Nine local baseball players secured all-conference first team postseason honors in 2025, highlighted by Montague star Bryton Belinger, who went a step further and was named first team all-state in Division 3 as an infielder.
Belinger was one of the main engines behind a successful season for the Wildcats, who earned a West Michigan Conference Lakes championship and went 19-11 overall.
Along with Eli Petersen, who like Belinger was named first team all-WMC Lakes, Belinger was part of the Wildcats' top pair of pitchers who toed the slab for conference games. He enjoyed one of his finest performances in his last league game of the season, striking out 14 batters in a five-inning one-hit shutout against Orchard View. He also came up with a great performance against rival Whitehall, striking out 11 and allowing just one hit in six innings before hitting the MHSAA-mandated pitch limit. He also had two hits and an RBI in that win.
"We are beyond proud of this young man and nobody deserves it more than him," Montague coach Jeff Moss said in a post on the Wildcats' Facebook page.
Petersen's most clutch effort might have been his work in game one of that doubleheader with Whitehall. He struck out 13 batters in a one-hit shutout as his team eked out a 1-0 victory.
Joining the two star pitcher/infielders on the all-WMC Lakes team were Montague catcher Fletcher Thommen, outfielder Ryver Jarka and utility player Cole Herremans. Each player so often found themselves in the middle of the Wildcats' most impressive rallies and scoring outbursts.
Whitehall secured three spots on the all-conference first team. As with Montague, the Vikings' top two pitchers, Brock Morningstar and Evan Thomas, picked up the postseason honor, and senior Nate Betz also was recognized.
Morningstar and Thomas each had strong seasons in leading the Vikings to a 9-3 WMC Lakes record. Morningstar pitched the Vikings to the district finals by shutting down Orchard View in the semifinals, and Thomas was a strong bat all year while delivering solid results on the mound. A complete game one-hitter to defeat Manistee was the highight of his WMC Lakes season.
Betz, the Whitehall leadoff hitter and center fielder, so often used his speed and hitting prowess to affect the game for his team. He scored the winning run in a pivotal conference win over Ludington, and his multi-hit effforts were a consistent sight when Whitehall came out on top in a game.
Reeths-Puffer struggled at times during the season and only managed to put one player, Holden Earnest, on the O-K Green Conference first team. Earnest, the Rockets' shortstop and a middle of the order bat, had two hits in a big win over state-ranked Coopersville late in the season and picked up multiple hits in a win over Zeeland East, a couple of his more impressive efforts in 2025.
