The Week Ahead: Groves Baseball Plays North Farmington Tuesday, Berkley Friday

The baseball season continues in full force this week, with the Groves Falcons scheduled for several games this week. Meanwhile, top girls tennis teams from Seaholm and Marian face off in a repeat of their matches from last year's Division 2 state finals. Here's what going on this week in sports:

Marian and Seaholm Girls Tennis

Two of the top tennis teams in the state face off at 4 p.m. Tuesday at . These teams clashed in the Division 2 state finals last year in three separate brackets, with the Mustangs winning all three matches en route to a state championship. Seaholm finished fourth at the state tournament.

Both teams are gearing up for another successful run and Tuesday will be a big test. The No. 1 doubles match will be one to watch.

Before losing in the No. 1 doubles final at the state tournament, Marian's Catherine Christian and Kristin Lunghamer eliminated Seaholm (Arielle Williams and Meghan Dooley) in three sets in the quarterfinals (6-0, 4-6, 6-4). Christian and Lunghamer were first-team all-state last season and will face Seaholm’s top doubles team Elizabeth Gunckle and Labina Petrovska on Tuesday.

Groves Softball

The Falcons have two doubleheaders this week in the Oakland Activities Association Blue Division. They play at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday at Royal Oak, then at 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Berkley. The game against the Bears was originally scheduled for April 20, but weather postponed the doubleheader until this week. Groves will also hosts an invitational tournament on Saturday.

Groves won the Blue division last year, but this season is the only returning team. The OAA added a fourth division (Gold) and both Royal Oak and Berkley moved up from the White division.

Birmingham Patch will be at the doubleheader against Berkley on Thursday and provide full coverage of the game.

Groves Baseball

The Groves softball team isn’t the only squad with a busy week. The Falcons baseball team has a full week of games, including some key divisional matchups and a game against the top team in the OAA White Division.

First up for Groves is a 4 p.m. game Tuesday agaisnt North Farmington. Both teams are in the middle of the pack and if the Falcons can win, they'll gain some ground on the division's leader, Seaholm.

The Falcons also play at 7 p.m. Friday against Berkley, then at 11 a.m. against Lathrup during the Falcons Invitational at Groves. The Bears are currently the top team in the OAA White, winning the division last season.

Marian Soccer

Marian has won the Catholic League every year since 2003. A league title this year would give them nine straight and tie Bishop Foley’s record. The Mustangs are already off to a strong start; this week they have a chance to put some distance between themselves and the competition.

The girls play at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Ladywood and then host Mercy at 4 p.m. Thursday. Ladywood is 3-1-2 in the Catholic League’s Division 1 and Mercy is 3-1. Wins over both teams will give Marian a two-game lead in the division and the Mustangs only have two divisional games left after this week.

Earlier in the year, Marian beat Ladywood at home 3-0. It was the first of four shutouts the Mustangs have within the Catholic League this season.