Rochester Regional
Teams -- Troy, Romeo, Hartland, Lake Orion
Breakdown -- It's hard to pick against Romeo, which has Taylor Weaver, who has been one of the state's most dominating pitchers over the course of the past couple of years, but it won't be any easy task for Romeo to get past a tough Troy in the first game of the regional. Troy has plenty of balance throughout its lineup and the Colts have a pitcher, Taylor Schmidt, who recently threw a no-hitter in the district final and went head-to-head with another top pitcher in Haley Zemmer and came out on top. In the second game, there is another interesting pitching match-up between Hartland senior Abbie Minsker and Lake Orion freshman Sierra Gonzales. Minsker has been dominant all year long, while Gonzales has flown under the radar, while quietly emerged as one of the top aces in the OAA. I've gone back and forth between all four teams in this district and any of these teams has a legitimate shot at playing in the quarterfinals next week.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Troy 2, Romeo 1
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Lake Orion 3, Hartland 2
Regional Final Prediction: Lake Orion 4, Troy 2 (in 9 innings)
Novi Regional
Teams -- Birmingham Marian, South Lyon, Farmington Hills Mercy, Plymouth Canton
Breakdown -- This regional is Mercy's to lose, the Marlins are without a doubt the most complete team in the region and the Marlins can change the outlook of a game with one swing of the bat as the Marlins are cementing themselves as one of, if not the best power-hitting team in MHSAA history. Mercy can't overlook Canton, who played spoiler in the district final as it upset rival Plymouth and will could have to face Marian once again in the final, or a very experienced South Lyon squad. The first game between Marian and South Lyon will be interesting to see if the young Mustangs, which have a number of freshman on the team who are significant contributors can keep up with a South Lyon team that did plenty of damage in the KLAA this year and are ready to make a statement.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: South Lyon 7, Birmingham Marian 6
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Farmington Hills Mercy 7, Plymouth Canton 2
Regional Final Prediction: Farmington Hills Mercy 9, South Lyon 2
Bloomfield Hills Andover Regional
Teams -- Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Clawson, St. Clair, Richmond
Breakdown -- Notre Dame Prep has simply been a completely different team since Carly Joseph rejoined the Irish as she's shown that she hasn't missed a step since returning after missing part of the season. While Joseph has proven to be a force in the circle and at the plate in the district playoffs, as she allowed no earned runs in 13 innings on Saturday, while helping pace the Irish offense in a semifinal win over Cranbrook, topping St. Clair will be no easy task of the Irish want to advance to the quarterfinals. St. Clair will counter Notre Dame Prep's dual threat menace with one of their own in Brittany Schweiger, who is one of the best in the state when it comes to pitching and hitting, but I expect this regional final to be way closer than what most expect it to be.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Notre Dame Prep 4, Clawson 0
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: St. Clair 6, Richmond 1
Regional Final Prediction: Notre Dame Prep 5, St. Clair 4 (in 10 innings)
Madison Heights Bishop Foley Regional
Teams -- Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, Detroit Henry Ford, Allen Park Cabrini, Grass Lake
Breakdown -- There have been few teams who have bounced back better than Lutheran Northwest has this season, the Crusaders started the season with a disappointing 2-9 record, but have surged back as they have put together a 12-3 record in the second half of the season, which will likely help lead them past Henry Ford in the first game. But the winner of Cabrini and Grass Lake will probably end up being the regional champion as both teams have top 10 rankings in the state and are two of the most balanced teams around.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Lutheran Northwest 8, Henry Ford 4
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Allen Park Cabrini 5, Grass Lake 2
Regional Final Prediction: Allen Park Cabrini 7, Lutheran Northwest 2
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Regional
Teams -- Portland St. Patrick, Webberville, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, New Lothrup
Breakdown -- This regional will come down to the Laker's pitching, because there is no question that they can hit and produce runs with some of the best teams in the area. Much like the baseball regional, there isn't a clear cut favorite to come out of this regional as all four teams have put been very solid, but not dominant over the course of the last couple of months, which means this regional is wide open. The difference that will tip the scales in Lakes' favor will be senior Abby Kline, who has shown that she can take over a game and shut down opposing hitting attacks, and that should be the difference on Saturday.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Portland St. Patrick 6, Webberville 4
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: WOLL 5, New Lothrup 1
