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Division 1 Team Of The Week: Week 2 - Howell

HOWELL - Jason Ladd admits to high expectations when it comes to the 2021 baseball team at Howell.

“Thirty-three wins is the school record for a season,” Ladd noted. “That’s the goal.”

A 14-game winning streak, after losing the season opener, has the Highlanders on track to reach that coveted number 33 at Howell, the Prep Baseball Report Division 1 Team of the Week.

“Early in the year basketball was still playing and a couple of our guys were also out with injuries or on vacation,” Ladd said of the “slow” start to the season. “The biggest thing for us has been pitching and defense.”

Two seniors have led the way on the mound for Howell, Adam Mrakitsch and J.D. Dell. Mrakitsch, the 10th-rated 2021 left-handed pitcher in the state and a Central Michigan commit, is 4-1 highlighted by a 14-strikeout, one-walk outing. Dell, a right-hander, is 2-0 with two saves and has been “a rock out of the bullpen eating innings,” according to Ladd.

The two combined to shut out Livonia Franklin 9-0 last week, with Howell sweeping Plymouth 9-5 and 12-1 to close out the week with the winning streak still intact.

“We have eight seniors and it’s a tight-knit group,” Ladd related. “They’re at the field some days, six to seven hours. When we’ve had good teams in the past that’s a common theme. You can’t kick them out of practice. They understand what it takes to be successful.”

Senior twins Gavin and Landon Kempainen have been among the leaders this season for Howell. A leadoff hitter and the 39th-ranked 2021 outfielder in the state, Gavin is batting .543 with 24 runs scored and a .646 on-base percentage. Landon, the 38th-rated senior outfielder in Michigan, is averaging .475.

Two other seniors have come up big in Marcus Chidester and Casey Pezzoni. A left-handed hitting second baseman, Chidester is batting .481 with 21 RBIs. Pezzoni, whose father once made the 40-man roster of the Mariners, is a right-handed hitting, left-handed throwing first baseman/outfielder averaging .372. He recently committed to McComb Community College.

“Our expectation is to win our last game, that’s our goal as a program,” Ladd said. “We want to do everything we can to play the best competition possible so we’re ready when the tournament comes around.”

A tough district featuring the likes of Dexter, Brighton, Pinckney and Hartland, one of the league favorites this season and Howell’s opponent this Wednesday, lies ahead for Howell, which this week is also scheduled to face Ann Arbor Pioneer in a non-league doubleheader on Saturday.

A pair of junior twins have been major contributors as well to date, Jackson and Justin Militello. Jackson, the eighth-rated 2022 catcher in Michigan getting Division I looks, is called by Ladd “the best defensive catcher I’ve ever had in the program in my tenure. He’s perfected his craft.” Justin, the 18th-ranked junior RHP in the state getting D-I and II interest, plays shortstop and pitches. He missed the first six games of the year with an injury.

“The keys are staying healthy, pitching and defense,” noted the 11th-year head coach of Howell. “We need to continue throwing strikes and playing defense.”

Ladd’s teams have won one West Division and one overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association league title in his time at Howell.

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