Baseball: Chargers pick up post-season awards

by Jason Wolverton

Even though the Dow High varsity baseball season ended a little more than two weeks ago, the winning hasn’t seemed to stop.

Several Chargers received post-season accolades recently, adding an exclamation to an improbable year in which Dow shook off a rocky regular season to capture its second district championship in the past three years.

Leading the way for the Chargers were seniors Matt Skirving and Tim McDonald, whose stellar 2007 campaigns earned them notable hardware and capped careers that will both go down in the Michigan High School Baseball Record Book.

Skirving was named to the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Dream Team and was also First-Team Division I All-State. He finished the season with a .490 average, 59 RBIs, and 34 runs while serving as the team’s starting catcher.

Skirving’s 22 doubles this season leave him tied for sixth all-time in Michigan High School history while his 59 RBIs and 44 career doubles also leave him high on the all-time list. He was also named All-District, was First Team All-Saginaw Valley, and was the team’s Co-MVP along with McDonald. He will play college ball at Eastern Michigan University.

McDonald was also All-District and All-League and was named the team’s most valuable infielder. He finished the season with a .511 average, 48 runs scored, 28 RBIs, and 40 walks. His .462 career average will secure him a place within the record books as will his 140 runs scored. McDonald’s walk total this year was the tenth highest in Michigan’s history and his 112 career walks are the third most all-time. McDonald has recently signed on to play at Western Michigan University.

Dow coach Kip Harris says having both Skirving and McDonald on the team was a rare blessing and that the two were able to use each other to take their games to the next level.

“I think it’s obviously one of those special situations when you have the combined talent of the two,” Harris said. “I think the nice part with the two of them – and with a lot of guys on our team – is that they feed off of each other.”

Also in on the feeding was outfielder Connor Hanlon, who joined Skirving and McDonald on the All-League First Team. Hanlon batted .485 this year, scored 32 runs, and drove in 32 more. He was also named All-District and was voted the team’s most outstanding outfielder. He is headed to the state’s west-side to play at Hope College.

Brett Lechner is also headed to the next level and will play ball next door at Northwood. This year, Lechner was named All-District and earned All-League Honorable Mention honors. He batted .378, scored 45 runs, and stole 14 bases for the Chargers.

Harris says having four players moving on to play ball in college is a huge accomplishment and a testament to the team’s commitment to baseball.

“It’s very rare,” he said. “People who go on to play college baseball are a little different than your average ball player. To have one or two is neat, but to have four shows how much hard work they’ve put in over the years.”

Infielder Andrew Seer was also named to the All-District team, while Sean Hartman was named the team’s most outstanding pitcher. Jimmy Durfee and Reed Swift earned most improved honors to round out the individual accolades.

“I think Tim and Matt’s seasons overshadowed a lot of other good seasons,” Harris said. “We had a lot of guys who had good years.”

Notes:

The team as a whole will also find its name in the record book. Their 377 hits this year will put the team in 15th place all-time for hits in a season, while the team’s .389 average will be good enough for 11th place. The Chargers’ 87 doubles are the ninth most all-time.