Division 3 Team Of The Week: Week 5 - University Liggett
May 18, 2021
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Division 3 Team Of The Week: Week 5 - University Liggett
GROSSE POINTE WOODS - A loss in the second game of the season gave University Liggett the confidence it needed according to head coach Dan Cimini.
Now 23-2 after dropping their first two games of the year, Liggett is the Prep Baseball Report Division 3 Team of the Week.
“I think playing St. Marys really helped,” Cimini said in reference to falling to the state’s top-rated team, Orchard Lake. “We were only down 8-6 in the sixth inning, so we really were battling.”
While the Knights lost that game 12-6, coming off a 7-4 defeat in the opener to Grosse Pointe North, it has been smooth sailing since. Lutheran North was last week’s victim, 7-0 and 2-1, and Liggett continued its roll with a 1-0 victory over Shrine Catholic on Monday.
“Our pitching and defense has been great,” noted Cimini, whose team has now shut out a dozen opponents while limiting seven others to just one run.
A trio of pitchers have stood out for Liggett in juniors Kurt Barr and Matthew Belcrest along with sophomore Jack Jones. Barr, the fourth-rated 2022 right-handed pitcher in Ontario, has a 1.80 ERA despite allowing 10 runs against Orchard Lake, with 62 strikeouts in 37 innings and a 6-1 record. Belcrest, the 176th-ranked junior in Michigan, is 4-0 with a save and a 0.49 ERA while Jones, a Michigan State commit ranked fourth among 2023 right-handed pitchers in the state, is 6-0 with a 0.89 ERA.
The offense has been led by five highly-regarded standouts including a pair of Michigan commits.
Leadoff hitter Jarren Purify, the top-ranked sophomore in Michigan and the 114th-rated 2023 in the nation, is batting .406 with nine doubles, four home runs, 20 RBIs and 35 runs scored while stealing 25 bases.
“Athletically, he’s insane,” Cimini said of his shortstop, a commit to the University of Michigan. “His range is like nothing I’ve ever had and he has a cannon.”
Joining Purify in the middle infield is second baseman Reggie Sharpe, another U of M commit ranked second in the state’s 2024 class and 108th in the country, who is hitting .333 with three doubles, 14 RBIs and 16 stolen bases while not committing an error in the field.
Third baseman Matthew Greene, the 57th-ranked junior in Michigan who missed 14 days earlier in the season, hits third and averages .434 with nine doubles and a pair of triples with 22 RBIs and 23 runs.
Two uncommitted sophomores, Joey Randazzo and Ryan Jones, have also stood out. A left fielder rated 53rd among 2023 players in the state, Randazzo is at .380 with an OPS of .934, scoring 20 runs with 21 walks batting in the two-hole. Jones, the cleanup hitter and top-rated 2023 catcher in Michigan, has struck out only three times. The twin brother to Jack, Ryan is averaging .333.
“We knew we had talent but as a coach you have to get them to buy into your philosophy and get them playing at a high level,” pointed out Cimini, who has just one senior on the squad. “They’ve done everything as a team, that’s why they’ve won that many games in a row.”
Now in his 17th season as head coach, Cimini has led Liggett to four state titles and nine Final Four appearances including a Division 1 championship in 2017.
“We just have to keep having fun,” Cimini said. “We work extremely hard in practice. In the games we want to go out and let the talent take over and have fun. If you’re stressed, it’s not going to be a good thing. I really think adversity early in the season made us better.”
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