Regional Final Prediction: WOLL 4, Portland St. Patrick 0
Grosse Point Woods University of Liggett Regional
Teams -- Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, Westland Huron Valley, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Wixom St. Catherine
Breakdown -- Last week was obviously a special one for Wixom St. Catherine and without a doubt is the best story in high school sports right now. After finishing the season with a 17-5 record, Wixom St. Catherine flew under the radar and pulled off a bit of a surprise by winning a district title in the team's first year by upsetting Royal Oak Shrine in the district final. But the semifinal game on Saturday will be a very difficult task facing Wixom St. Catherine as it will play regional host Liggett, which finished the season as a top five team in the state. Liggett is without a doubt the favorite to come out of this region, considering its high ranking in the state, but if junior hurler Mary Greene can keep Wixom St. Catherine in the game with the Knights, there could be another surprise in the making.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Inter-City Baptist 7, Huron Valley 3
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: GPW Liggett, 4, Wixom St. Catherine 2
Regional Final Prediction: GPW Liggett 6, Inter-City Baptist 3
Friday, June 7, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Oakland County Regional Baseball Predictions
Rochester Regional
Teams -- Hartland, Lake Orion, Rochester Adams, Stoney Creek
Breakdown -- Pitching should dominate this regional, especially in the first semifinal game between Lake Orion and Hartland, which will be a rematch of last year's regional final where Hartland edged out the Dragons to move on. Lake Orion has all of the pitching you look for from a team that has eyes for Battle Creek, with Nick Deeg, Brad Schaenzer and Josh Bays. But Hartland will counter with another very good pitching staff that features Michigan State commit Jake Lowery. On the other side, of the regional semifinals, it will be interesting to see if Rochester Adams can continue to play spoiler, or if the Cougars can pick up a fourth straight win over the Highlanders this season. Chances are the first semifinal will come down to which team can have the most success offensively, and then hope that they can match up in pitching with either Lake Orion or Hartland in the final.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Lake Orion 4, Hartland 2
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Rochester Adams 3, Stoney Creek 2
Regional Final Prediction: Lake Orion 5, Rochester Adams 1
Novi Regional
Teams -- Northville, North Farmington, Birmingham Brother Rice, Walled Lake Northern
Breakdown -- Barring a major upset, this regional belongs to Brother Rice, the Warriors are one of, if not the most complete team in the state in terms of pitching and hitting and the depth that comes with both of those categories. Walled Lake Northern could be able to hang in with Brother Rice in the early stages of their semifinal, but Brother Rice will be hard to slow down. It seemed as if North Farmington had eyes on planning for regionals even during the district playoffs as they chose to save senior ace Sterling Sharp, and go with some of the younger pitchers on the staff, and I think that will pay off in the semifinal on Satuday. If anybody can or will compete with Brother Rice in the regional final, it would be North Farmington because to the Senior-Frosh duo of Sharp and Alex Darden.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Brother Rice 8, WL Northern 4
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: North Farmington 5, Northville 4
Regional Final Prediction: Brother Rice 5, North Farmington 2
Bloomfield Hills Andover Regional
Teams -- Clawson, Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Richmond, St. Claire.
Breakdown -- Heading into the playoffs, there wasn't any question of whether or not St. Mary's could hit, as the Eaglets have proven to be one of the best teams around when it comes to offensive production. However, there were questions about whether the Eaglets had enough pitching to make a run in the postseason. But Connor Bowers has answered each and every one of those questions so far as he's emerged as a true ace over the course of the last month and should be able to help pitch the Eaglets into contention for the regional. Assuming that St. Mary's meets up with St. Claire in the regional final, it will be a tall task for the Eaglets to move past a top five team in the state, but the Eaglets lineup paired with the emergence of Bowers will be enough for St. Mary's to advance to the quarterfinals.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Orchard Lake St. Mary's 7, Clawson 3
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: St. Claire 2, Richmond 0
Regional Final Prediction: OLSM 4, St. Claire 1
Madison Heights Bishop Foley Regional
Teams -- Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Harper Woods, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Allen Park Cabrini
