Brighton won a second straight state Division 1 girls lacrosse championship last season after taking some lumps early in the spring.
So far, the Bulldogs have steered clear of adversity while establishing themselves as the favorite to three-peat.
Brighton stayed undefeated Monday by rolling to an 18-5 victory over Livonia United.
The Bulldogs are 8-0 this season after starting 4-4 through eight games last year. While reaching the last five state championship games, Brighton has never been better than 7-1 (2019) through eight games.
The result also served as an indication that the KLAA championship will belong to either Brighton or Hartland once again. Livonia has been the best team in the East Division the last four seasons, but has lost in the championship game to Brighton or Hartland by a combined score of 95-20.
Georgia Gill had five goals and two assists, boosting her season totals to 34 goals and 14 assists.
Cece Mainhardt had five goals, Ella Toth two goals and four assists, and Sophia Heady and Mia Balough each scored twice.
Boys lacrosse
Hartland 25, Novi 1
Jacob Ross scored nine goals, the second-highest total in school history behind John Weber’s 10 against Brighton on May 11, 2022.
Jake Lewis had two goals and eight assists, Drew Lockwood four goals and three assists, and Clayton Penzien four goals and one assist for Hartland.
Brighton 12, Livonia United 4
Zach Watkins, Lucas Aurandt and Connor Kammer each scored three goals for Brighton (6-1).
Baseball
Pinckney 16, Jackson 2
Pinckney 7, Jackson 1
Pinckney’s Hayden Beaver was 4-for-7 with six stolen bases in the doubleheader.
Owen Zylka drove in three runs and Jax Raymond had two doubles in the first game.
Zach Welch was 3-for-4 in the second game. Brett Madden struck out 11 batters in 4 2/3 innings.
Howell 8, Salem 5
JT Thomas was 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Howell.
Andrew Hiller and Josh Soneral each drove in two runs for the Highlanders (4-5).
Novi 3, Brighton 1
Carter Gregg was 3-for-3 for Brighton (6-2-1), which was held to five hits by Novi’s Uli Fernsler. Fernsler struck out 11 batters.
Braeden Chiles went all seven innings for the Bulldogs, allowing five hits and fanning six.
Northville 7, Hartland 1
Brady Quinn was 2-for-4 for Hartland (5-5-1), which took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning before allowing three in the bottom of the third.
Softball
Brighton 8, Plymouth 0
Brighton 17, Plymouth 6
Brighton got the sweep after entering play with a 1-5 record.
Belle Sixbery pitched a shutout in the opener, allowing six hits and fanning six. Anna Minnick and Mel Buzo each drove in two runs.
Lauren Damron drove in five runs in the second game, while Minnick had three RBIs and Buzo two RBIs.
Stoney Creek 3, Hartland 1 (8)
Stoney Creek 5, Hartland 3
Reese Dunny’s double in the sixth inning of the opener for 10th-ranked Hartland tied the game, 1-1, but eighth-ranked Stoney Creek scored twice in the top of the eighth.
Hartland’s Olivia Forrest struck out 14 batters and allowed six hits in eight innings.
In the second game, Stoney Creek scored twice in the sixth and twice in the seventh to go up 5-1. Kate McIntyre hit a two-run homer in the seventh for Hartland with two outs, but the Eagles were retired one batter later.
Pinckney 15, Jackson 0
Pinckney 15, Jackson 0
Pinckney all-stater CeCe Thorington was 4-for-4 with five runs and nine stolen bases in the doubleheader.
Both games went three innings, with Pinckney scoring 12 in the first inning of the opener and 15 in the first inning of the nightcap.
Emma Arnold didn’t allow a base runner in three innings in the first game.
Erin Closser and Mackenzie Burns homered in the second game.
Soccer
Pinckney 5, Jackson 1
Zaryah Griffin scored three goals and Val Graves two for Pinckney (3-1).
Golf
Brighton 156, Novi 163
Brighton junior Jackson Frelich was the medalist with a 37, one shot ahead of teammate Adam Forcier.
Plum Market Invitational
Howell finished fifth out of 26 teams with a 311 at Tam-O-Shanter Country Club. Rochester Adams won with a 304.
Hartland’s Michael Maurin tied for third with a 73, Keller King was 20th with a 78, and Dallas Korponic and Aidan Oake tied for 33rd with 80s for Hartland.
Howell didn’t play its top lineup and finished 18th with a 336. Rory Sturos shot 81 for the Highlanders.
Tennis
Livingston County quad
Brighton took first place in a quad that included four of Livingston County’s five teams, scoring 28 points. Hartland had 19, Fowlerville eight and Pinckney five.
Howell was the odd team out.
Hartland’s Rachel Fraser was the No. 1 singles champion, winning her three matches in straight sets.
Other singles champions were Hartland’s Arianna Kinney at No. 2, Brighton’s Sara Auty at No. 3 and Brighton’s Gianna Tabacchi at No. 4.
Brighton swept the six doubles flights.
Leah Hall and Ruby Pennala won at No. 1, Charlotte Mandziuj and Isabella Otis at No. 2, Claire Chandler and Peyton Radwanski-Balogh at No. 3, Ashlyn Burns and Annie O’Malley at No. 4, Grace Meade and Charlotte Moon at No. 5, and Ellie Millhouse and Bella Pipish at No. 6.
Plymouth 5, Hartland 4
Singles: Rachel Fraser (H) d. Sophia Georgieva 6-1, 6-3; Arianna Kinney (H) d. Maddy Moran 6-2, 6-0; Akshayapriya Saravanan (P) d. Karissa Szczechowicz 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; Shloka Patel (P) d. Zaylee Parrish 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-4.
Doubles: Lauren Bunch-Mia Milacic (P) d. Audrey Tithof-Paityn DeWolf 6-0, 5-7, 6-0; Juliana Edmunds-Cece Moore (P) d. Emily Jacobs-Aiden Green 6-1, 6-3; Reshmi Harikrishnan-Maithri Paturi (P) d. Kennedy Causey-Kangas-Charlotte Caramagno 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Gabriella Wiseman-Mahayah Johnson (H) d. Carly McClain-Harmony Purwadihardja 6-2, 6-3; Madey Ray-Alexa Lockridge (H) d. Rhea Modi-Astha Patel 6-0, 6-4; Eden Hoffman-Leah Subjeck (H) d. Emerson Mielke-Anna Frisch 7-5, 6-2.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
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