If anyone had any questions regarding the kind of baseball played around our corner of Northern Michigan, the 2024 season should have answered those.
This season brought Petoskey, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Harbor Springs and Inland Lakes trips into regionals and beyond, highlighting the talent that makes up the fields in this area.
The teams were great, and baseball is truly one of those games that takes a complete team, though some individuals did indeed stand above the rest.
Those were recently highlighted on the annual Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State teams.
Charlevoix, which advanced all the day to the Division 3 state semifinals, led the area with four players earning all-state honors, while East Jordan had two and Petoskey one. Inland Lakes also had a first team all-state recipient.
Athletes earning all-region are also recognized as honorable mention all-state.
Charlevoix standouts Bryce Johnson and AJ Speigl were each named to the Division 3 first team.
Johnson, a senior, made his name known on the mound over his career, though became even more so of a complete player in 2024.
The future Alma College player put together a season that included a 0.670 earned run average on the mound, striking out 98 over 62 2/3 innings. He also held batters to a .130 average.
At the plate, Johnson also batted .308, drove in 18 runs and scored 20.
Speigl was another first team all-state recipient for a second year in a row, once again leading the Rayders at the plate.
In 122 plate appearances this season, Speigl struck out just twice. He led the team with a .460 average, to go with 36 RBIs and 43 runs scored. He also had a pair of homers and 12 total extra base hits, along with 29 stolen bases.
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Both Owen Waha and Hunter Lemerand joined Johnson as aces this season and were both named honorable mention.
Waha struck out 70 batters over 54 1/3 innings, with a 1.67 ERA and 9-2 record. He also batted .360, had 30 RBIs, 34 runs and 26 steals.
Lemerand made his name known following a perfect game this season, though stood out throughout with 45 2/3 innings logged and 70 strikeouts. He finished with a 5-0 record and 1.53 ERA.
Lemerand also held a .299 average with 20 run and 18 RBIs.
In Division 4, East Jordan’s Korbyn Russell and Brendan Aenis, both juniors, were named second team all-state.
Russell dominated on the mound in 2024, going 70 1/3 innings with 157 strikeouts and a 1.99 ERA. Batters also hit just .149 against him.
At the plate, Russell also led the team with a .396 average, a 1.141 OPS, had 12 doubles and four homers and also 25 RBIs and 30 runs scored.
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Aenis closed his 36 games played with a .348 average, with 27 RBIs and 26 runs scored. He added 10 doubles and a homer.
Inland Lakes’ Connor Wallace was named to the D4 first team and also recently participated in the MHSBCA All-Star game at Comerica Park.
Wallace closed the season with a 0.479 ERA and 144 strikeouts, giving up just five earned runs all season, with a 13-2 record.
Petoskey also had an honorable mention recipient in Drew Olson at the Division 2 level, who stood out while playing third base for the first time this season.
Olson closed the season with a .279 average across 40 games, finishing second on the team with 31 hits. He also added 18 RBIs and 30 runs scored, while tying for the team lead with 18 stolen bases.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Baseball talent for area highlighted with MHSBCA All-State honors
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