Courtesy Photo Howard Township won the 10U title during the 2017 Cal Ripken Michigan State Tournament in Alpena. Team members include Alex Cole, Carson Rachels, Drew Deming, Ethan Jacobs, Jensen Mayersky, Leland Payne, Paul Hess, Peyton Gordon, Rick Morrison, Sam Rucker, Samuel Stellmach, Ty Johnson, Zak Henrich, manager Phil Rachels and coaches Devon Moore and Rick Morrison.

Howard Township made sure its trip to Alpena for the 2017 Cal Ripken Baseball Michigan State Tournament was a worthwhile one.

Howard Township took home state titles in two divisions on Sunday, during the last day of tournament play, winning both the 8U and 10U state championships.

Howard Township’s 8U team defeated Brandywine 10-2 in the finals and Howard Township’s 10U team defeated Alpena 9-4 in the championship game.

It proved to be a fruitful weekend for teams from the township of just over 6,000 which sits just north of Indiana.

“It’s worth every minute of it. It’s a ton of hard work, a ton of tiring days, but this is what it’s for right here,” Howard Township 10U manager Phil Rachels said.

For the Howard Township 10U team, Sunday’s win was business as usual. This group of players has now won titles four years running, but it didn’t make Sunday’s win any less memorable.

“This is awesome, it’s an awesome feeling. The group of these boys have done it for four years,” Rachels said. “They started at seven years old and they’ve won 8, 9, and 10 since then.”

Howard Township had to play a tough game just to reach the final, defeating Macomb Clinton 7-5.

In the final against Alpena, Howard Township 10U scored twice in the second inning and added four more runs in the third inning to take a commanding lead.

In the second inning, Alex Cole had a triple for Howard Township, as the team scored twice. It tacked on four more runs in the third inning, getting a double from Drew Deming, a single from Sam Rucker and a sacrifice from Cole.

Alpena scored a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 6-3. Jon Rensberry scored two runs for Alpena.

Howard Township scored three more runs in the top of the sixth inning, using a pair of walks to rally for its final scoring burst. Cole had another double and he, Carson Rachels and Peyton Gordon each scored a run.

Rensberry led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and later came around to score Alpena’s final run. Alpena had the bases loaded in an attempt to rally, but Howard Township ended the game by tagging out a base runner at home.

Jase Kollen had three hits for Alpena, Garrett Hamp and Grant Jarema each had a double and Connor Cameron, Rensberry, Michael Kreis, Bryce Moe, Josh Hahn and Jimmy Henski each had a single.

Despite the long journey, Rachels said Howard Township was happy to make the trip since Alpena has made the trip to Niles for the state tournament several times.

It’s a great city, a great group of people, great park,” Rachels said. “They came down to our park last year and we felt we (owed) it to them to be here this year.”

James Andersen can be reached via email at sports@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5694. Follow James on Twitter @ja_alpenanews.

News Photo by James Andersen
Howard Township won the 8U title during the 2017 Cal Ripken Michigan State Tournament in Alpena. Team members include Brady Clayton, Brady Fletcher, Brayden Wiemuth, Brody Lace, Caden DeHart, Carson Gessinger, Colin Gowen, Colt Ferrell, Layne Roberts, Max Rucker, Nick Henrich, Preston Payne, Tanner Rachels, Vinnie Vance, bat boy Dawson Rachels and coaches Andy Lace, Casey Gowen and Mike Ferrell.

Courtesy Photo
Howard Township won the 10U title during the 2017 Cal Ripken Michigan State Tournament in Alpena. Team members include Alex Cole, Carson Rachels, Drew Deming, Ethan Jacobs, Jensen Mayersky, Leland Payne, Paul Hess, Peyton Gordon, Rick Morrison, Sam Rucker, Samuel Stellmach, Ty Johnson, Zak Henrich, manager Phil Rachels and coaches Devon Moore and Rick Morrison.