MELVINDALE – The Gary Szalka Field complex at Strong Middle School played as the host to the Division 2, District 55 baseball semifinal and championship matchups on Saturday.
The district paired two rivals from the Western Wayne Athletic Conference with two Huron League rivals. The first semifinal consisted of the hosts Melvindale and Grosse Ile, while the second showdown was between Riverview and Dearborn Heights Annapolis Annapolis.After Melvindale and Riverview each won their respective first contests, a third WWAC-vs-Huron-League affair was played out to crown an eventual district champion.
In the end, it was Riverview that was the last team standing, securing their second such title in three seasons.
SEMIFINAL No. 1 | Melvindale 6, Grosse Ile 4
In a highly-competitive first game of a long day of baseball, it was Melvindale punching their ticket to the afternoon’s district championship game.
Early runs proved the difference for the Cardinals, who jumped out to an early 4-1 lead through three innings and never relinquished it the rest of the way.
David Ochoa nearly went the distance on the mound for the district hosts, throwing 6.2 innings and keeping the Red Devils’ bats at bay. Jose Munoz came in and got the final out to earn the save.
Offensively for Melvindale, Julian Conigliaro led the way, going 3-for-4 with a double and a triple, while Yadier Ochoa and Marco Ocampo each had two hits in the game. The trio combined for four of the team’s six runs batted in.
A trio of pitchers for Grosse Ile – Rocco Pascuzzi, Max Myers, and Caleb Jones – combined to get through their six innings on the bump. Jones went 3-for-4 in the game to pace the offense for the visitors from the island. Joe Keenan added a hit while also scoring three of the team’s four runs.
Grosse Ile with the loss finishes the spring season with a final mark of 9-20 overall.
SEMIFINAL No. 2 | Riverview 15, Annapolis 6
Game two in the early afternoon saw Riverview get off to a slow start before eventually finding a groove offensively and rolling to a big win.
Early on, it was all Annapolis, who jumped on Riverview early. A 5-1 advantage favored the Cougars through just two frames of action. Robert Armstrong drove in three runs during that time, while James Harris added two for himself. All five RBIs came on singles.
Suddenly trailing, Riverview countered with two huge innings of their own. Five runs apiece in both the third and fourth innings broke the game wide open for the Pirates, who never looked back.
Leading the way for Riverview was Carson DeCamills, who went 3-for-5 with a team-high four RBIs. Carson Rice and Max Rebeka each had multiple hits in the game as well.
Brennen Fritz and Jackson Klug took the bulk of the innings on the mound for the Bucs before giving way to Jameson Gelineau and Tyler Collins to log one inning apiece.In addition to the run-producing efforts from Armstrong and Harris, Annapolis saw Jonathan Barnett and Julian Cunningham each turn in multiple hits in the season-ending loss.
The Cougars wrap up their 2025 campaign with a 10-11 record overall.
FINALS | Riverview 5, Melvindale 0
On the back of the aforementioned Jameson Gelinau, Riverview pitched a shut out of district host Melvindale in the finals to finish the day 2-0 and clinch the district trophy.
Gelineau nearly spun a complete game for Riverview, going 6.2 innings while only giving up three hits and striking out nine. The one out to finish the game was completed by Evan Minnick.
Gelineau helped out his own cause with one of the Bucs’ five team hits and one of three RBIs in the win. Max Rebeka and Nolan Jones each drove in a run as well, with the latter having a pair of hits in the No. 9 spot of the lineup.
For Melvindale, Ocampo threw all seven innings on the mound in a solid showing, only giving up the five runs on five hits while striking out seven. The junior was also responsible for one of the Cards’ three hits, along with Munoz and Yadier Ochoa.
Melvindale with the loss turns in a final spring mark of 22-12 overall.
UP NEXT
As for Riverview (10-27), their season will continue at least one more game when they play in a D2 regional semifinal round game next week.
It’ll be a very familiar foe for Riverview as the take on Trenton, who knocked out the Pirates’ two conference rivals No. 4 New Boston Huron and No. 14 Flat Rock en route to their district crown on Saturday.
Riverview and Trenton met in a non-conference doubleheader way back on April 5 with the Trojans sweeping both ends, outscoring the Bucs, 21-12.
Game time for the regional semi matchup is tabbed for Wednesday, June 4 at Trenton High School.
