Prep Baseball Report

Division 3 Team Of The Week: Week 6 - New Lothrop


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Michigan Senior Writer

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Division 3 Team Of The Week: Week 6 - New Lothrop

NEW LOTHROP - When you have a player on your team having one of the best seasons of anyone in the state, it is no wonder that New Lothrop is riding high with a 24-3 record this spring.

Brady Birchmeier is just one reason that the Hornets are the Prep Baseball Report Division 3 Team of the Week.

“Brady is having a phenomenal year, but I figured he would,” noted head coach Ben Alsmay, whose team beat Lakeville 16-1 twice last week while adding 11-1 and 13-3 victories over Oscoda. “He’s doing it all for us. We have a lot of guys that had not played varsity and he’s held it down for us.”

The top-rated junior first baseman in the state is batting .567 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, two triples and 51 RBIs while walking 14 times and striking out once. And that was before a 7-for-7 performance out of Birchmeier in a sweep of Ovid-Elsie on Monday (story coming soon).

The New Lothrop two-hole hitter tied the school record for round-trippers in a season on Friday against Oscoda ace Owen Franklin, the 35th-rated 2021 right-handed pitcher in the state who is committed to Northwood.

“He hit a two-run home run in the first inning to set the tone,” Alsmay said of the blast that ignited the 11-1 victory.

Birchmeier, who plays shortstop and first base for the Hornets this year, has also been stellar on the mound with a 7-0 record and ERA less than 1.00.

But the Bowling Green commit is also getting help from a number of teammates led by senior Cam Orr. The number three batter in the order is hitting better than .500 to up his career mark to .420.

“He protects Brady in our lineup,” Alsmay said of the Ferris State football commit who plays first base and pitches. “He’s a veteran who takes care of what goes on and I see Brady doing that as well.”

As a pitcher, Orr now has 25 career wins after winning five of six decisions this year.

Sophomore outfielder Ty Coleman hits left-handed and bats cleanup for New Lothrop, carrying a .470 average with senior second baseman Matt Kieffer is another valuable clog to the team as the leadoff hitter.

“He’s been around the program for four years and been huge with his consistency,” Alsmay said of Kieffer, who has committed just one error on the year while also providing depth at pitcher.

Senior center fielder Julius Garza has also sparked the staff when given the change with a 6-0 record on the mound.

“We feel confident if we have to throw him come tournament time,” Alsmay said about Garza.

Games every day this week have Alsmay, now in his seventh year at New Lothrop after 11 at Mount Morris, looking at things differently.

“We anticipate having a stinker game or two with so many in a row,” Alsmay related. “It will mean pitching guys that only have had five or six innings. Even though we like to win them all, we’re going to use this week as kind of a learn-on-the-fly week with the league already wrapped up. Winning will be about fifth on our list of goals this week behind things like playing guys and getting ready for the tournament.”

State champions in 2014 and runners-up in 2016, New Lothrop is hoping to make another strong run this year after making it to the regional finals in 2019.

“We just want to get to the quarters and have a shot,” pointed out Alsmay, whose Hornets have won 24 of 25 since losing the first two games of the season to Farmington. “That’s our goal, have one game and see if we can get to Lansing. I think we’re capable.”

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