Looking to get back on track after a slow start, Sterling Heights Stevenson was firing on all cylinders Thursday, picking up an 11-1 victory in five innings over Utica Ford in its first MAC Red baseball game of the season.
Mark Kattula went 3-for-3 and Trevor Hulvey went 2-for-3 with both picking up two RBIs.
Stevenson (2-2) picked up 12 hits and performed well in every aspect offensively, much to the delight of head coach Joe Emanuele.
“Everybody had productive at-bats in the lineup,” Emanuele said. “Obviously we want to hit through the lineup and that doesn’t always happen in high school, but we swung well today, had productive at-bats, and ran the bases well.”
All-state pitcher and Central University commit Garrett Navarra shut down Ford (2-3) with seven strikeouts. He surrendered one hit in four innings.
As Stevenson looks to make it back to the state finals, the win was a positive sign that the young team might be putting it together after a rocky, 1-2 start, with “tough competition” ahead, Emanuele said.
“Today we had three tenth-graders out there in the infield, we’re experienced in some other spots, a little bit young in some of our pitching,” he added. “We’re not short on talent, but we have to keep working at it and coaching hard — getting to the point where they can be competitive at a younger age.”
More baseball
Detroit Country Day 10, L’Anse Creuse North 1: John Malcom was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, Jon Campbell was 3-for-4 with two doubles, Parker Pilat was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Mason Kolean was the winning pitcher for Country Day (5-1).
Detroit Western International 11, Detroit Catholic Central 3: Gianni Cuevas hit a three-run homer, Emmanuel Clark went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and William English went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a double and a home run while picking up five strikeouts and the win for Western (4-1, 1-0 PSL Mega).
Southgate 5, Woodhaven 4: Jace Matkin homered and Nick Phillips picked up the win after scoring on a walk-off squeeze for Southgate (2-2, 1-0 Downriver).
Softball
Madison Heights Lamphere 19, Ferndale 4: Alexis Wark doubled, homered, had five RBIs and three runs scored for Lamphere (1-1). Andrea Khalasawi doubled and scored with one RBI for Ferndale (0-2).
More Thursday results
Baseball
Ann Arbor Huron 5-7, Belleville 4-0 (2nd game 4 inn.)
Livonia Franklin 5, Dearborn 3
Oxford 9, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 1
West Bloomfield 15, Dearborn Divine Child 4
Softball
Harper Woods 14, Taylor Trillium 8
Livonia Franklin 19, Dearborn 13
St. Clair Shores Lakeview 10, Warren Cousino 0 (6 inn.)
West Bloomfield 12, Royal Oak Shrine 4
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