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Holland Christian
950 Ottawa Ave.
Holland, Michigan
49423
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 Current Maroons Baseball News |
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| | HC finished the regular season with a 20-12 record. | |
Saturday, May 26
Maroons Earn 20th Win in 2 Day Gerken Tourney
In preparation for the MHSAA Districts, Holland Christian participated in the annual Jimmy Gerken Invitational, hosted by East Grand Rapids, over the Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. Participating for the third consecutive year, HC began play on Friday traveling to the second ranked Eagles of Grand Rapids Christian. The Eagles were able to take advantage of their home field advantage pulling out to an early 2-0 advantage before the Maroons struck on an RBI single by Tim Boetsma to cut the score to 2-1. GRC added three more runs in the fourth inning and that was where the scoring stayed until the seventh inning as the Maroons struck for three runs to make it 5-4. With the tying run on second base, the Eagles were able to escape the jam and win the game with a groundout to seal the victory. Off the loss, Holland Christian returned to play on Saturday morning taking on Catholic Central at Forest Hills Central and despite strong pitching effort from sophomore Nick Hill, the maroon and white became their own worst enemy. Allowing the Cougars several opportunities due to errors, HC found themselves quickly out of the game but were sparked by the play of recent callups Max Wierda and Brandon Roon as Wierda laced a 2 RBI single and Roon earned his first varsity hit later in the same inning. Even with their efforts, Holland Christian could not overcome their miscues as they fell 13-3. In the third and final game of the tournament, HC traveled to FHC’s freshmen field and met rival Unity Christian. Seeking their twentieth victory of the year, Holland Christian got out of the gate strongly as they leapt into the lead behind the bat of senior Luke Brower. Behind Brower’s early double and triple, HC claimed a four run lead by the fourth inning. Unity would plate single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth but they could not manage to strike for more than that. A big RBI double by senior Jacob Hilbrand pushed the game out of range for HC as they won the game 7-3 behind the complete game effort of Landon Brower. With the win, Holland Christian won their 20th game of the season for just the eighth time in school history and the seventh in the last nine years. Now the Maroons will ready for District play as they host Wyoming Park on Saturday, June 2, at 12:00 p.m. in the semi-finals of the MHSAA District.
Monday, May 21
Varsity Pushes Past Dutch for 8th Win in 9 Tries
| |  | | HC improved to 19-10 with the 8-3 win. |
Playing in their final regular season home contest, the varsity baseball team welcomed in the Dutch of Holland for a rivalry game on an picture perfect afternoon. The Maroons, who held a 7-1 record over the Dutch in head coach Mike Ott’s eight seasons, extended that impressive record in the rivalry to 8-1 with an 8-3 win behind a complete game effort by sophomore Nick Hill. Throwing on two days rest, in likely his final start on the mound of the season, Hill worked out of a shaky first inning unscathed and his offense rewarded him in the bottom of the first. Capitalizing on an opening error, the Maroons utilized big RBI singles by Justin Lemmen and Nate Petroelje later in the inning to leap ahead 3-0. The same formula was at work in the second inning as Landon Brower’s 2 RBI single made it 5-0. Holland would push across two runs in the fourth inning to cut the score but this would be as close as they would get as the maroon and white scored in the bottom of the fourth, on the Dutch’s third error of the game, to make it 6-2. Two innings later, Jacob Hilbrand’s hot streak continued as he earned his second hit of the game when he laced a 2 RBI double to the right field wall to make it 8-2. Holland would score a run in the top of the seventh to finalize scoring and then Hill induced a pop up in the infield to seal the 8-3 win. Hill improved his record to 4-2 on the season with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. Hilbrand and Lemmen each added two hits on the day to propel the offense. Holland Christian, now 19-10, will be out of action until Friday when they travel to Grand Rapids Christian for the opening round of the annual Jimmy Gerken Invitational. The two teams will play at 4:30 p.m. at Gainey Field as the Maroons try and knock off the #2 ranked team in the state.
Monday, May 21
JV Caps Season Off with Rivalry Win
As the season comes to a close on the Holland Christian JV Baseball
team, one more game was yet to be played. After 2 tough losses to
Zeeland East on Friday, the Maroons looked to quickly rebound
and end the season on a high note as they take on cross town rival
Holland. Max Wierda took to the mound and after a rough start, pitched
lights out for the rest of the game. After giving up 3 runs in the
first two innings, Wierda didn’t let another runner get to third base
after that and held the Dutch scoreless for 3 more innings. With some
key hits and walks for the Maroons, the bases were loaded when Josiah
Coleman banged a double to the left center gap plating three and giving
the Maroons a comfortable lead. Freshman Scott Edewaard came in in the
bottom of the fifth to close out the game for the Maroons and did just
that. After allowing the first batter he faced to get in base, he
buckled down and piped three fastballs over the plate for the strikeout,
giving the Maroons the victory. “It was a great season” coach Chris
Reuschel said after the game. “We had a lot of fun this year, and I am
excited to see all these guys next year where ever they will be
playing.” The Maroons ended the season 15-13.
 | | The JV baseball teams ends their season with a 15-13 record. |
Saturday, May 19
Varsity Goes 1-2 in Hooker Memorial Tournament
|  | | Jacob Hilbrand's 6 hits led the team on the day. | |
For the sixth straight season, Holland Christian played host to seven teams, on four different facilities, in the annual Jon Hooker Memorial tournament. Played in honor of one of Holland Christian’s head coach Mike Ott’s best friends, who was killed in the tragic ComAir 5191 flight in 2006, the Maroons entered play as the defending champion but it became clear early that defending the title would not be in the cards. Taking on the always challenging North Muskegon program, the Norse jumped ahead in the top of the first inning and never looked back mercying the Maroons in six innings to win 10-0. The loss was Holland Christian’s first in the opening round and it send HC packing to Holland high’s field for the remainder of the day. While the maroon and white were gone, North Muskegon was able to advance to the championship game in which they faced Zeeland East. The Chix, who had just played two games the day prior to Maroon Field, earned the win by a score of 12-5 to earn their first Jon Hooker Memorial championship. Over at Holland, HC awoke midway through game two against Newaygo, sparked by extra base hits from Tim Boetsma and Tyler Lambers to support starting pitcher Nate Petroelje. Behind the strong late game effort, HC evened their record on the day with a 10-6 victory. Playing in their fifth game in twenty-four hours, Holland Christian took on Grandville and the two team played a tight contest until the final inning. The Maroons grabbed a lead in the fourth inning on a single ripped by Jacob Hilbrand, who led the offense on the day with 6 hits, but Grandville cut down a runner at the plate to limit the inning’s scoring. Grandville would knot the score up in the fifth inning and then tack a run on in the sixth. Ahead 5-4, the Bulldogs would utilize two HC errors in the seventh inning to push across two more runs. HC threatened in both the sixth and seventh innings but could not get over the hump as they fell 7-4 to take sixth place on the day. Now 18-10, the maroon and white will be back in action on Monday when they play their final regular season home game of the year hosting neighboring Holland at 4:15 p.m.
Friday, May 18
Maroons Wrap Up 2nd Place With Split
| |  | | Nick Hill earned the win in game 2 to put HC into 2nd Place. |
For the final time in 2012, Holland Christian took the field in an OK-Green contest as they hosted the Chix of Zeeland East. After fighting for a conference championship all year long, the Maroons were knocked into second place after their loss at Byron Center. Couple that with Hamilton’s win and it was a foregone conclusion that the Hawkeyes would claim their fourth consecutive title. With that in mind, and the upcoming Jon Hooker Memorial Tournament, both Holland Christian and Zeeland East chose to not use any of their top pitching as they also have a chance to face one another in the upcoming MHSAA District. In game one, the Chix bats overcame countless rallies by the Maroons to pull out an exciting 9-8 win. The Chix outhit the Maroons 15-9 and utilized three key runs in the top of the sixth inning to knock off Holland Christian by a score of 9-8. Game two saw Zeeland East once again outhit HC but the maroon and white utilized stronger pitching in game two to earn the split as sophomore Nick Hill went the distance to earn his third win of the season. The Maroons plated four runs in the third inning to jump ahead 6-2 and they utilized this cushion in earning the 7-4 victory. Justin Lemmen’s two hits in game two led the offense as he accounted for 4 RBI. With the win, Holland Christian solidified their conference record at 10-4 good for second place. The busy twenty four hours of baseball for HC will continue on Saturday morning when they host the sixth annual Jon Hooker Memorial Tournament at Maroons Field beginning at 10:00 a.m. against a strong North Muskegon team.
