Hello, baseball season!
Spring break is over and ball clubs in Michigan are ready to put their preparation to the test as most teams open their seasons this week.
To celebrate, we’re ranking the top 10 baseball teams in Macomb County heading into this season. These rankings will be updated every two weeks, with movers and shakers being judged off their body of work.
These rankings are based off last season compared with how much of that production is back or how they can be expected to perform based off roster projections.
Without further ado:
1. Dakota Cougars (Last season: 31-10, MAC Red champions, district champions)
The Cougars’ season ended on a bitter note with something of an upset loss in the regional round last year to Grosse Pointe North. With their top six hitters and top pitchers back this season, they may have enough hunger and talent to make a serious run.
2. Stevenson Titans (Last season: 28-13, district champions)
The Titans are essentially trotting out a college lineup this season – Carson Sweet and Ryan Rumble (Lansing CC), Jake Leonard (Wright State), Scott Leonard and Brett Leonard (Eastern Michigan) and Alex Pierce (Central Michigan) all have committed to play at the next level. Good luck to opposing pitchers trying to navigate that.
3. Anchor Bay Tars (Last season: 24-6, MAC White champions, district champions)
The hunger is there for Anchor Bay this season. Their top two players – Ty Finkbeiner and Isaiah Domey – are Wolverine and Spartan commits, respectively, but head coach Jared Biesbrouck has several other returners and a handful of newcomers that can help get the Tars to the promised land.
4. Richmond Blue Devils (Last season: 19-10, district and regional champions)
No team in Macomb County played further into the season than the Blue Devils last season. And with the return of all-stater Anthony Bonnetti and his younger brother, Dominic, along with other players like Logan Evans and Luke Pastuchyn, there’s reason to believe that Richmond can run it back.
5. De La Salle Pilots (Last season: 17-20, district champion)
Perhaps the biggest pickup any team made this season was when the Pilots hired Dan Cimini to lead their baseball program. The skipper is the reigning Division 1 Coach of the Year and won a state championship with Northville – his sixth to go with the five he earned at University Liggett. They’re already off to a 4-0 start.
6. Chippewa Valley Big Reds (Last season: 30-9)
Chippewa Valley graduated about as much top end talent as anybody else in the county, but that doesn’t mean they’re dead in the water for the coming season. Look for Ben Green to step up as their ace and for the Cusimano twins – Justin and Jalen – to provide sparks in the lineup.
7. Eisenhower Eagles (Last season: 17-18)
While Ike doesn’t have some of the offensive thumping that others in the MAC do, the Eagles return an entire cabinet of pitchers that might make it not matter. Gavin Rutkowski and Drew Baker will be among the arms that will help the Eagles along as their lineup figures things out.
8. Ford Falcons (Last season: 19-15
Dan Tallant has done a fantastic job with beefing up the Ford baseball program. It’s going to take another strong coaching job this year after a handful of their top players – including Matt Dickinson, who was one of the most valuable players in the Red last season — graduated. There’s still talent there with Dylan Isrow, Eli Miller and Eli White, among others.
9. Romeo Bulldogs (Last season: 18-18)
The Bulldogs certainly have talent – Will Scally, Cooper Meadows and Luciano Bollini have all already signed to play in college – but they don’t have the same loaded cupboard as some of the top teams in the area. Still, nobody is going to be surprised to see T.J. Delamielleure’s Bulldogs play competitively all season long.
10. Armada Tigers (Last season: 17-13-1)
Armada flew under the radar last season while Richmond and some of the other area schools took off. But they were competitive, even taking a game from the Blue Devils in May. Can their handful of all-county talent and group of senior athletes that have had success across other sports make their last prep sports season a memorable one?
