3rd 4x200 Relay K Christoffersen, Ekkel, Erica Maddox, Morgan Best (F) 3rd 4x800 Relay Arney, Elizabeth Chaffee, Iris Herrera, Maria Riddering (N) 2nd High Jump Maddox (F) 2nd 4-08 Long Jump K.Christoffersen, (F) 2nd 15-05.75 PR, A Christoffersen (F) 3rd 14-06.50 PR Painter nets 5 in rout over Eagles Story and photos by Tara Hefferan After two primarily defensive games, the Newaygo Lions were on the attack Monday night, winning against the Kent City Eagles 6-0. Back at full strength following a couple weeks of sickness and injury, the Lions controlled the game with beautiful passing and numerous shots on goal. Grace Painter started a scoring blitz midway through the first half, netting the first of her five goals of the night. Jaxi Long also scored near the end of the first half with a penalty shot after Kent City handled the ball. Coach Painter: "We started off strong with 21 shots on goal during the first half but our accuracy left much to be desired! However, the girls found their stride in the second half and put up 4 more goals! All of our girls had the chance to contribute to the game and play on the turf field under the lights! We are looking forward to our match against Tri County on Wednesday!”
The Lions take to the road on Wednesday for a conference game against Tri County. The Lions are currently 5-0-1 in conference play. Photos by Joan Ludtke The girls’ track team placed 3rd in the 9 team Saber Flash Invitational at Manistee High School on Saturday with a total of 134.5 points. Results: 100 Meters: 3rd Mariah Edwards 14.28 4th Carsyn Scarlavai 14.32 200 Meters: 3rd Mariah Edwards 30.46 5th Jaden Gomez 31.22 400 Meters: 3rd 1:09.85 1600 Meters: 4th Annie Feldpausch 6:08.15 7th Brooklyn Foondle 6:34.12 3200 Meters: 4th Annie Feldpausch 13:29.58 6th Brooke Foondle 14:29.85 100 Hurdles: 4th Grace Richards 20.88 300 Hurdles: 7th Grace Richards 1:02.78 8th Brooke Ringler 1:06.57 400 Relay: 1st Carsyn Scarlavai, Mariah Edwards, Shantel Palmer, Jaden Gomez 55.13 400 Thrower’s Relay: 2nd Joel Bradley, Sam Kukal, Brooke Ringler, Lloyd Sebright-Johnson 1:00.10 800 Relay: 3rd Jolena Deaton, Sam Kukal, Brooke Ringler, Shantel Palmer 2:11.2 1600 Relay: 2nd Carsyn Scarlavai, Jolena Deaton, Isabella Shockley, Grace Richards 5:06.09 3200 Relay: 4th Annie Feldpausch, Grace Richards, Jolena Deaton, Brooklyn Foondle 11:57.07 Shot Put: 2nd Gaby Reeve 30’1” 6th Kendalin Trapp 26’5” Discus: 1st Gaby Reeve 121’6” High Jump: 1st Annie Feldpausch 4’10” 3rd Brooklyn Foondle 4’2” Pole Vault: 4th Carsyn Scarlavai 6’6” 5th Isabella Shockley 5’6”6th Vanessa Kenney 5’ Long Jump: 2nd Jaden Gomez 13’10” The track teams will be competing in their last dual meet of the season this afternoon in Kent City. Glenn Toth tosses shutout in title game Photos by Jaime Harkness Story by Hudson Harkness Competing in the weekend Cadillac Invitational Tournament, Newaygo ran off with the lead late in the 9-6 victory over Cadillac In the opener.. Heading to the 6th inning, the score was knotted at 6, when Glenn Toth stepped in for the Lions. Toth singled on the first pitch to bring in Ruehmeier (running for J. Long). The base paths were crowded in this high-scoring affair. Newaygo collected nine hits while the Vikings tallied ten. Cadillac's offense was firing on all cylinders from the start. Scoring one in each of the first three innings and then three more in the 5th. The Lions finally got on the board in the 3rd inning after the Seth McGowen single. Newaygo's bats started heating up in the final two innings as they plated four in the 5th and four in the 6th. Russell Toth was credited with the win for the Lions, moving to 2-0 on the season. Toth gave up six runs, and ten hits over 5 innings of work. Remy Wells picked up the save for the Lions coming in relief of Toth in the 7th inning. Glenn Toth went 3-4 at the dish in the win that sent the Lions into the championship round to face Tawas. In the title game Glenn Toth shut down Tawas Area, throwing a complete game shutout and leading Newaygo to a 1-0 victory over the Braves.