Tuesday, May 15
Lack of Situational Hitting Ends HC's Conference Chances
| |  | | HC fell to 16-7 and 9-3 on the season. |
On a day where the Maroons varsity baseball team hoped to take a step closer to their first conference title since 2008, things just did not go their way. Traveling to Byron Center, the Bulldogs, and their ace, junior John Hall, essentially ended the maroon and white’s hopes of winning the title with a 3-1 victory. Countering Hall was HC’s Luke Brower and neither ace disappointed, as both teams were kept hitless and scoreless for the first three innings. BC would strike in the bottom of the fourth capitalizing on a walk and a two base error to plate their first run. Holland Christian mounted their own rally in the fifth when they were able to push across a run, courtesy of a wild pitch, but a runner was stranded at third base, in what would be the telling story of the game for the Maroons. Byron would threaten in the fifth but Brower once again came up big on the hill and worked out of the jam. The maroon and white threatened again in the sixth inning but again left two runners in scoring position as Hall got two of his eleven strikeouts to end the inning. With both teams working out of jams something was bound to give and that happened in the bottom of the sixth when Byron Center scored two runs with two outs on a bloop single and a wild pitch to claim the two run advantage. Hall would close out the game in the seventh inning to earn the win. Despite only achieving two hits on the game, from Justin Lemmen and Nate DeZwaan, HC had runners in scoring position in four of the seven innings but were unable to put the ball in play in any of those opportunities. “Today was both disappointing and frustrating with everything that was on the line,” said head coach Mike Ott. “I thought our energy was very low and you never would have been able to tell we were playing for a conference title. Couple that with our inability to situationally hit or even put the ball in play in those four innings and it was a formula for disaster.” Holland Christian is now 16-7 overall and 9-3 and will close out their conference season on Friday when they host Zeeland East in a doubleheader at Maroons Field beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 15
Hot Bats Spark JV to Conference Win
| |  | | Coleman aided the team with his defense and his bat hitting a grand slam. |
The Maroons JV baseball team came out firing on all cylinders for the start of the conference matchup in which the Maroons would take on the Bulldogs of Byron Center. The Maroons jumped to an early 3-0 lead after the first and never looked back. In the 3rd inning, after a couple of hits and some walks, Meyaard, Lynch, and Roon were all on base. Josiah Coleman stepped into the box, got a fastball, and swung. He made perfect contact and hit a grand slam homerun to left field. With one swing of the bat, Coleman had 4 RBI’s and added to the Maroons lead which now read 8-1. The Maroons were feeling pretty comfortable especially because Sam VanderSluis was once again pitching lights out. However, the Bulldogs were not done scoring. The Bulldogs battled back and scored 6 runs in the sixth, and three more in the seventh plating a total of ten runners. Luckily for the Maroons they got 12 across the plate giving them the 12-10 victory. “Offensively we were all doing our job. However, we can’t get comfortable with a lead like that. This is JV baseball and anything can happened and we still have to make play defensively” Coach Benko said after the game. The Maroons look to take two from the Chix of Zeeland East in a double header on Friday beginning at 4:00 p.m. in Zeeland
Saturday, May 12
Maroons Wake Up to Salvage Split
| |  | | Luke Brower added 2 more extra base hits on the day to help HC win in game 2. |
Coming off a big split the day prior with rival Hamilton High School, the Maroons varsity baseball team had a large task in front of them rebounding to play two non-league games against Fruitport. Battling through a rainy day, the two teams finally began play at 4:00 p.m. and it was quite clear early that the maroon and white were still trying to find their bearings. Taking advantage of that were the visiting Trojans who struck for three runs in the top of the third inning, all with two outs, to claim the 3-0 lead. That was where the game would stay as the maroon and white could not get any offensive momentum mounted. Fruitport would chase HC’s starting pitcher Nick Hill in the sixth inning as they scored two more runs but junior Elliot Slenk would stop the bleeding working out of the inning and then throwing a scoreless seventh inning. Down 5-0, the Maroons offense finally awoke and quickly got to work as Tim Boetsma led the charge with a double into the right center gap. Luke Brower doubled two batters later and after a pair of walks, Holland Christian trailed 5-3. With runners on first and second and two outs, the Maroons called for a double steal and it worked to perfection catching Fruitport off-guard allowing pinch runner Nate Petroelje to score as the throw went into left field. The errant throw also allowed Tyler Lambers to reach third base with the now tying run 90 feet away. Unfortunately two pitches later, the Trojans would induce a fly ball to end the game and seal the 5-4 victory. The momentum that HC got going in the last inning carried over into the second game as Luke Brower continued to stay hot lacing a huge 3 RBI bases clearing triple in the fifth inning to help to break open the game. Holland Christian had already led at that point 1-0, but the big blow pushed the lead out and by the time the inning ended it was now 6-0. Fruitport would score in the sixth inning but that would be the extent of the damage as Nate DeZwaan twirled his second consecutive quality start going all seven innings to earn the 6-1 win for the Maroons. DeZwaan, now 2-0 on the season, struck out 4 and walked only 1. Holland Christian will now rest for two days before traveling to Bryon Center for the beginning of another busy week. The two teams will begin play at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Saturday, May 12
JV Complete Wet Day with 1-1 Record
| | | The JV split with Kalamazoo & South Christian. | |
On yet another wet, and raining day, the Holland Christian Maroons took to the field for the Holland Christian Invitational. Game one matched up the Maroons with a tough opponent in South Christian. The game was tied 0-0 into the 3rd inning when the Sailors decided to get the bats going putting up 3 runs in the top of the third. Even though the Maroons tried to mount a comeback with a double from Sam VanderSluis, the Sailors kept piling it on and the Maroons could never answer. Going into the seventh inning, the scoreboard read 7-1 and even though the Maroons scored three in the bottom of the 7th, the gap was too far for the Maroons to overcome, losing 7-4. However, the Maroons needed a quick recovery to face off against Kalamazoo Christian later on in the day.
Game two had a different feel to it as the Maroons took to the field. Holland Christian came out with intensity and fire in their eyes and made sure to not let the loss from earlier in the day keep them down. The Maroons got off to an early 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back, scoring six more by the time the game was over. Due to some key absences in the lineup due to tulip time, certain players had to step in to different roles and they did so with ease. Nolan VanderZwagg caught the second game for the Maroons making key blocks behind the plate for the Maroons saving runs. Josiah Coleman pitched the 4 inning shutout while the offence was kept going with a host of hits from many different players. The Maroons look to a tough week ahead of them with conference opponents Byron Center and Zeeland East later in the week. HC will host Byron Center on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.
