Berkley Spring Sports Teams Ready to Make Playoff Runs

As a freshman, Adam McDowell experienced the thrill of winning a baseball district championship.

Now as a senior, he hopes to cap his playing career on the same note.

McDowell and the Bears look to win a district title when they open the 2011 Division 1 baseball playoffs against Warren Mott at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Waterford Mott.

If the Bears win, they will advance to the district semifinal game slated for 10 a.m. Friday. The championship showdown is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Friday at Mott.

“I won districts when I was a freshman, so I’ve been kind of replaying that moment in my head. But I’d love to do it as a senior and share it with all these guys and just celebrate,” said McDowell, Berkley’s co-captain and No. 4 hitter.

Winning a district crown also would erase some of the sting created from failing to repeat as the Oakland Activities Association Blue Division title. The Bears finished 8-4 and second in league play after Southfield-Lathrup went undefeated in the OAA Blue.

“Once we get into the playoffs, anything can happen,” McDowell said. “I would love to win the district my senior year and see how far we can go in the regional.”

McDowell has provided the Bears with an offensive punch at the clean-up spot, batting .360 on the season with 31 RBI. He’s been protected by sophomore Ian Kobernick at the No. 3 spot with a .347 average and 24 RBI. Taylor Morrissey is batting .378 with 27 RBI from the five hole.

In 2010, Berkley won the league crown, set a school record with 25 wins and lost in the district finals.

No league title, but a district trophy could more than make up for any of this season’s disappointing moments.

“We would love a district championship more than a league championship,” said senior and No. 1 pitcher Conor Reid. “It’s been one of our goals.”

Berkley heads into districts 15-11 overall with a pair of solid wins over Troy and Southfield fresh in the team’s memory banks.

Now seems like a perfect time for districts to begin.

“Overall, I actually feel pretty good about (starting playoffs) to be honest,” said first-year head varsity coach Jordan Gruppen. “I think we’ve definitely improved a lot as a whole team. Our pitching’s been good all year. Our defense is really starting to come around and now we’re starting to hit the ball a lot better. I think we’re starting to peak at the right time, so I’m feeling pretty good about the way things are going right now.”

The Bears are 15-11 overall with Reid leading the team on the mound. The senior has walked 10 batters in 47 innings pitched. He has posted a 2.53 ERA with 40 strikeouts.

“I don’t want to give away any walks ever,” Reid said of his increased control this season. “As long as I put the pressure on our team to make the plays, and I have confidence they will, so I’m confident throwing strikes. I don’t have to be afraid of the other team hitting the ball.”

The confidence is mutual.

“The team always feels good when he’s on the mound,” Gruppen said of Reid. “They always feel we can beat anybody at that point. That’s always something you like to have with your No. 1 pitcher.”

Reid will start on the mound in Tuesday’s district opener against Mott.

Once the first pitch is released, anything is possible for the Bears.

“We just have to put it all together,” Reid said. “When we pitch, hit and field at the top of our game, we can compete with anybody in the state. When we focus, we play real well.”

Softball

The Bears will have a chance to put their regular-season struggles behind them and get a fresh start when district action opens against Warren Mott at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road at Mott. The winner will face Warren Woods Tower – which finished the Macomb Area Conference Gold Division undefeated and is a 20-game winner – at 10 a.m. Friday in the semifinals.

“The coaches feel the players have worked hard all season, but the next step in their development is to improve over the summer to prepare for next year,” Berkley head coach Ken DePerro said of his young team. “We believe the program has a bright future with so many young players and strong ninth- and tenth-grade classes. I think many of our players just need to gain confidence in their abilities and they will get better results on the field.”

The Bears head into districts with a 4-22 record overall.

Junior Aarica McCray has lead Berkley offensively this spring with a .439 average in 41 at-bats. She also has been the team leader in total bases, runs and stolen bases. Freshman Hannah Mulcahy has posted a .417 batting average in 60 at-bats and leads the Bears with 25 hits. Freshman Jessica Steele heads into districts with a .310 batting average in 71 at-bats and 18 RBI.

Also competing in this district is Oakland Activities Association foe Royal Oak and Warren Regina, which won state titles in 2004-2007 when the school was located in Harper Woods.

“I think the district winner has a good chance to do well in the regional,” DePerro said.

All teams are looking for that road to the state softball finials scheduled June 18 at Bailey Park in Battle Creek.

Girls soccer

The Bears are looking to do something no other girls’ soccer team has ever done in school history: win back-to-back district titles.

Dealing with an inexperienced team and a barrage of injuries, Berkley will embark on its historic quest when district soccer action opens Tuesday.

The Bears will open the 2011 playoff season with a meeting against Warren Cousino at 6 p.m. Tuesday at their home field at Anderson Middle School.

Boys golf

Things have not gone quite as well as coach Scott Baltes hoped going into the 2011 season. Still, Baltes remains optimistic that his team is capable of doing good things in the final stretch.

The Bears will get a chance to keep their spring campaign alive when they compete in Division 1 district action beginning at 8 a.m. June 2 at Huron Meadows Metro Park.

The good news: Berkley had a solid finish at that same course while competing in the Oakland Activities Association tournament May 21. The Bears ended up fourth in the league tournament with a team score of 333 and held on to beat Farmington Hills Harrison and Farmington, both of which beat Berkley in the regular season.

“If we play as well as we did at the OAA meet, which is on the same course, we have a shot,” Baltes said. “If we shoot about 330, we should be close to that fifth or sixth qualifier spot.”

The top six teams and the top six individuals not on those teams advance to regional play that is slated for June 9 at Lyon Oaks Golf Course in Lyon Township. The Division 1 state finals are scheduled to be played June 17-18 at Katke-Cousins on the Oakland University campus.

The Bears will compete in districts against Birmingham Groves, Birmingham Seaholm, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, Farmington, Farmington Hills Harrison, North Farmington, Southfield-Lathrup, Livonia Stevenson, Royal Oak, Southfield and West Bloomfield.

The Bears have their hands full. Brother Rice is currently ranked No. 6 in the state and finished third overall at the state tournament in 2010. In addition, North Farmington is ranked No. 4 in the state.

“The weather has been tough,” Baltes said. “It’s not an excuse for the way we’ve played, but it’s been tough to get into any type of flow. At first, it was not looking promising to me for districts, but with the improved play the last couple of weeks, we always have a shot.”

Sophomore Jimmy Demery continues to lead the way as Berkley’s No. 1 golfer. He finished the league tournament fifth overall with a 77.

“The last four or five events he’s been playing very well,” Baltes said.

Boys and girls track and field

Senior Justin Peguese, junior Kyle Braun and freshman Shelby Allen all met the qualifying standards to advance to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 track and field finals June 4 at Rockford.

Peguese topped the field at regionals May 21 with a high jump of 6-foot-3 to advance to the state meet for the second-straight season.

Braun battled a sore back to earn his first trip to the state finals in the 800-meter run with his qualifying mark of 2 minutes, 0.30 seconds.

Allen is the lone representative from the Berkley girls’ squad. She advances to the state finals after finishing second in the long jump at regionals.

Girls tennis

The Bears narrowly missed out on a chance to advance out of regional action.

Birmingham Seaholm won the Division 2, Region 12 crown with 29 points over defending state-champion Birmingham Marian with 26 points. Berkley finished third with 16 points, two points short of scoring the minimum of 18 to earn a trip to the state finals.

Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals action will take place for the four divisions at various locations around the state June 3-4.

Birmingham Marian won three of the four singles flights and Seaholm swept the doubles action to earn the automatic trips to the Division 2 finals. No players from Berkley advanced to final round of action in regionals.