A Deep Playoff Run Ends at McLane Stadium

The Mattawan Wildcats baseball season concluded on Friday with a 6-1 loss to Detroit Catholic Central in the MHSAA Division 1 state semifinal at Michigan State University's McLane Stadium in East Lansing.

The Wildcats entered the game with a 29-9 record, having navigated a gauntlet of postseason opponents to reach the Final Four for the first time in recent program history.

How Mattawan Got to the Semifinals

Mattawan's playoff path was defined by clutch pitching and timely hitting, according to coverage from Wilcox Newspapers.

"It was an unbelievable pitching performance by Kaden. To throw six innings of no hit baseball is hard in any game, but in the post-season it is even more special," Mattawan coach Brett Vaughn said after the regional semifinal win over Lowell.

The Wildcats advanced through three playoff rounds before facing Detroit Catholic Central:

  • Regional semifinal: Defeated Lowell 2-1 in eight innings on June 3, behind a six-inning no-hitter with seven strikeouts from Kaden Jominy
  • Regional final: Beat Traverse City Central 8-1, jumping out to a 6-0 lead through three innings
  • Quarterfinal: Defeated Byron Center 3-1, with Maxx VanAntwerp and Liam Walsh sharing pitching duties

The Semifinal Game

Detroit Catholic Central senior pitcher Andrew Mahoney was dominant for the Shamrocks. He threw a complete game, striking out 15 of the 23 Mattawan batters who went to the plate, according to the official MHSAA box score.

Mattawan's offense managed only 3 hits against Mahoney. The Wildcats scored their lone run in the fifth inning on a wild pitch after Ethan Bouma and Jackson Reiter singled and Maxx VanAntwerp was hit by pitch, loading the bases.

Detroit Catholic Central broke the scoreless tie in the second inning and added five more runs in the fifth, including a two-run double by Luke Fairchild and an RBI single by Nicholas Garnick.

A Season to Remember for Mattawan Baseball

Despite the semifinal exit, the 2026 Mattawan baseball team received significant recognition for its performance.

Kaden Jominy, a Cornell commit, was named to the MLive Kalamazoo-area Baseball Dream Team as a First Team Pitcher. According to MLive, Jominy finished the season with an 8-3 record, a 1.71 ERA, and 89 strikeouts across 65.1 innings.

"Jominy capped his Mattawan career by taking his game to another level as Mattawan's ace, leading the Wildcats to a Division 1 state semifinal run," wrote Matthew Ehler of MLive.

Maxx VanAntwerp, a Kalamazoo Valley College commit, also earned First Team Pitcher honors on the Dream Team. He went 8-0 with a 1.696 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 53.2 innings during the regular season.

The Mattawan program has been building momentum in recent years, and the 2026 team's deep playoff run signaled that the Wildcats remain a force in Southwest Michigan baseball.

Detroit Catholic Central advanced to the Division 1 state championship game, where they faced Rochester Adams on Saturday, June 13.