Friday, May 11
Split with Hawkeyes Finds HC Still in 1st
|  | | Nate Petroelje improved to 5-0 with a win in game 2. | |
Friday afternoon brought one of the most anticipated OK-Green baseball contests of the season as three time conference champion Hamilton traveled to Holland Christian for a doubleheader featuring the top two teams in the standings. Tied at 8-1 in the conference standings, the DH would go a long way to naming the 2012 conference champion. With the largest crowd in Maroons Field, the two teams played a stellar series but nothing was decided after the final pitch as each team was able to win one game leaving the standings knotted with the Hawkeyes and the Maroons tied in first place with a 9-2 record. In game one, HC struck first plating a run on an RBI single by Justin Lemmen but the real damage was done the batter before when Landon Brower was thrown out at the plate on a single by Luke Brower. The momentum shifting play proved pivotal when the Hawkeyes came to bat in the top of the second as they struck for four runs to grab a 4-1 advantage. Hamilton would tack on single runs in the third and the fifth inning to chase starter Luke Brower but the maroon and white would not go quietly. Holland Christian pushed two runs across in the fifth and then a single run in the sixth and had the tying run on second base but Hamilton’s Keith Phillips got himself out of the inning with a strikeout, one of his 13 on the day. The Hawkeyes added a solo homerun in the seventh inning and closed out the game to win 7-4. “I really hurt our team with that call in the first inning sending Landon,” said head coach Mike Ott. “We are momentum team and I completely killed us with that. Couple that with the best pitcher we have seen all year and it was a bad combination.” To the Maroons credit, no one sat and felt bad for themselves in game two as Hamilton was the team to strike first scoring in the bottom of the third inning. Undaunted by the deficit, Holland Christian answered with three runs in the top of the fourth as they struck for three straight hits from Luke Brower, Justin Lemmen and Tyler Lambers. Hamilton’s potent offense was slowed by senior Nate Petroelje on the mound and Petroelje struck in the sixth inning lacing a single to score Lambers helping his own cause. HC would add another run in the seventh inning on an RBI double by Luke Brower to lead 5-1 and they would need every run of that lead to hold off the Hawkeyes. Down to their final out, Hamilton loaded the bases and HC called on sophomore Landon Brower to close the door. Despite his age, Brower showcased his baseball savvy inducing a pop up to Petroelje, now at third, to seal the 5-1 win. “The mental toughness of our team was shown in game two as we fought back and evened the series,” added Ott. “Petroelje was fabulous on the hill and our growth as a team was really showcased today.” Luke Brower led the offense as he registered four hits on the day, three of them coming as doubles. HC, now 15-5 (9-2) will return to action on Saturday when they host Fruitport in a doubleheader at Maroons Field at 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 11
Hawkeyes Sweep JV
The rivalry continued between the Hawkeyes of Hamilton and the Maroons of Holland Christian Friday in Hamilton. The Maroons arrived at the field for game one of a double header and ready to take two from Hamilton, however, the Hawkeyes had different ideas. In the first game, the game was pretty tight through the first few innings, but then the Hawkeyes got their bats going and ended up winning the game 9-1. A couple of costly errors and a lack of hitting was the trouble with the Maroons for this game. However, luckily for the Maroons it was a double header so they had another chance to take one from the Hawkeyes.
Game two started out a little better for the Maroons scoring two in the first on singles from Lynch, Roon, and Coleman. However, the Hawkeyes scored 3 in the top of the first leading the scoreboard to read 3-2 after one. The Hawkeyes kept their bats going, while the Maroons bats went cold. The game was at 6-5 Hawkeyes in the 3rd inning but that is where the runs would stop for the Maroons, and not for Hamilton. The Hawkeyes would get 2 more across in the 4th leading to a Hawkeye win 8-5. The Maroons would have to bounce back because they play in the HC Invitational on Saturday at Maroons field at 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday, May 8
One Streak Ends, One Continues, as HC Sweeps Unity
| |  | | HC continued their strong play earning an 8-3 win over UC. |
Entering Tuesday’s conference contest with rival Unity Christian, Holland Christian’s pitching staff had registered an impressive shutout streak of 35 consecutive innings. With the state record at 44, the maroon and white still had some work to do to get into that company but after registering three and two thirds innings of shutout work on Tuesday, the record became moot as Unity Christian capitalized on an error and a single to end the streak at an impressive 38 2/3 innings of shutout work. That run, which allowed the game to be tied at 1-1, seemed to spark Holland Christian as they rallied in the bottom of the fourth inning with the key blow coming on the second pitch of the inning as Luke Brower laced a fastball over the rightfield wall to put HC up 2-1. After two quick outs, the Maroons showcased excellent situational hitting, as they would push across six more runs to claim an 8-1 lead after four innings of play. Another big blow came in the fourth off senior Jacob Hilbrand’s bat as he laced a triple to the centerfield wall. That would be more than enough for sophomore Landon Brower as he continued his strong performances on the mound twirling five innings to earn the win. Sophomore Nick Hill came on in relief and Unity was able to score two unearned runs in the sixth inning to make it an 8-3 game but that would be as close as the Crusaders would get as HC pushed their winning streak to 10 games. While one of their pitching streaks ended, one continued, as the maroon and white pushed an incredible streak of 42 consecutive innings without an earned run being scored. “Our pitching staff has really done a remarkable job with what we ask them to do,” said head coach Mike Ott. “They command their pitches, work in the low half of the zone on a downhill plane and our defense has been the highlight of our team thus far so that all lends itself to this streak.” Luke Brower paced the offense with two hits as he also picked up a double in the seven run fourth inning. Holland Christian improved to 14-4 and 8-1 in the OK-Green and they will be back in action on Friday when they host fellow first place Hamilton, also 8-1 in conference, in a doubleheader at Maroons Field. First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 8
Maroons Overcome Crusaders
The Maroons took to the field today looking to extend their win streak to 8 games and game out with fire in their eyes. The Maroons managed to hold the Crusaders to zero runs for the first 5 innings and only two hits thanks to the dominating pitching performance by Sam VanderSluis. The Maroons offense was clicking as well scoring 6 runs in those five innings. The Maroons held the lead 6-0 after 5 innings. Unity finally got their bats going in the sixth scoring 4 cutting the deficit to 2 runs. The Maroons didn’t give up however. With the hot bat from Spencer Slenk who went 4-4 on the day with a sacrifice fly, the Maroons put 5 runs across in the top of the seventh with help from a Casey Meyaard double as well. Ben Lambers came in to close the game out only giving up one run to the Crusaders in the seventh giving the Maroons the victory 11-5. The Maroons now look to Friday when they take on the Hawkeyes of Hamilton in a big double header at the Hawkeye’s home field. The Maroons look to extend their win streak to ten games with a sweep on Friday beginning at 4:00 p.m.
| | The JV earned a road win to continue their winning streak. |
Saturday, May 5
Varsity Claims 2 Wins Over NPC
|  | | Nate DeZwaan earned his 1st varsity win in game 2. | |
Just hours after completing their conference sweep of the Dux of Zeeland West, HC was back up and at ‘em as they arose early for a 9:00 a.m. start to a doubleheader with NorthPointe Christian. Sporting a stellar 12-4 record, NPC would provide the Maroons with a tough Saturday non-conference pair of contests and that proved true over the four hours the teams locked horns. Taking the hill for the maroons and white was sophomore Nick Hill and despite it being only his second varsity start of his career, Hill continued the HC streak of dominant pitching as he efficiently worked his way through the NorthPointe lineup turning them up and then down without allowing them to score. In the meantime, the Maroons offense was taking its time waking up until a key RBI single by Connor Leppink gave HC the lead in the fourth inning. An inning later, it was senior Luke Brower’s 2 RBI single that gave HC some added cushion to their lead and by the time the scoring was done in the fifth, Holland Christian led 5-0. That was more than enough as Hill demonstrated poise and determination finishing the game off in a crisp 67 pitches to earn HC their fourth straight shutout. Riding Hill’s coattails was his fellow classmate Nate DeZwaan as the everyday starting shortstop for the Maroons took to the hill and displayed his own brand of moxie and talent. Battling the sudden mist and rain, DeZwaan worked out of an early inning jam and then was rewarded on an RBI single by Landon Brower to give Holland Christian a 1-0 advantage. Despite threatening over the next few innings, the Maroons would be stuck on one run for the remainder of the game, but that would prove to be all they needed as DeZwaan held NPC off the scoreboard until he exited the game in the sixth inning with one out showing on the scoreboard. He was relieved by the third sophomore pitcher of the day, Landon Brower, and Brower got the final two outs, with the tying run in scoring position, to preserve the 1-0 advantage. That would where the game would halt as Mother Nature took over forcing the game to be called giving Holland Christian the 1-0 win and their fifth straight shutout. Off the pair of wins, Holland Christian, now 13-4 (7-1), will return to conference action with a rivalry game at Maroons Field on Tuesday when they host the Crusaders of Unity Christian in a 4:15 p.m. contest.
