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With 2023 now in the past, PBR Michigan is eagerly anticipating bringing the state the best high school coverage that can be found anywhere in 2024. Starting in February, we began releasing team previews for squads across the state. Ahead, we will have Preseason All-State Teams as well as the Preseason State Rankings coming your way.

To view the full list of 2024 Team Previews that we have already completed, please click here.

If you are a coach and haven't filled out your 2024 Team Preview, click here.

Interested in attending a PBR Michigan event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

2024 Spring Team Preview: West Bloomfield Lakers

WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP - Competitiveness is a way of life in the West Bloomfield baseball program.

“We’re super competitive, we try to win as many games as possible,” head coach Josh Birnberg said in describing a program he has led to an 84-34 record in his time as head coach, setting a school record for victories in a season in 2022. “We don’t take anyone lightly and they know they’re going to get our best shot.”

The Lakers followed up the record-setting year in ’22 with a 27-11 campaign a year ago, finishing second in the Oakland Activities Association Red Division before losing 1-0 in 11 innings in districts to Lake Orion, a team that West Bloomfield defeated two out of three in the regular season.

“We had a lot of seniors, four or five that played a lot,” Birnberg related, including ace pitcher Logan Pikur, now at Michigan State.

Myles Sorn, who Birnberg said was “1A and 1B” on the pitching staff with Pikur a year ago, is back to lead the way on the mound in 2024.

“He’s a bulldog,” Birnberg explained about the 24th-rated senior right-handed pitcher in the state, a Lansing Community College signee.

Michigan commit Slade Moore, the second-ranked junior southpaw in the state who “had a fantastic summer” according to Birnberg, will join Sorn at the top of the rotation with Steven Fountain, a 6-9 220-pounder rated 17th among 2025 RHPs in Michigan, also expected to play a major role on the hill.

“Those are our three league pitchers,” noted Birnberg, who as a senior in 2014 helped West Bloomfield reach the Final 8 in the state.

Three others are expected to play prominent roles pitching this year for the Lakers. Brody Pikur, the 12th-rated junior right-handed pitcher in Michigan, is highly projected with Mitch Rebtoy, a senior committed to Macomb CC, and Cameron Laflamme, the No. 27 righty in the 2025 class in Michigan, others that will be counted on this season.

Senior Max Gross, one of the team captains who caught the majority of games a year ago, is back to play behind the plate with Fountain at first base.

Jaxon Stapf, who along with Fountain are the top two hitters on the team, will be at second base and the Macomb commit, who is the 15th-rated 2024 SS in the state, could also play shortstop, where Brady Scheidt and Rebtoy are others in the mix.

Laflamme, who played outfield and first base a year ago, is being moved to third base this season with Moore, Pikur and Rebtoy the main three outfielders.

“We have a lot of versatile guys,” Birnberg related. “It’s my job to figure out where they go.”

The West Bloomfield coach points to experience as a plus in the upcoming season.

“This is the oldest team I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Birnberg noted. “We have a lot of guys that are very experienced. Pitching should be our strong suit. If we stay healthy, we will have one of the best pitching staffs around. We just need to find ways to score.”

That will be necessary in both league play as well as tournament time with Brother Rice along with league foes Bloomfield Hills and Farmington in the districts with West Bloomfield.

“It will be a tough draw being in our districts,” Birnberg said. “We have to have the ball bounce our way. Hopefully, we will have a more player-led team with the experience we have back. We need our older guys to come through for us.”

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