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PBR Michigan Division 3 Team Of The Week - NorthPointe

GRAND RAPIDS - While this week is about the league, last week was about making a statement.

A 10-0 win over Division 1 Forest Hills Northern and an 8-1 victory over Division 2 Unity Christian did just that for Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, the Michigan Prep Baseball Report Division 3 Team of the Week.

“It was a pretty good week for us,” admitted NorthPointe head coach Phil Niekerk. “Normally we go into non-conference weeks not being as big, but this year I built it up instead of down. We scheduled Division 1 and Division 2 teams with the hope of preparing us for districts and beyond. You can go out and get a win (against a soft opponent) or go out and get better and these two helped us get better.

“We played really well,” continued Niekerk, whose team is now 15-3 after a huge league win on Monday. “We were able to hit the guys they threw at us and our defense was solid. Our pitching was really good, too.

“It was just a good week for my guys to build confidence and know that we can play at a high level against schools that have more size than us. We left with our chests up and shoulders high. Now we’re ready to go for the final stretch.”

Niekerk points to defense as a huge part of the success to date.

“One goal I set with these guys was … historically a big problem for us is our defense,” Niekerk pointed out. “We make a lot of errors. Last year we had a talented team but we had 52 errors in 25 games. So we set a goal at the beginning of the year to have under two a game. I said if you do that. I’ll cook a steak for you at the end of the season.”

Get the grill ready.

The Mustangs have only committed 18 errors in 17 games prior to Monday.

“We’ve really dropped our freebees - our walks and errors are way down,” the 10th-year NorthPointe head coach said. “That’s big when it comes to winning championships.”

Pitching is another big factor when it comes to titles and NorthPointe has that in a trio of hurlers.

Senior left-handers Will Koehler and Jason Tresh along with junior righty Justin (JD) Dyksma (Video) have been outstanding thus far. Koehler, a Spring Arbor commit and the first all-state player in school history a year ago, is 5-0 on the mound while Tresh stands at 5-3. Dyksma, a 6-0 165-pounder rated 90th in the state’s 2020 class, is 4-0 with a pair of no-hitters.

“All are equal in the win production,” Niekerk said. “I have no problem putting any of them on the mound.”

Koehler and Dyksma have also been outstanding at the plate. A first baseman when not pitching, Koehler is hitting .500 with nine doubles and one home run while Dyksma is averaging .448.

Ben Shockley sets the table for NorthPointe at leadoff, averaging better than .400 with an on-base percentage exceeding .600. Shockley, who started the season batting ninth in the order but has since moved up to the top, leads the Mustangs in runs scored and stolen bases.

Senior Ben Redfield, another Spring Arbor signee who was also an all-state performer a year ago, plays either catcher or center field.

“Our hitting was slow to start the year but it’s coming on strong,” Niekerk noted. “We’ve played upper level teams the last four games (prior to this week) and our guys are really barreling it up. They’re hitting good pitching.”

A 12-0 win over Belding on Monday moved NorthPointe to 8-1 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference, while dropping Belding to 6-2 in league play. The two teams meet again on Wednesday with the second-rated team in the state in Division 3 looking to solidify their spot at the top.

“The kids have the confidence and swagger you like to see in the middle of May,”
Niekerk concluded.