Saturday, May 5
Maroons Win Streak Continues
The Maroons once again took to the field today to face off against the non-conference opponent North Point Christian. The Maroons are looking to extend their winning streak today to seven games with a sweep. In the first game of the double header, the Maroons got off to a slow start not scoring a run in the first and allowing NPC to get 3 runs across. However, in the second, the Maroons put up seven runs and from there on never looked back. The Maroons got a little cold in the middle innings but scored 3 in the fourth, 4 in the fifth, and one more in the sixth giving them 15 runs and they managed to hold NPC to six runs. Spencer Slenk and Josiah Coleman both had two hits to help the Maroons take the first game. In the second inning, Sam VanderSluis took to the mound and tried to shut down the North Point offense and he did just that. After giving up a hit to the first batter of the game, VanderSluis never gave up another hit recording a 5 inning, one hit shutout. “He had great control of all his pitches and was locating all around the plate. It was a fantastic outing especially for a freshman. Aaron Huizenga had two hit helping the Maroons win 6-0 extending their winning streak to seven games. The Maroons have a tough week ahead of them as they face off against Unity Christian on Tuesday, and Hamilton for a double header on Friday. HC travels to Unity on Tueasday for a 4:15 p.m. contest.
| | The JV wrapped up a 6-0 week. |
Friday, May 4
Maroon & White Maintain 1st Place Hold
| |  | | Justin Lemmen paced the day with 4 hits. |
For the second time in the week, HC’s varsity baseball team donned their road uniforms and traveled to an opponent’s field for an OK-Green conference game. Friday the destination was Zeeland West’s Dux Field for Holland Christian’s first conference doubleheader of the season. Entering the game in a tie for first place with neighboring Hamilton, the maroon and white needed a strong showing to continue their hopes of a conference championship and they received a shot in the arm from their two senior pitchers, Nate Petroelje and Luke Brower. Having already twirled a shutout earlier in the week against Rogers, Petroelje and Brower notched that streak to three consecutive games as Petroelje worked quickly in game establishing all three of his pitches to keep the Dux off guard. Unable to hit Petroelje, Zeeland West watched as HC took advantage of ineffective pitching and timely hitting to open a double digit lead heading into the third inning. After the fourth inning, HC led 15-0 and the only drama left was whether Petroelje could finish off the four inning contest with a no hitter. With one out in the fourth, ZW broke up the game and Petroelje exited giving way to junior Elliot Slenk. Slenk would notch the final two outs to seal the opening victory by the same 15-0 score. In game two, the Maroons offense would not be as potent but they still had enough in the tank as Tyler Lambers and Nate DeZwaan provided doubles to push across multiple runs in the third and fourth inning. That would be more than enough for Brower as he dazzled on the hill striking out 12 while only walking 1. It was the second straight game Brower registered double digit strikeout totals. Behind the dominant performance on the mound, the Maroons would coast home with a 7-0 victory in game two and the sweep of the Dux to push their OK-Green record to 7-1. Leading the way at the plate for the day was Justin Lemmen, four hits, and Lambers and DeZwaan, who each had three. DeZwaan earned his first varsity extra base hits of his young career ripping a triple off the right center wall in game one and the aforementioned double in game two. Now 11-4, HC will turn it around quickly as they host a potent NorthPointe Christian team at Maroons Field on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
Friday, May 4
JV's Momentum Continues; Sweep Dux
| | | | The JV swept their 2nd straight conference DH this week. |
The Maroons took to the field tonight for a double header against the Dux of Zeeland West. It was the perfect day for a baseball game with the temperature in the 70’s and the sun shining. It took a while for the Maroons to get going in the first game, trailing 1-0 for the first 3 innings of the game but getting on the board in the third plating one on a VanderSluis single. The Dux jumped to a 2-1 lead in the 4th and held that lead until the fifth when the Maroons plated one more run on a Max Wierda single to left, tying the game 2-2. If was a tough battle fought hard by both teams all game but in the sixth, the Maroons decided to put up two more runs on a host of singles by the team putting them up 4-2. Max Wierda went the full game and shut the Dux down in the seventh giving the Maroons the victory 4-2. However, the Maroons had to bounce back because the Dux would be ready to come back fighting. Game two of the double header got off to the same start with the Dux scoring one early in the top half of the first. However the Maroons would respond quickly with two runs in the bottom of the first making the score 2-1 after one. The Dux kept battling plating one in the second evening the score at two a piece. The Dux would score again in the third putting them up one but the Maroons would come back scoring one in the third evening up the game once again. It was anyone’s game but the Maroons were playing well tonight and were not going to lose this game. After Brandon Roon got hit by a pitch, he stole second, then third, then running on a throw by the third baseman beating the throw home putting the Maroons up one. Ben Lambers kept pitching in the 7th and kept the Dux from scoring in the seventh giving the Maroons their fifth straight victory. The Maroons look to take on North Point Christian tomorrow in another double header at Maroons field at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 1
Maroons Nab 1st Conference Sweep of Season
| |  | | Landon Brower was big for HC at the plate and on the mound. |
Holland Christian sent its varsity baseball team to Rogers High School on Tuesday afternoon a day after their originally scheduled game rained out. Taking on the Golden Hawks for the second time in just over a week, HC defeated Rogers 4-2 in their previous contest, the maroon and white looked to take a further step to remaining in the top portion of the OK-Green standings. In doing so, the maroon and white handed the ball to Landon Brower for his third start of the season and the sophomore did not disappoint as he twirled a complete game shutout limiting Rogers to just six hits while striking out 7 and walking 0. “Landon really performed very well giving us a big conference start,” noted head coach Mike Ott. “He is still learning how to pitch but we are quite confident in him when he takes the mound and his effort today proves exactly why. He pounds the strikezone and continues to get better every start.” While Brower held down Rogers offense, Holland Christian struggled to knock off the rust after having four days off due to the weather. Finally in the third inning, the maroon and white struck for three runs capitalizing on a pair of Golden Hawk errors and a big RBI single by Landon Brower. Two innings later, with the score stuck at 3-0, HC managed to push another run across after a two out single by Jacob Hilbrand. After the senior stole second, he came home on an RBI single by Connor Leppink. An inning later, the Maroons finalized their scoring on an RBI single by Justin Lemmen that pushed across Luke Brower. “Offensively we were what I expected,” added Ott. “That long off, we were a bit front side and didn’t utilize our base very well but the guys grinded it out and we have a few days to get back to work.” Lemmen and Luke Brower led the team with two hits apiece. Now 9-4, and 5-1 in the OK-Green, the Maroons will continue their road games as they travel to Zeeland West for a 4:00 p.m. conference doubleheader.
Monday, April 30
JV Claims DH Sweep
|  | | Ben Lambers got the win in relief in game 1. | |
Despite the rain and cold air, the Maroons took to the field today to square off against the Golden Eagles of Wyoming Rogers in a conference double header. The Maroons, looking to build off their victory from the week before were ready to go and excitement was throughout the dugout. However, Rogers came out to an early 6run lead after the top half of the first inning. But Holland Christian didn’t let that stop them. The Maroons answered with 7 runs putting the Maroons up 7-6 after the first and from there on out, the Maroons never looked back, scoring ten more runs and winning the game and putting on an offensive clinic winning the game 17-6. Sophomore Brandon Roon was a home run away from the cycle going 3-3 with a single, double and triple and also walking. Freshman Ben Lambers came on in reliefi in game 1 to earn the victory on the mound. “Every player contributed” Maroons coach Chris Reuschel said after the game. “We came out here, knew our part, and executed it perfectly.” However the Maroons couldn’t stop there. There was still another game to be played.
