DETROIT, Mich. — Plenty of southeastern Michigan’s best college prospects were on display at the No Doubt Showcase on Saturday, May 1. Comerica Park in Detroit played host to a former KLAA matchup between the Lakeland Eagles (12-1) and the Holly Bronchos (11-3). Several colleges around the state descended on Detroit to scout the premier talent on display.
Cleary University, Cornerstone University, and Rochester University were just some of the confirmed colleges attending the showcase. In terms of individual talent, both teams featured some of the top prospects in the state, both committed and uncommitted. Tate Farquhar (Michigan State) and Kevin Krill (Oakland University) highlight the Lakeland roster, while Mason Yoder (Cornerstone) and Christian Sells (Mott CC) lead the Bronchos.
The bats for both teams were on display as they combined to knock out 17 combined hits on the day. In the end, timely hits for the Eagles pushed Lakeland past Holly for a 10-6 victory. For Lakeland, this marks the program’s 2nd straight win at Comerica Park; they won 13-2 over Lake Shore in the 2019 High School Baseball Showcase.
Recap
The scoring got going in a big way in the 2nd inning. Lakeland’s first three batters reached safely in the inning to set up a bases-loaded opportunity with no outs. The Eagles capitalized for 4 runs; a walk to Kyle Zavinsky, groundouts from Tyler Moore and Ryan Abray, and a Jake Werth single all tacked on runs.
Holly would strike back with 4 runs of their own in the 4th inning. After back-to-back singles from Mason Clark and Logan Winstead, Holly looked to advance the runners with a Jacob Pittenger bunt. However, a high throw to first allowed the runner from 2nd base to score and put runners on the corners. Holly would tack on three more runs to tie the game, highlighted by a Christian Sells RBI Triple.
However, Lakeland would respond in the bottom half of the inning. Oakland University commit Kevin Krill sent a two-out triple in the gap to keep the inning alive. Clean-up hitter Gavin Meehan came up clutch, driving an RBI Double over the left fielder’s head. That was the start of a 2-out rally; a Matt Hanneman single scored two while Zavinsky added his 2nd RBI with a single to left.
Holly would pick up two more runs on RBI singles from Pittenger and Mason Yoder but could not surmount the Eagles lead. On the mound, Abray gets credit for the win in relief as seven different Eagles saw time on the mound.
Offensively, seven different Eagles grabbed a base hit in the game while eight reached safely. They were led by Zavinsky’s 3 RBIs and Hanneman’s 2 RBIs. For Holly, Chris Walton secured 2 hits and an RBI while Yoder and Sellers finished with a hit and an RBI apiece.