Breakdown -- There's not a whole lot to say about this regional. It's not a matter of if the Ventures are going to win, but how many runs they will win by in both games on Saturday. Bishop Foley has been dominant all year long and are now in a regional with three teams that have sub-.500 records on the year. Everything is lined up perfectly for the Ventures to get back to Battle Creek and be in serious contention for a third straight state title.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Bishop Foley 12, Harper Woods 2
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Allen Park Cabrini 3, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 1
Regional Final Prediction: Bishop Foley 11, Allen Park Cabrini 1
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Regional
Teams -- Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, New Lothrup, Portland St. Patrick, Potterville
Breakdown -- Throughout much of the season, Lakes has had some offensive inconsistencies, but one of the things that hasn't been inconsistent is the dominant pitching that the Lakers have to offer. For a Division 4 team to have as good and as deep of a pitching staff as Lakes has is something that can't be overlooked in the playoffs, and with Jake Glover, Steven Scott and Colt Moran holding down the rotation, the Lakers have a better than good chance to advance to the quarterfinals. One thing that also plays into Lakes' hands is the fact that there isn't a single overly dominant team in this regional, once again giving the Lakers the upper hand considering that pitching staff.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 5, New Lothrup 1
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Portland St. Patrick 7, Potterville 6
Regional Final Prediction: Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 2, Portland St. Patrick 0
Grosse Point Woods University of Liggett Regional
Teams -- Grosse Pointe Woods University of Liggett, Royal Oak Shrine, Plymouth Christian, Allen Park Inter-City Baptist
Breakdown -- With all due respect to the Plymouth Christian and Inter-City Baptist, this regional will come down to the first semifinal game between Shrine and Liggett. Liggett has simply been too tall of a task for the Knights in recent years, but if there's any year where the Knights could unseat Liggett, it could be this year. Shrine has plenty of pitching behind the arms of Connor Francek and Mike Cobbledick and that could give the Knights just enough to get by the perenial D-4 power that is Liggett. This game will come down to whether or not Shrine can generate any type of offensive production against Oakland University commitment Connor Fannon, and I think they just might be able to do that. Since the beginning of the playoffs, I have been calling for a Shrine vs. WOLL quarterfinal and I'm not going against that now as Shrine will move on.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Shrine 4, Liggett 3
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Inter-City Baptist 7, Plymouth Christian 4
Regional Final Prediction: Shrine 7, Inter-City Baptist 3
Teams -- Hartland, Lake Orion, Rochester Adams, Stoney Creek
Breakdown -- Pitching should dominate this regional, especially in the first semifinal game between Lake Orion and Hartland, which will be a rematch of last year's regional final where Hartland edged out the Dragons to move on. Lake Orion has all of the pitching you look for from a team that has eyes for Battle Creek, with Nick Deeg, Brad Schaenzer and Josh Bays. But Hartland will counter with another very good pitching staff that features Michigan State commit Jake Lowery. On the other side, of the regional semifinals, it will be interesting to see if Rochester Adams can continue to play spoiler, or if the Cougars can pick up a fourth straight win over the Highlanders this season. Chances are the first semifinal will come down to which team can have the most success offensively, and then hope that they can match up in pitching with either Lake Orion or Hartland in the final.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Lake Orion 4, Hartland 2
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Rochester Adams 3, Stoney Creek 2
Regional Final Prediction: Lake Orion 5, Rochester Adams 1
Novi Regional
Teams -- Northville, North Farmington, Birmingham Brother Rice, Walled Lake Northern
Breakdown -- Barring a major upset, this regional belongs to Brother Rice, the Warriors are one of, if not the most complete team in the state in terms of pitching and hitting and the depth that comes with both of those categories. Walled Lake Northern could be able to hang in with Brother Rice in the early stages of their semifinal, but Brother Rice will be hard to slow down. It seemed as if North Farmington had eyes on planning for regionals even during the district playoffs as they chose to save senior ace Sterling Sharp, and go with some of the younger pitchers on the staff, and I think that will pay off in the semifinal on Satuday. If anybody can or will compete with Brother Rice in the regional final, it would be North Farmington because to the Senior-Frosh duo of Sharp and Alex Darden.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Brother Rice 8, WL Northern 4
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: North Farmington 5, Northville 4
Regional Final Prediction: Brother Rice 5, North Farmington 2
Bloomfield Hills Andover Regional
Teams -- Clawson, Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Richmond, St. Claire.