The second game of the double header was not as high scoring as the first but for the Maroons, they came out with the same result winning the game 7-3. With some great pitching by Sam VanderSluis and Casey Meyaard, the Maroons pitchers and great defense gave up only 3 runs on two hits. Brandon Roon went 3-4 in the second game with two doubles and a single. Roon went 6-7 on the day. “Those games don’t happen all the time, but when they do, they sure are fun to watch” Coach Chris Reuschel said about Roon’s performance. The Maroons have yet another double header against Zeeland on Friday and are looking to continue their 3 game winning streak to five games when they host the Dux at 4:00 p.m.
| | HC's JV Team earned a sweep of Wyoming Park. | |
Friday, April 27
HC Earns Sweep of Park
The Maroons have been struggling the past couple of games and tonight they took the field looking for things to turn around. They took to the diamond ready to come out firing against Wyoming Park and that’s exactly what they did. The Maroons started the first inning off loading the bases, but not able to get a run across. In the second inning, that would change. The Maroons got two runs on a single by sophomore Nick Hill and a double by sophomore Dan Lynch. The Maroons held Wyoming Park to no runs through three innings but in the fourth, Park plated 2 bring the score to 3-2. But the Maroons didn’t quite. With a double from Max Wierda and key hits by Hill and Brandon Roon, the Maroons got one more run making the score 4-2. The Maroons gave up one more run in the fifth but were able to hold off Park in the sixth and seventh winning the game 4-3. The Maroons are back on track looking to sweep a double header against Wyoming Rodgers on Monday beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 26
Phenomenal Effort on Mound Paces HC
|  | | Luke Brower's strong arm struck out 11 and walked 0. | |
8 days earlier, Holland Christian welcomed Wyoming Park to Maroons Field and proved to be too good of a host as the Vikings earned a 5-0 victory. Thursday afternoon, HC took the half an hour trip to Wyoming and matched wits with the blue and white once again. Looking to avenge their only conference loss of the season, the Maroons sent Luke Brower to the mound. His last start was against the same Wyoming Park team but on Thursday afternoon the senior captain looked and pitched much differently. With great tempo and resolve, Brower destroyed the strikezone working ahead early and often to each Park hitter keeping them off the scoreboard over the opening three innings. Matching Brower was Park’s ace Marco Pulaski. Pitching for the first time since before Spring Break, the southpaw held HC scoreless and was bolstered with a lead in the fourth inning as WP plated one run. Leading 1-0, Holland Christian battled back as Nate Petroelje found a way on base capitalizing on a Viking error. Two pitches later, Jacob Hilbrand laced a perfectly executed hit and run into centerfield putting runners on the corners. In need of execution, Lucas VanHeest answered the bell gathering an RBI on a groundout and sending Hilbrand to second. He was not there long as he advanced to third on an infield single by Connor Leppink. The momentum nearly exchanged hands there, as Park was able to pick the lead runner off as Leppink moved onto second base. As the Vikings crowd got loud cheering their team to get out of the inning, sophomore Nate DeZwaan laced an RBI single into left field to plate Leppink and give HC a 2-1 lead. From there, it became the Luke Brower show. Poised with the lead, Brower went after the Vikings hitters and worked a perfect fifth and sixth inning. Riding a streak of nine consecutive hitter’s retired, HC’s captain carried his team home striking out the opening two hitters in the bottom of the seventh inning before inducing a game ending fly out to seal an impressive 2-1 victory. Brower earned the victory striking out 11 and walking 0 to improve to 3-1 on the season. HC’s win improves them to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the OK-Green. “This was a great game between two of the best pitchers in our conference,” said head coach Mike Ott. “We executed when we needed to and Brower was phenomenal on the mound and really answered the bell for us tonight.” Holland Christian will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Rogers High School to face the Golden Hawks in a 4:15 p.m. contest. The Maroons knocked off Rogers 4-2 in their previous contest.
Wednesday, April 25
Total Team Effort Lends Itself Useful to Maroons
| |  | | Tyler Lambers 2 run HR was the difference in the game. |
Matched up with Byron Center on Wednesday afternoon, HC’s varsity
baseball team looked to take another step up the ladder in the OK-Green
standings as both teams entered play with a 2-1 conference record. The
maroon and white realized quite quickly that the game would be a tough,
seven inning affair when BC swept away home field advantage plating a
run in the first inning. Undaunted by the early deficit, Holland
Christian utilized a brilliant hit and run by Luke Brower to score a
scampering Landon Brower to tie the game up at 1-1. Two batters later,
Brower was plated himself on an RBI single by Tyler Lambers. Holland
Christian tacked on another run in the third inning, on another RBI by
Lambers, to make it 3-2. Byron Center, known for their strong and
potent lineup, whittled one of the runs away and heading into the bottom
of the fifth, the game was stuck at 3-2. Following
a Landon Brower single, the Maroons got deep fly outs by their three
and four hitters bringing Tyler Lambers to the plate. Unlike the
previous two batters, Lambers lifted a ball into the air but from
the time it made contact there was no doubt where it would land.
Nearly three hundred and eighty feet later, the ball cleared the
scoreboard to push HC into a 5-2 lead. The homerun was just the second
by a Maroon, and third overall, at the three year old Maroons field. Two
batters later, Jacob Hilbrand worked a two strike single to score a
hustling Nate Petroelje and HC led 6-2. Those runs would prove vital as
the Bulldogs capitalized on HC’s lone error of the game in the sixth to
score two unearned runs and tighten the game at 6-4. Once again, HC
fought back and put runners on second and third with only one out but
were unable to push a run home and this lapse nearly cost the team the
lead and the game. Byron Center utilized that momentum shift into their
favor and the opening batters of the inning were suddenly standing on
second and third with no one out. Following a great start by Nate
Petroelje, Luke Brower came on in relief and worked out of a jam in the
sixth inning. Now in his own jam, Brower showcased his four years of
varsity experience inducing a groundout, infield pop up and a game
ending groundout to seal the Maroons 6-4 victory. Petroelje earned the
win on the mound battling the entire time he was on the mound to improve
to 3-0. Brower notched his first save of the year. On the offensive
side of the ball, Lambers was critical for the Maroons success as he
drove in four runs while notching two hits. Joining him in the
multi-hit column was Hilbrand and Landon Brower. “This was really a
great team victory for us,” said head coach Mike Ott. “We really
executed when we needed to and this was the first time we have been in
some of these situations. We practice for them but executing in
practice and in games is much different and I am very proud of the
entire team.” Holland Christian, now 7-4 (3-1), will be back at it on
Thursday when they travel to Lamar Park to take on the Vikings of
Wyoming Park. Last week, the Vikings gave HC their lone OK-Green defeat
beating the Maroons 5-0. First pitch is slated for 4:15 p.m.
 | | Luke Brower worked a scoreless 1 2/3 innings for the save. |
Wednesday, April 25
JV's Struggles Continue
Amidst the rain and clouds, the Maroons took to the field to battle the
Bulldogs of Byron Center. The Maroons got one across the plate
once in the first to get to an early lead of 1-0 after the top of the
first, however the Bulldogs answered scoring 4 in their half of the
inning. With the Maroons down 4-1 going into the second, the team came
back to the plate with determination in their mind. The Maroons only
got one across in the second now putting the score at 4-2. The Bulldogs
scored 2 in the second with the score now reading 6-2. However, the
Maroons kept chipping away and after the third inning, the scoreboard
read 6-6. However, the Maroons would only plate one more the rest of
the game, while the Bulldogs got 11 more across, lead to a mercy of the
Maroons 17-7 in six innings. The Maroons need to bounce back quickly
because they have a conference match up against Wyoming Park on Friday
at Maroons Fieldat 4:15 p.m.
Monday, April 23
Crazy 2nd Inning Propels Maroon & White
|  | | Tyler Lambers was big for HC wrapping out 3 hits and 4 RBI. | |
Rivalry contests often bring out the best in each team involved and that could easily describe the effort put forth by the Maroons varsity baseball team. Traveling to longtime rival, and OK-Green foe, Unity Christian, Holland Christian put together an inning that many had never seen enabling them to cruise to a 19-6 conference win in a mercy shortened five innings. After both teams went scoreless in the first inning, HC opened up the scoring plating a run on back to back doubles by Tyler Lambers and Nate Petroelje. After a sacrifice bunt, and a throwing error, the Maroons led 2-0 but were down to their final out in the inning. That was when the remarkable feat of twelve straight maroon and white batters reached base utilizing seven hits, four walks and an UC error to claim a commanding 13-0 lead after two innings of play. Unity would strike back over the next two innings utilizing a pair of Holland Christian errors to cut the deficit to as close as 13-5 but the Maroons offense was not finished. Behind the strong bat of Justin Lemmen and Lambers, HC pushed across four more, with the biggest blow coming off of Lambers bat as he belted a two RBI triple to right center to give him a single, double and a triple in the game. The Maroons would score two more in the top of the fifth inning and despite a Unity run in the bottom of the fifth, Holland Christian closed down the game with a 19-6 victory to push their record to 6-4 overall, 2-1 in the OK-Green. Lambers led the team with three hits and 4 RBI on the day and he was joined by Luke Brower in the three hit column and Justin Lemmen in the 4 RBI column. Also putting up multi-hit games was Nate DeZwaan, who also scored 4 times, and Landon Brower. On the mound, Landon Brower earned his first career varsity win battling with the Crusaders offense over the five innings striking out 6 and walking 1. Five of the six runs were unearned as Holland Christian made an uncharacteristic three errors. “Today was really something unique,” said head coach Mike Ott. “To plate that many runs in the second showed the capability of our offense because we had great approaches and our two strike hitting was tremendous. I hope this gives the guys some extra confidence because when we can execute some of the smaller things, we are capable of playing very well.” Holland Christian will return to Maroons Field on Wednesday when they host the Bulldogs of Byron Center at 4:15 p.m. The two teams share a 2-1 record in the OK-Green.
