By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
A week ago, East Grand Rapids' boys golf team hardly looked like a state championship contender when it finished fourth at districts.
But on Friday, the Pioneers won the Division 2 regional title at Cedar Chase Golf Club and suddenly appears to be the odds on favorite for the state championship when the finals are conducted June 6-7 at Eastern Michigan University.
Junior Jake Elias shot a 75 while sophomore Steven Barbour had a 76 to lead East Grand Rapids to an 18-hole score of 319, defeating Cedar Springs and Grand Rapids Catholic Central, who both had 321s.
Coach Dave Ghareeb's East Grand Rapids team will be in the state finals for the eighth-straight year and won its sixth regional championship. East won the state championship the fall of 2005.
“We didn't play a senior today. Everyone should be back next year,” Ghareeb said. “But the kids played well in the regional and we had a strong one-two punch. It's nice to show that we belong.”
The early part of the regional was played under rainy weather.
“I six-putted on the first hole because the greens were so wet,” Greenville junior Bryant Dudzik said. “I wound up with 45 putts.”
Softball
Comstock Park was the Division 2 state runner-up last season in softball. But coach Dawn DesPres is hoping her team will take it all this year.
The Panthers improved their record to 25-9 when they opened the postseason with a 6-0 shutout victory against Belding. Karlee DesPres, one of the top pitchers in the state, improved her record to 22-4. In the win against Belding, she pitched all seven innings, giving up just one hit, one walk and struck out 19 Redskin batters. She now has 100 wins for her career.
“Karlee winning her 100th game is a great milestone," Dawn DesPres said. "Belding is a good team and they are well coached. It was good to see Karlee pitch so well against such a good team. Being that I am also her mom, I am proud of her as a parent and coach.”
Taylor Johnson, who transferred from Belding in the offseason, is CP's sophomore catcher and had three hits, including an inside-the-park-home run, plus three RBIs against the Panthers.
Comstock Park lost 3-1 to Tecumseh in the state game last season. The title game this season is June 14 at Battle Creek.
More Softball
Freeland won Division 3 softball titles in 2003 and 2005 and coach Dan Behlander is hoping his team can do it again as it enters tournament play.
Jo Briggs has been leading the way for Freeland in the pitching department. Elisabeth Kreager has been among the top hitters on the team.
“We've got a good chance of getting out of our district,” Behlander said. “If things fall into place and we play the way we're capable of, we could compete for another state title. But the luck and the bounces have to go our way.”
Boys Lacrosse
Rockford struggled throughout the season to maintain an even record, but advanced to the regional finals. Coach Tim Murray is still hopeful that his team can find its way to the Division I state finals in Troy Athens on June 7.
"We struggled at the start of the season,” Murray said. “Our last two games have been our best performances of the season. We have five seniors on this team right now, and are starting four sophomores so we're very young. We're just now trying to find our game so it's interesting to see how everything has happened.
“We've played some very good schools such as East Grand Rapids and Birmingham Brother Rice, which is ranked fourth in the nation, and deservedly so. It's a team we'll have to beat if we want to be state champs.”
Junior attacker Jeremy Pouba leads Rockford with 35 goals and 32 assists. Kenny Howard, Murray said, “is the quarterback of this team.”
Girls Lacrosse
Sara Tisdale is coaching Lansing Waverly's girls lacrosse team which is off to a 15-2 start with hopes of having a strong postseason.
“It's been a very good season,” Waverly coach Sara Tisdale said. “We've played some tough competition. We tied Ann Arbor Pioneer 9-9. We have a very unselfish offense and a very aggressive defense.”
Marybeth Flanagan is Waverly's goalie and has a 72 percent save percentage. Megan Parviainen has 56 goals to lead the team. Annie Mendoza has 55 goals.
