Prep Baseball Report

Division 4 Team Of The Week: Week 5 - Johannesburg-Lewiston


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Michigan Senior Writer

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Division 4 Team Of The Week: Week 5 - Johannesburg-Lewiston

JOHANNESBURG - Sheldon Huff hit a walk-off grand slam to beat Gaylord St. Mary's last Monday and Johannesburg-Lewiston has continued on a roll in earning the honor of Prep Baseball Report Division 4 Team of the Week.

“It’s just a bunch of kids that like to grind and work hard,” Johannesburg coach Cody Proctor said after a sweep of St. Marys (7-5 and 11-4) and a 6-5 win over Mancelona this past week. The teams were tied 12-12 in the eighth inning of the nightcap before the game was suspended.

“Nothing particular stands out,” Proctor added. “They want to win and work hard. They go and compete every single day and are hitting the ball well.”

Now in his fifth year at the helm, the head coach points to four seniors as the leaders to a team that is currently 17-2 after beating Inland Lakes in a pair of one-run games on Monday.

“They’ve started for me since they were freshmen,” Proctor said of Huff, Mason Myers, Lucas Newell and Tommy Runyan.

Huff, a Northwood football commit who plays third, shortstop and pitcher, is hitting .453 with 13 doubles and 26 RBIs out of the three-hole while leading the pitching staff with a 5-0 record and 2.20 ERA.  Myers, a left-handed hitter like Huff and a first baseman/pitcher, is the number two hurler with a 6-0 record and 2.00 ERA while also contributing at the plate with a .372 average. Newell, who hits second and plays second base and pitches, is batting .479 with six doubles while Runyan, the number three pitcher who also gets on the field at third and first, is hitting .413 with nine doubles while standing 3-1 on the mound.

“My one and two guys are good when they’re on,” Proctor said of his team’s pitching. “In Division 4, if you have two or three good pitchers you have a chance to be successful. It comes down to pitching, and then defense when the ball is put in play.”

Junior shortstop Preston Marlatt has also been a major contributor to the squad hitting .482 with five doubles, four triples, one home run and 22 RBIs batting leadoff.

The top three hitters in the lineup have fanned just four times combined on the season.

“Those five have carried us and then the others are doing a very good job,” Proctor pointed out. “I thought we’d have a good year, but I don’t know that I thought we’d be competing like we are. They really play well together, even the young guys.”

Adding to the success this season, Johannesburg is in first place in the conference after Monday’s sweep of the second-place team and winning a title is something not accomplished at the school since 2006 when Proctor was a senior.

“That’s the first goal this year,” Proctor said of bringing home a league championship. After Monday, Onaway is now in second place in the league behind Johannesburg, with the two teams hooking up for a doubleheader on Thursday.

Not far off is the postseason, which found Johannesburg winning a district title in 2019 before losing to Gaylord St. Mary’s in the regional.

“That’s always in our goals,” Proctor noted. “We’re always looking to win a conference championship, then districts and make a long postseason run. But we have to take it one game at a time.”

Proctor, who is also the head football coach, knows a little bit about long runs after leading the Cardinals to the final four this past fall.

“This senior class made it to the semifinals in football this year and now we’re hoping to make a run in baseball,” Proctor concluded.

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