Monday, April 23
Unity Claims Rivalry Contest
The Maroons took to the field tonight to take on the Crusaders of Unity Christian for a Conference showdown. The Maroons had to battle bitter cold, and gale forced winds to try and come out with a victory in this evenings match up. Both teams were tied up after the first inning 2-2, and it looked like it could be anyone’s game. However, the Crusaders warmed their bats up despite to cold and put up 8 more runs. The Maroons were up against a wall going into the seventh inning but had a little more fight left in them. With big hits from Sam VanderSluis and Spencer Slenk, the Maroons moved batters around the diamond and it was quickly 10-7 with runners on first and second with 2 outs. However, the gap was too great to close. The Maroons gave it a good fight but couldn’t get the runs across the plate. The Maroons fell to 4-6 but have a busy next couple of weeks and have the confidence and skill to jump right back in and improve their record greatly. HC will be back in action on Wednesday traveling to Byron Center for a 4:15 p.m. contest.
|
Saturday, April 21
Fruitport Knocks Off JV in Both Ends of DH
| | | | The JV fell to 4-5 after the DH sweep. |
As the sun came up over the trees, the Maroons took to the field to face off against the Trojans of Fruitport in the first game of a double header Saturday. It was a back and fourth game the entire game with runs and hits being scored almost every inning. Going into the fourth inning, the Maroons were up 5-3 and feeling pretty good about the potential outcome. However, the Trojans had other ideas and wouldn’t make it easy for the Maroons. Number 23, Fialek from the Trojans stepped into the box and smacked a homerun to left field scoring two tying the game 5-5. As the game went into extras, the Maroons couldn’t seem to get another run across the plate. With a couple of hits here and there, the Trojans managed to plate one in the bottom of the 7th inning to win the game. The Maroons played well but despite the loss, they had to bounce back as there was another game to be played.
The second game had a little different feel to it than the first. Both teams were tired and neither team played their best game. However, the Maroons scored two in the top of the first with a successful squeeze by Spencer Slenk and Max Wierda scoring the run. After scoring two, the Trojans came back in the bottom of the first scoring three then two more again in the second. The Maroons Scott Edwaard and Sam VanderSluis came in and shut the Trojans down from there on out only allowing them to score one more run the entire game. However, the Maroons just couldn’t get the bats going and losing the game 6-2. The Maroons left Fruitport with a 4-5 record and looking to a big game against Unity Christian on Monday at 4:00 p.m. at Maroons Field.
Friday, April 20
Maroons Overcome Rogers & Weather
| |  | | Nate Petroelje aided his cause with a big 2 RBI single. |
Friday brought a chance for the Holland Christian varsity baseball team to rebound after a conference opening loss on Wednesday. With a win, the Maroons would be back into contention for the always competitive OK-Green but that victory would not come easily as the pesky Golden Hawks of Rogers traveled to Maroons Field. With overcast skies, mist for the majority of the game and chilly temperatures, both teams had to overcome the weather conditions and it proved to be a great equalizer as both teams headed into the third inning tied at 0-0. Rogers, batting in the top half of the inning, was the first to strike utilizing three singles to plate two runs and claim an early 2-0 lead. Having been unable to come from behind in any game thus far this season, the Maroons put two men in scoring position with two outs bringing senior Nate Petroelje to the plate. Looking to support his own cause, as Petroelje was also the starting pitcher, the senior laced a two RBI single up the middle to knot the game at 2-2. Putting up a big scoreless inning in the top of the fourth, Holland Christian leapt into the lead in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI groundout by Luke Brower and a RBI sacrifice fly by Tyler Lambers to lead 4-2. Despite rapping out 8 hits on the day, that would be the extent of the maroon and white’s scoring as they put runners in scoring position in the following two innings but was unable to get the big hit. With a two run lead, the Maroons were forced to turn to their defense to hold off the Golden Hawks who also were able to get runners into scoring position over the course of the next three innings. Trailing 4-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Rogers had runners on first and third with one out but Petroelje induced a game ending double play ball that was perfectly turned by Nate DeZwaan and Luke Brower to end the contest and give HC their first OK-Green win of the year. Petroelje was solid on the mound throwing all seven innings while striking out six and walking three. Jacob Hilbrand and Luke Brower led the offense with two hits apiece. Now 5-4 (1-1), Holland Christian will return to action on Monday when they travel to first place, and rival, Unity Christian for a 4:00 p.m. conference contest.
Friday, April 20
JV Rained Out; Varsity On
Holland Christian's JV baseball team's away contest at Rogers High School has been canceled and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader. The two league games will be played at Maroons Field beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Due to the scheduling change, the varsity game, set for May 1 against Rogers, has been moved to April 30 at Rogers at 4:15 p.m.
| | Landon Brower gathered 2 of HC's 6 hits. | |
Wednesday, April 18
Consistent Strike Throwing Hampers HC
Pitching
and defense is the often the combination that many state that wins
games when it comes to the sport of baseball. Holland Christian had one
of the two working well on Wednesday when they hosted the Vikings of
Wyoming Park in each team’s conference
opener. Playing error free defense, the Maroons showcased their
ability on the defensive side of the ball but unfortunately it was not
enough as HC walked nine Wyoming Park batters, and hit one additional,
to aid Park’s 5-0 victory. Despite the free passes, the maroon and
white managed to strike out 13 Wyoming Park batters. “Right now we are
struggling to command the strikezone with consistency,” said head coach
Mike Ott, “We had several chances early in the game but when you give a
good team like Park that many opportunities it is bound to beat you.
We just need to be more consistent and that will come as we still are
dealing with a great deal of inexperience on the hill.” Wyoming Park’s
Cory Berg was able to do the opposite throwing strikes the tune of a
complete game victory. At the plate, the Maroons were able to square
several balls up but each time they needed a key hit they were unable to
get that as Wyoming Park worked out of a few jams to keep HC off the
board. Pacing the offensive attack was Justin Lemmen and Landon Brower
who each gathered two hits a piece. Holland Christian, now 4-4
(0-1), will return to action on Friday when they host Rogers in a 4:15
p.m. OK-Green contest.
Wednesday, April 18
JV Knocks Off Vikings in Green Opener
The
Maroons JV baseball team took the field at Lamar Park today for the
league opener against Wyoming Park. The Maroons, coming in with a 3-3
record, looked to bounce back after a loss to Calvin Christian that
previous Saturday. Max Wierda took to the mound to start the game and
pitched lights out giving up only 4 hits and 2 runs. Wierda was helped
by a host of players on the defensive side of the ball. Holland
Christian didn’t record an error the entire game. After 5 innings, it
was Casey Meyaard’s turn to take the mound. Meyaard, with his always
effective curveball, finished off the game giving the Maroons a 5-3
victory and improving their record to 4-3. The Maroons offense was
helped out with hits from freshmen Stefan Burke (right) and Ben Lambers.
