Monday's prep roundup: Win earns S.H. Stevenson share of MAC Red title

Sterling Heights Stevenson got a gift in pitcher Garrett Navarra.

The junior, who transferred from Warren Cousino before the school year started, lost a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh inning of Stevenson’s 7-0 win over Macomb Dakota on Monday, earning the school a share of the title with Grosse Pointe South in the Macomb Area Conference’s Red Division.

After allowing the single to Tim Malczewski, Navarra got the third out, sealing the complete-game shutout with 14 strikeouts and two walks.

“I felt great,” he said. “All my pitches were working today. It’s one of the better performances I’ve had.”

Navarra also led Stevenson at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

“It looked like a beach ball,” said Navarra, who improved his batting average to .425 (31-for-73).

All of Stevenson’s five runs in the second inning were scored with two outs.

After Todd Paperd led off the inning with a double, Ryan Lux struck out. Steve Tamburro reached on an error to put two on with one out. Johnny Pikkanen struck out before Gage Bodnar walked to load the bases. Then, Mitchell Shamblin walked, scoring Paperd, before Navarra hit a two-run single, scoring Tamburro and Pikkanen.

Shamblin and Navarra later scored on passed balls.

Pikkanen added an RBI single in the two-run third.

Navarra is having a lights-out season for Stevenson (21-6, 12-1 MAC Red). He’s 5-1 with a 1.86 ERA, and has 53 strikeouts and 12 walks in 39 innings.

“He’s a very good player,” Stevenson coach Joe Emanuele said. “He’s being looked at by a lot of the DI schools in the (Mid-American Conference) right now. He just keeps getting better every day. Today was as dominant (a performance) as I’ve seen on the mound in many years. He was getting a lot of swings and misses today. They weren’t even fouling off pitches that much. They were off-balance the whole night.”

Stevenson plays Dakota on Tuesday in the second of a three-game series, while South wraps up its conference play against Utica Eisenhower this week.

Though Stevenson is guaranteed, at the very least, a share of the Red title with South — which could change if South drops its next two games — Navarra said he and his teammates are focused on a larger goal.

“I think we’ve put a team together where we want to go all the way to a state championship,” Navarra said. “I think we have a good chance at it. We have a good group of guys.”

More baseball

Birmingham Groves 7-7, Birmingham Seaholm 1-3 (8 innings): Max Novick didn’t allow an earned run while giving up four hits in seven innings to earn the Game 1 win for Groves (26-3, 12-0), which earned a share of the OAA White title. Chaise Ford and George Cutler went 2-for-3 while Connor Bradbury tripled in the first game. In Game 2, Michael Pastoria went 3-for-4 and Noah Zacharias picked up the win in relief.

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood 10, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 2: Jack Fairman was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, Jacob Yellen was 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Ken Schumacher, Jack Hollander and Kyle Rechter combined to throw a two-hitter for Cranbrook (8-15).

Grosse Pointe North 7, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse 0: Chad Lorkowski tossed a complete-game one-hitter with 11 strikeouts, and was 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBIs for North (22-5, 10-3 MAC White). Steve Levick was 1-for-3 with a 3-run home run, while Pete Ciaravino had a solo home run for North. Carson Mourey had the only hit for L’Anse Creuse (14-11, 7-6).

C.C. wins Catholic League D1 golf title

Detroit Catholic Central ran away with the Catholic League Division 1 boys golf championship on Monday at the Katke-Cousins Golf Course on the campus of Oakland University, shooting a 290.

Birmingham Brother Rice came in a distant second, with a 320, while four strokes separated the next four teams. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood shot a 327, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 328, U-D Jesuit 329 and Warren De La Salle 330.

C.C. senior Dylan Skinner, with a three-under 69, won the division’s individual title, while seniors Sean Sooch and James Piot each shot a one-over 73.

More golf

Birmingham Groves 168, Auburn Hills Avondale 179: Nathan Brink shot a two-over 37, Connor Cullen shot a six-over 41 and Jack Gross shot an eight-over 43 for Groves (2-1) at the par-35 Lincoln Hills Golf Course in Birmingham. Tony Rasasco shot a four-over 39, while Nick Raeourny had an eight-over 43 and Max Marzolf had a 10-over 45 for Avondale.

Girls soccer

New Baltimore Anchor Bay 3, Grosse Pointe South 0: Kayla Polisano, Lindsey Shira and Bella Hunter each scored for Anchor Bay (12-1-3). Ally Gaunt made one save in her 10th career shutout. South is 0-10-3.

Al Willman is a freelance writer

Twitter.com: @AlWillmanSports