Breakdown -- Heading into the playoffs, there wasn't any question of whether or not St. Mary's could hit, as the Eaglets have proven to be one of the best teams around when it comes to offensive production. However, there were questions about whether the Eaglets had enough pitching to make a run in the postseason. But Connor Bowers has answered each and every one of those questions so far as he's emerged as a true ace over the course of the last month and should be able to help pitch the Eaglets into contention for the regional. Assuming that St. Mary's meets up with St. Claire in the regional final, it will be a tall task for the Eaglets to move past a top five team in the state, but the Eaglets lineup paired with the emergence of Bowers will be enough for St. Mary's to advance to the quarterfinals.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Orchard Lake St. Mary's 7, Clawson 3
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: St. Claire 2, Richmond 0
Regional Final Prediction: OLSM 4, St. Claire 1
Madison Heights Bishop Foley Regional
Teams -- Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Harper Woods, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Allen Park Cabrini
Breakdown -- There's not a whole lot to say about this regional. It's not a matter of if the Ventures are going to win, but how many runs they will win by in both games on Saturday. Bishop Foley has been dominant all year long and are now in a regional with three teams that have sub-.500 records on the year. Everything is lined up perfectly for the Ventures to get back to Battle Creek and be in serious contention for a third straight state title.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Bishop Foley 12, Harper Woods 2
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Allen Park Cabrini 3, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 1
Regional Final Prediction: Bishop Foley 11, Allen Park Cabrini 1
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian Regional
Teams -- Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, New Lothrup, Portland St. Patrick, Potterville
Breakdown -- Throughout much of the season, Lakes has had some offensive inconsistencies, but one of the things that hasn't been inconsistent is the dominant pitching that the Lakers have to offer. For a Division 4 team to have as good and as deep of a pitching staff as Lakes has is something that can't be overlooked in the playoffs, and with Jake Glover, Steven Scott and Colt Moran holding down the rotation, the Lakers have a better than good chance to advance to the quarterfinals. One thing that also plays into Lakes' hands is the fact that there isn't a single overly dominant team in this regional, once again giving the Lakers the upper hand considering that pitching staff.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 5, New Lothrup 1
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Portland St. Patrick 7, Potterville 6
Regional Final Prediction: Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 2, Portland St. Patrick 0
Grosse Point Woods University of Liggett Regional
Teams -- Grosse Pointe Woods University of Liggett, Royal Oak Shrine, Plymouth Christian, Allen Park Inter-City Baptist
Breakdown -- With all due respect to the Plymouth Christian and Inter-City Baptist, this regional will come down to the first semifinal game between Shrine and Liggett. Liggett has simply been too tall of a task for the Knights in recent years, but if there's any year where the Knights could unseat Liggett, it could be this year. Shrine has plenty of pitching behind the arms of Connor Francek and Mike Cobbledick and that could give the Knights just enough to get by the perenial D-4 power that is Liggett. This game will come down to whether or not Shrine can generate any type of offensive production against Oakland University commitment Connor Fannon, and I think they just might be able to do that. Since the beginning of the playoffs, I have been calling for a Shrine vs. WOLL quarterfinal and I'm not going against that now as Shrine will move on.
Regional Semifinal Prediction #1: Shrine 4, Liggett 3
Regional Semifinal Prediction #2: Inter-City Baptist 7, Plymouth Christian 4
Regional Final Prediction: Shrine 7, Inter-City Baptist 3
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Loyola's McDowell, Southfield's Marshall joining forces?
Over the course of the past couple of days it has become clear that Detroit Loyola star defensive lineman Malik McDowell will be transferring out of Loyola for his senior season for unknown reasons.
Now the rumor mill is starting to spin and places are being named where the highly coveted defensive line menace could end up and one of the destinations that continues to be named over and over again has been Southfield.
That would mean that arguably the best defensive end in the state, Lawrence Marshall, who has committed to Michigan, along with the best defensive tackle in the state, McDowell, who is widely considered as the best player in the state as well, could end up playing next to one another on the defensive line this fall.
If these rumors are true, and McDowell ends up at Southfield this fall, Marshall and McDowell could help form half of what could be one of the best defensive line units that the state of Michigan has seen in the past 20 years and possibly beyond that.
Last season Marshall tallied six sacks, and over 100 tackles from his defensive end position, while McDowell racked up 16 sacks last year along with 12 in 2011 to go along with averaging 65 tackles in each of the last two seasons.
McDowell has picked up some big time offers over the course of the last couple of years, including ones from Michigan, Michigan State as well as Alabama and Florida.
Those two on the same defensive line, is just flat out scary and could make for a very, VERY, long season for quarterbacks in the OAA White this fall.
Now the rumor mill is starting to spin and places are being named where the highly coveted defensive line menace could end up and one of the destinations that continues to be named over and over again has been Southfield.
That would mean that arguably the best defensive end in the state, Lawrence Marshall, who has committed to Michigan, along with the best defensive tackle in the state, McDowell, who is widely considered as the best player in the state as well, could end up playing next to one another on the defensive line this fall.
If these rumors are true, and McDowell ends up at Southfield this fall, Marshall and McDowell could help form half of what could be one of the best defensive line units that the state of Michigan has seen in the past 20 years and possibly beyond that.
Last season Marshall tallied six sacks, and over 100 tackles from his defensive end position, while McDowell racked up 16 sacks last year along with 12 in 2011 to go along with averaging 65 tackles in each of the last two seasons.
McDowell has picked up some big time offers over the course of the last couple of years, including ones from Michigan, Michigan State as well as Alabama and Florida.
Those two on the same defensive line, is just flat out scary and could make for a very, VERY, long season for quarterbacks in the OAA White this fall.
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