“We all did what we had to do, every player. They each have a job and
when executed, we will be a hard team to beat when we play like that,”
head coach Chris Reuschel said after the game. The Maroons look
continue their strong play when they travel to Rogers on Friday for a
4:15 p.m. conference contest.
 | | Stefan Burke aided HC's offensive attack. |
Tuesday, April 17
Offensive Attack Paces Varsity Victory
| |  | | Nick Hill captured his first win throwing a CG shutout. |
One day prior to the start of their OK-Green schedule, the Maroons varsity baseball team got ready for action by hosting the Saugatuck Indians at Maroons Field. With a high blue sky set as the backdrop, the maroon and white saw sophomore Nick Hill make his first career varsity start on the hill. Despite it being his first start, Hill was masterful and in command of his pitching repertoire as he held Saugatuck to two lone hits. While the sophomore held down Saugatuck’s offense, the visiting Indians had no answer for the Maroons offensive attack as HC launched right into scoring in the first inning with the big blow coming on a perfectly executed hit and run by Tyler Lambers. With two runners off on the pitch, Lambers laced a line drive into the right center gap for a two RBI triple. Pushing four runs across in the first, the Maroons offense continued to be efficient as both Luke Brower and Justin Lemmen had RBI’s with Lemmen’s coming on an RBI double. Holland Christian, leading 6-0 after two innings, would score three more runs in the fourth inning before ending the day in a five inning mercy shortened victory on a walkoff RBI double by Luke Brower. The ten runs were more than enough to support Hill who worked all five innings for his first career varsity win as the sophomore struck out six and only walked one. “Hill did a phenomenal job attacking the strike zone and our defense backed him up with crisp play,” noted head coach Mike Ott. “We took a step forward today with much better approaches at the plate and we stayed short and compact to the ball and we will need to continue to build on that.” HC rapt out twelve hits with Connor Leppink, Luke Brower, Justin Lemmen, Tyler Lambers and Nate Petroelje each registering two hits apiece. Now 4-3, Holland Christian will welcome the Vikings of Wyoming Park to Maroons Field on Wednesday as the two schools open up league play against one another. First pitch is slated for 4:15 p.m.
Saturday, April 14
Knights Top Maroons in DH
|  | | Tyler Lambers' four hits paced HC offense in their DH. | |
After posting back-to-back shutout victories during the week, Holland Christian’s varsity baseball team headed to Kenowa Hills High School to face a potent Knights lineup in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday morning. Still searching to find their identity and a pitching rotation, the Maroons trotted out six pitchers over the course of the doubleheader trying to find the right lineup for the remainder of the season. Things started smoothly for the maroon and white as they quickly plated three runs in the first inning on RBI singles from Tyler Lambers and Landon Brower to grab a 3-0 lead. From there however, things slowed for HC as the combination of three pitchers struggled to consistently throw strikes enabling Kenowa Hills to take advantage of 10 walks, 8 wild pitches and 1 hit by pitch to run away with the contest to the tune of 14-4 mercy shortened win. Lambers two hits in game one led the offensive charge. In game two, things picked up for the Maroons as a trio of sophomores took the hill and did exceptionally well, paced by starter Landon Brower. Working over four innings, Brower limited the lineup to just four hits but two costly HC errors allowed Kenowa four unearned runs. The Maroons offense started slowly in game two but began to get more aggressive as the game went along allowing them to put runners in scoring position in three of the final four innings. Jacob Hilbrand’s RBI single scored Lambers to break up the shutout, but that would be all for HC as they could not rally any further. Despite two more hits from Lambers, Holland Christian fell 5-1. Nate DeZwaan and Nick Hill each worked a scoreless inning in relief in game two. “We are young and still trying to find the right combinations so some growing pains are to be expected,” said head coach Mike Ott. “We were never able to get anything going in game one as we just did not pound the zone like we typically are able. In game two, I was very pleased with how we pitched and we unfortunately made two costly mistakes and they made us pay.” The Maroons, now 3-3, will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Saugatuck in a 4:15 p.m. contest at Maroons Field.
Saturday, April 14
HC Splits wth Calvin Christian
Casey Meyaard, a sophomore for the Holland Christian Maroons was
clicking on all cylinders for the first game of the double header
Saturday against the Calvin Christian Squires. Meyaard recorded a
complete game shutout only giving up 4 hits and striking out six squires
on his way to the win. Meyaard was also helped out offensively by
sophomore Max Wierda who went 1-2 and
scoring twice. The Maroons offense was also sparked by Brandt VanHeest
who hot hit by a pitch and got a hit, scoring once, and smacking the
ball around field. “Brandt has a great approach to the plate. Whenever
he steps in the box, he makes the pitcher beat him. He jumps on
pitches early and really hits the ball with some authority.” After the
first game of the double header the Maroons were sitting over 500 with a
3-2 record.
With the second game of the double, the Maroons were looking to sweep
and leave Calvin Christian with a 4-2 record, however, the Squires had
different plans. The Maroons had too little too late in the second
game. The Maroons failed to get a run across the plate until the sixth
inning and only scored two. The Maroons had plenty of men on base but
could never get them across. The Squires just chipped away a little at a
time, and before you knew it the scoreboard read 7-2 and the game was
over. Scott Edewaard came in to pitch in the 6th and threw the ball
across the plate, striking out one, and only allowing 2 hits. Coach
Reuschel said after the game “It was great to see some new guys get into
the game and do their job. We are now an all around team and that
makes the entire coaching staff feel great about our chances for the
rest of the season.” HC will be back in action on Wednesday when they
travel to Lamar Park to take on Wyoming Park at 4:15 p.m.
Friday, April 13
Early Homerun, Strong Pitching, Carry Maroons
|  | | Justin Lemmen collected 4 RBI, 3 of which came on a HR. | |
For their third consecutive game, Holland Christian’s varsity baseball
team donned their road uniforms for another non-conference road contest.
This time the maroon
and white traveled to Coopersville High School to face the Broncos in
one of their final non-league games prior to the start of OK-Green play
next week. Taking the mound for HC was senior Nate Petroelje and in his
second start on the mound, Petroelje performed strongly throwing a
complete shutout to pace Holland Christian’s 10-0 victory. Limiting
Coopersville to only three hits, Petroelje struck out four men and
walked no one as he pounded the strike zone with great efficiency. He
was backed up by stellar defense as the Maroons made countless defensive
plays, including the final out of the game coming on a sparkling
sliding catch by senior captain Connor Leppink. While the pitching and
defense were on point, the maroon and white quickly got on the board
offensively as senior captain Justin Lemmen laced a three run homerun
over the left field fence to put HC up 3-0 just four batters into the
contest. The Maroons would tack on one more run in the first inning
before upping the score to 9-0 after the second inning with the key hit
coming on a Petroelje 2 RBI double. Holland Christian was able to take
advantage of a number of Coopersville errors and wild pitches to give
them the necessary ten runs for a five inning mercy shortened victory.
“It was difficult for us to get in a groove offensively because
Coopersville’s arms were struggling to throw strikes consistently,” said
head coach Mike Ott. “Even with that though I thought we did a nice
job with our energy and staying focused and putting pressure on them all
game long.” HC will be back in action on Saturday morning when they
travel to Kenowa Hills High School for an 11:00 a.m. doubleheader.
Friday, April 13
JV Gets Back in Win Column
After two straight losses, the Holland Christian Maroons were looking to change their fortunes with a game against the Coopersville Broncos. After letting up two runs early in the first inning, the Maroons put on their game faces and only held the Broncos to one more run the entire game. The Maroons got help offensively from sophomore Josiah Coleman, who went 2-3 with a single and a double. Max Wierda, who not only pitched a great game, also stole 5 bases and scored twice to help his cause and help himself get the win. “That’s how you win games. Just do the little things, cut down on the errors and have a little fun” said assistant Coach Glenn Benko after the Maroons second win of the season. The Maroons are now 2-2 with a double header against the Squires of Calvin Christian coming on Saturday.
Wednesday, April 11
Maroons Win Under the Lights
| |  | | Junior Tim Boetsma got the scoring started with 2 RBI single. |
After fifteen days, the Maroons varsity baseball team laced up their
cleats and were back on the field for competition on Wednesday traveling
to Muskegon’s historic Marsh Field for a rare night game. Taking on
Western Michigan Christian, the two teams
took to the field with the first pitch coming at 6:45 p.m. in Holland
Christian’s first night game in school history. The historic night went
extremely well for the maroon and white as they jumped back into the
win column posting a shutout victory over WMC by an 11-0 score. Facing a
strong lefthanded pitcher, HC was slowed in the opening inning but
quickly got things going in the second as Tyler Lambers registered the
first hit of the game. Utilizing an aggressive approach on the
basepaths, Holland Christian quickly found two runners scampering home
on a clutch two strike, two out RBI single by junior Tim Boetsma. Leading 2-0, the Maroons broke the game open in the third
inning plating nine runs off six hits, three of which were doubles, to
take the commanding 11-0 lead. While they would threaten later in the
game, HC would not plate another runner while the entire roster got
playing time. On the mound, senior Luke Brower worked a perfect three
innings to earn the win to improve to 2-0 on the season. Nick Hill and
Elliot Slenk each worked a scoreless inning in relief. After being no
hit in their previous contest, Holland Christian nearly turned the tides
on Western Michigan Christian, as they did not get into the hit column
until the final inning ending the night with one hit. HC was led by
Luke Brower, who earned two hits, at the plate as the senior went 2-3.