The pitching for both sides was strong. Toth struck out seven, while Tawas Area pitchers sat down eight. Toth got the win on the bump for Newaygo scattering 5 hits and striking out 7 without a walk as he improved to 2-1 on the season, striking out seven and walking zero. Wells drove in the only run of the game in the Top of 3rd after the Ruehmeier single. Remy Wells, McGowen, and Karson Fauss collected a hit apiece for the Lions. Newaygo improves to 11-4 after both wins. They are back in action on Tuesday at Tri-County for two important games. Late comeback secures title game win
Hesperia overwhelmed Shelby 11-1 in the opener, a 5 inning mercy game. Anderson Boes, Alex Sayer, Travis Kurtz, and Hunter Billman rapped out a pair of hits apiece in the 5 inning win while Kurtz tossed a one hitter striking out 5 and not allowing an earned run. Coach Balkema: “Travis Kurtz was dominant on the mound in game 1. Probably our best defensive performance as a team this season.” The win put the Panthers in the title game where they faced Manistee. Coach Balkema: “In the championship game we were tied up until the top of the 4th, Manistee scored 2 runs, then 3 more in the 5th to put us down 5. We answered back with 4 runs in the 5th. Hunter Billman came in to pitch the 6th and 7th and shut them down, only allowing 1 hit. Down by 1 run going into the 7th we had our 2,3,4 hitters due up, I was confident we could get it done. Blake Sayer had a great at bat and got a walk to start the inning. Kurtz had a hit to right field, then Hunter Billman hit a ground ball up the middle off the glove of the 2nd basemen to drive in Sayer and tie it up. Kohen Heckman was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs. That brought Sam Gager to the plate with the winning run on 3rd. Gager delivered with a line drive over the shallow left fielder’s head to walk it off. “I’m proud of how the guys didn’t give up being down 5 runs late. The last three innings of the game we had some great at bats that put us in position to win.” Kurtz went 3 for 4 in the title game scoring twice and knocking home a pair of teammates while Heckman added a pair of hits and an RBI. Hesperia is now 5-9 and returns to action Tuesday when they face Kent City in a game played at Cornerstone University Early Montague goal stands up in defensive battle Story and photos by Tara Hefferan Newaygo Lions soccer traveled to Montague on Friday to battle the Wildcats. In an upset, Montague prevailed, winning 1-0. Early on the game was fairly evenly matched, with both teams applying offensive pressure. Midway through the first half, however, the Wildcats overwhelmed the Lions defense, slipping a header shot past keeper Barbara Toth. That would be the only goal of the match. For the remainder of the game, the Lions, still weakened by sickness, were not able to keep pace with the Wildcats fast runs and aggressive tackles. This led to a mostly defensive second half for the Lions, who were to break out the ball from the defensive end only a handful times. Keeper Toth again was put to the test, confidently stopping the many shots fired against her. Coach Painter: “It’s always tough to take a loss, especially in a game that you know you could have won. But to win against a solid opponent you have to do things right and I did not make sure our girls were prepared and ready to go. Montague was ready to play and they showed it from start to finish! Our defense was solid but we struggled to connect passes, which hampered our ability to build an attack. The eventual game winner was a beautiful cross for a header, and for that I just tip my hat and say ‘well done.’ We have three important conference games this next week and I hope we are healthy and come better prepared to meet the challenge!”
The Lions (4-0-1, 8-2-1) return to action next week, with three conference games on the road at Kent City, Tri-County, and Chippewa Hills. Mound work proves to be the key in sweep of RD's
Photos by Bobbie Sue Cruzan A road trip to Holton resulted in a doubleheader sweep for the vising WC Varsity. In the opener the Indians shut out the Red Devils by the score of 5-0, behind a stellar performance on the mound by Taylor Bode. Bode struck out 12, walked 1 and gave up only 3 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Mason Cruzan came in to retire the final two batters on strikes.The Indians were led at the plate by Landyn McGowen with 2 hits, one being a long double over the left fielder's head to drive in 2 runs. Bode, Cruzan, and Jacob Francis each collected 2 hits a piece. In the nightcap White Cloud won 8-6 behind a strong relief performance by Cruzan who came on in relief in the 1st inning. Mason pitched the final 6 1/3 innings striking out 8, walking 1 and giving up only 3 hits and 3 runs. At the plate, the Indians were led by Jacob Francis, McGowen, and KJ Strait with each collecting a trio of hits. William Fehrlen added to the offensive output rapping a pair of big hits. White Cloud will return home on Tuesday to take on Morley Stanwood. First pitch scheduled for 4pm. Conference leading Lions, Cardinals battle to a tie The Newaygo Lions and Big Rapids Cardinals women’s soccer teams were each undefeated in CSAA conference play when they took the field tonight on the Lions home turf. After an epic battle, both left the field the same way, ending in a 1-1 tie. The underdog Lions gave up an early goal to the Cardinals. The Lions persevered, and as the first half was winding down, Jaxi Long took a pass from Grace Painter via Connelly Hefferan Nordlund and fired a long distance shot over the Cardinal keeper to tie the game. That would be the last goal of the match. The second half saw the Lions assume a more defensive posture, with the backline of Sofia Briggs, Lynnea Briones, and Bella Welch put to work against a relentless Cardinal attack. Keeper Barbara Toth was especially strong, stopping shot after shot. Coach Painter: “Coming into the game I knew we were going to be in for an uphill battle. We had one starter at home sick and our leading scorer on the year was still significantly under the weather. But our ladies never give up and were ready to put it all out there on the field. It was a pretty physical game from start to finish, which made for an exciting match. Possession was shared fairly evenly in the first half with both Big Rapids and us stringing together several passes before getting shots on goal. Although Big Rapids controlled much of the possession in the second half, our team defense stayed strong, including several great saves by Barbara Toth. While we certainly would have preferred a win, we will take a tie to maintain a piece of the conference lead! We are hoping to be healthy for our three conference games next week!"
The Lions (4-0-1, 8-1-1) travel to Montague on Friday for a 4:30 match against the Wildcats. |
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