• Detroit Catholic Central defeated Rochester Adams 7-0 to win the Division 1 state baseball championship.
• Catholic Central set a new championship game record by hitting five triples during the game.
• Pitcher Mikey Laser held the Adams offense to just four hits in a shutout performance.

East Lansing — This gave a whole new meaning to the term “triple threat.”

Detroit Catholic Central’s offense was humming during Saturday’s Division 1 state baseball championship game against Rochester Adams on the strength of triples.

Lots and lots of triples.

Catholic Central set a championship game record by hitting five triples, which helped catapult it to a 7-0 victory over Adams in the all-Oakland County title game at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium. 

It was Catholic Central’s first state championship in baseball since 1999 and finished off a terrific state tournament run after Catholic Central lost to Warren De La Salle in the semifinals of the Catholic League tournament on its own home field. 

“What a game right there,” Catholic Central head coach Ryan Rogowski said. “What a hitting performance. I’m telling you, can we hit the ball or what? Them Shamrocks can hit.”

While the offense was sending balls to the wall, Catholic Central was also good at preventing runs thanks to senior Mikey Laser, who limited a powerful Adams offense to just four hits, or one triple fewer than Catholic Central’s lineup produced. 

“I was just trying to get ahead with first-pitch strikes,” Laser said. “Just get the ball to my defense and I know they’ll make plays.” 

Adams (29-9) was making its first appearance in a championship game since 1996, when it lost in the Class A championship game a second year in a row.

This year’s coach, Andy Lamkin, is in his second stint at the helm of the program and was the head coach of those teams that lost in the 1995 and 1996 championship games. 

The Detroit Lions did something interesting out of complete necessity late in the season last year. With all of their tight ends injured, they needed to put someone out there to fill in. Instead of grabbing a free agent tight end, they threw undrafted rookie wide receiver Jackson Meeks in there.

Jackson Meeks might be moving to tight end full-time before you know it

This was expected to be a one-time thing, but then the Lions continued to work him with the tight ends at practice for the rest of the year. We never got to see him do it in a game again. Now this summer at OTAs, Meeks is again working with the Lions’ tight ends during positional drills.

As we head towards training camp, you have to wonder what Detroit plans to do with him. He’s a bigger receiver in height, but the weight is a little lower than you’d like there at 218 pounds. But you can see how the Lions could do a Devin Funchess-like move with him and have him be an additional receiving tight end.

There’s also the chance that Detroit sees him as another positionless weapon. A guy they can have at tight end in certain situations, and receiver in others. This may be his best shot to land a spot on the roster, with the receiver room being pretty full right now. At minimum, it’s his chance to land on the practice squad again.

Detroit Lions News

ROMULUS, Mich. – Travelers heading to Detroit Metropolitan Airport this weekend are urged to plan ahead, as multiple freeway closures could affect travel times.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has closed the westbound I-94 ramps to and from Middlebelt and Merriman roads while crews repair the road surface.

The closures are expected to remain in place through Monday morning (June 15), though officials said the ramps could reopen sooner if work is completed ahead of schedule.

Despite the construction, access to DTW remains available via southbound I-275 to Eureka Road.

With increased traffic and potential delays, travel experts recommend arriving at the airport 90 minutes to two hours before a domestic flight.

Drivers may want to allow an additional 30 minutes due to ongoing road work near the airport.

Passengers are also encouraged to check in for their flights before leaving home, verify flight information, and have identification and boarding passes readily available when arriving at security checkpoints.

Wearing shoes and clothing that are easy to remove can also help speed up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening process.

In addition to the work near the airport, eastbound I-96 is closed from the Southfield Freeway to Schaefer Highway as MDOT crews demolish the Hubbell Bridge deck.

That closure is also expected to remain in place until Monday morning.

Transportation officials advise motorists to check for updated traffic conditions before traveling and to allow extra time to reach their destinations throughout the weekend.