Landon Brower, Justin Lemmen and Nate Petroelje also contributed with
doubles. Off the win, the Maroons will stay in their road uniforms
traveling to Coopersville High School on Friday for a 4:15 p.m. pitch
with senior Nate Petroelje earning the start on the mound.
Wednesday, April 11
MCC Knocks Off HC
The Holland Christian Maroons came up short Wednesday against Muskegon Catholic Central losing 9-7. The
Maroons came out firing on all cylinders as they jumped to an early 4-0
lead entering the second inning. MCC quickly answered with a five run
third putting the Maroons down 5-4 and the JV could never quite catch
up. Some costly errors didn’t help the Maroons and the deficit came to
much for the Maroons to overcome. Ben Lambers came in to pitch relief
in the 2nd inning and only gave up 3 runs in 5 and 2/3 innings.
“Lambers was locating and pitching to contact and that’s all we could
ask of him” said head coach Chris Reuschel. “Our bats just couldn’t
stay hot enough after the first to manufacture any kind of comeback.”
The Maroons hope to quickly rebound from their loss as they are set to
face off against the Broncos of Coopersville this Friday at Maroons
Field at 4:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 27
VandeVusse, Eagles Too Much for Maroons
After a season opening victory, the Maroons varsity baseball team faced another challenge as they traveled to Grand Rapids for their first contest on the road. Staring the maroon and white in the eyes were the top rated Grand Rapids Christian Eagles who returned all but one player from their 2011 squad that saw them fall in the Division II State Finals. While the two teams shared similar records last season, both HC and GRC finished 30-8, the Maroons saw the graduation of seven key players and were still trying to find their identity early in the 2012 season while Grand Rapids Christian, ranked #1 in the Division II poll, was eager to prove they were deserving of the top billing. Facing the veteran Eagles, Holland Christian hung with the host’s early in the game as senior Nate Petroelje pitched two scoreless innings. With Spring Break looming, HC provided mound time to three sophomores (Nick Hill, Landon Brower, Nate DeZwaan) and one junior (Tim Boetsma) over the next four innings and despite battling well, the black and blue were able to push across six runs over those four innings to grab a 6-0 advantage. While the Maroons look to gain experience with their young roster, especially on the mound, the story of the game came on the opposing team’s pitching mound as junior starter Alex VandeVusse looked in midseason form as he overmatched Holland Christian for seven innings. The story coming into the seventh inning was whether or not the maroon and white would be able to muster a hit and after two straight groundouts, VandeVusse got a flyout to end the game to seal the 6-0 complete game victory, as well as the no hitter. “We are a young team that is steadily improving and I thought we matched up with G.R. Christian fairly well,” said head coach Mike Ott. “They showed their experience getting key hits when they needed them and exploiting our inexperience on the mound but the credit goes to VandeVusse. He may be the best arm we face all year and he just overmatched us today.” Holland Christian, now 1-1, heads into Spring Break and will return to action on April 11 when they travel to Muskegon for a night game at historic Marsh Field against Western Michigan Christian. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 27
JV Falls in Home Opener
The Maroons JV baseball team took the field again Tuesday hosting the perennially powerful program of Grand Rapids Christian. With the chill of spring in the air, and the Maroons coming off a victory, hopes were flying high however, the Eagles had different ideas. After a 0-0 first inning, the Eagles came back in the second and put up 4 runs and the Maroons never could quite battle back. The Maroons struggled offensively and found themselves on the wrong end of things as the Eagles were able to twirl a five inning no-hitter. Max Wierda and Ben Lambers pitched a great game, but with some costly errors and hits by the Eagles, the Maroons were outmatched today. “We just didn’t bring it today," said head coach Chris Reuschel. "Maybe it was spring break lurking around the corner or something else, but we just didn’t come out to win it today." The Maroons look to come back well rested after spring break and jump back into the swing of baseball season once again as they host Muskegon Catholic Central on Wednesday, April 11 at 4:30 p.m. at Maroons Field.
Thursday, March 22
Maroons Notch Season Opening Win
| |  | | Luke Brower tallied two hits and earned the win on the mound. |
In nearly every spring that comes to mind, the weather does not match the start of Spring Sports. That could not be less true in the case of the 2012 Spring Sports season as the Maroons varsity baseball team took the field against neighboring Allegan High School as temperatures were hovering in a very spring like high seventy degrees. With a strong crowd in attendance, and with the sun casting its glare down as the backdrop to the HC opener, Holland Christian, donned in their new black uniforms, wasted little time gaining the advantage plating a run in the bottom half of the inning utilizing a Nate Petroelje walk, stolen base and then consecutive groundouts to grab the 1-0 advantage. Senior pitcher Luke Brower would keep the Tigers off the scoreboard, as he was aided by stellar defense that saw two diving plays over the opening three innings by first baseman Tyler Lambers and centerfielder Tim Boetsma. Clinging to a one run lead, Holland Christian opened up the game in the bottom half of the third inning when the first six hitters of the lineup all reached with Luke Brower’s perfectly executed hit and run double that highlighted the inning. The maroon and white were not done there plating a single run in the fifth and then two more in the sixth, with sophomore Landon Brower’s RBI double into the right center gap as that catalyst to the inning. Luke Brower would throw five scoreless innings and was followed up by fellow classmate Nate Petroelje who worked a scoreless sixth inning. Junior Tim Boetsma would put the game to bed giving up an unearned run in the seventh inning to finalize the game at 9-1 in the favor of the Maroons. Luke Brower, Justin Lemmen and Landon Brower each tallied two hits, while Connor Leppink, Tyler Lambers, Nate DeZwaan, Chris Riemersma and Nick Hill each garnered a hit of their own. .” Luke Brower earned the win on the mound striking out three, while walking two, to improve to 1-0 on the season. “We are a very young team but we played fundamentally sound today,” said head coach Mike Ott. “I believe we have a good ceiling with this group so this was a nice step in the right direction but we have a long way to go.” That journey will continue on Tuesday when the maroon and white (1-0) travel to Grand Rapids to face the Eagles of Grand Rapids Christian at Gainey Field with first pitch slated for 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 22
JV Pulls Out Come From Behind Win
| | | | The JV team pulled out the 10-9 come from behind win. |
The junior varsity baseball Maroons got the season off to an interesting, and nerve-racking start. With an away game at Allegan, the Maroons and Tigers would face off in a down to the wire season opener. After the first inning, the scoreboard read 0-0 and it was anyone’s game. The Maroons came back in the top of the second with a point to prove. After a leadoff walk from Josiah Coleman, Sam VanderSluis stepped up to the plate and drove a double to the left centerfield gap and that was the big hit of the inning in which the Maroons plated four runs to grab a 4-0 lead. After a run by the Tigers of Allegan, a 30 minute game delay on account of thunder, and a few more hits and run by the Maroons, they quickly found themselves in the top of the seventh down 9-7. With their backs against the wall, but their hope never fading, the Maroons of Holland Christian stormed back into the contest. After a lead off single by Brandon Roon, followed by a stolen base, Roon found himself at second, with designated hitter Stefan Burke at the plate. Not wasting any time, Burke swung at the first pitch of the game he saw and hit a shot to center field plating Roon. After a textbook sacrifice bunt by Spencer Slenk, the Maroons had a runner on third with two outs. Following a walk by Aaron Huizenga and a stolen base, Evan Dieleman found himself at the plate once again in a pivotal situation. With the count at 3-2, with runners on second and third with two outs, Dieleman had ice in his veins and ripped a shot to center, plating both Burke and Huizenga putting the Holland Christian Maroons up one. But the game wasn’t over just yet. Max Wierda took to the mound in the bottom of the seventh, and despite a threat by the Tigers, the sophomore was able to close out the contest allowing the JV to claim the nerve racking 10-9 victory. Now 1-0, the JV will return to Maroons Field where they will host the Eagles of Grand Rapids Christian on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
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