D1 Baseball Final: Eagles Take Flight
June 16, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Hudsonville scored the first run of Saturday’s Division 1 Final, and rallied for four more in the top of the sixth to win its first MHSAA title, 9-6 over Warren DeLaSalle.
The Eagles entered the tournament ranked No. 6 in the state coaches poll, but had never appeared in a championship game.
The game featured 15 hits but also eight errors, and they played a part for both teams in a back-and-forth battle. The score was tied 1-1 after the first inning, then 4-4 after the third before the Eagles extended their lead to 9-4 in the sixth.
DeLaSalle scored only two runs in the bottom of that inning and went out 1-2-3 against sophomore Logan Magsig in the seventh.
Magsig also drove in two runs for Hudsonville (33-5), and senior Tyler Baar hit a home run and drove in three.
Senior Kevin Carroll drove in two runs and senior Mike Abiragi had two hits and scored a run for the Pilots, who finished 20-23-1 after a 3-14-1 start. Click for a full box score.
PHOTO: Hudsonville’s Logan Magisg drives a pitch during Saturday’s Division 1 Final at Bailey Park.
Moment: Lake Orion Clinches on Walk-Off
April 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
When Nick Dunstan singled up the middle to drive in Joe Barnes in the bottom of the seventh inning of the 2007 Division 1 Final, he sent Lake Orion past Farmington 4-3 to clinch what remains the Dragons’ only MHSAA championship in the sport.
That alone makes for a good story. But there’s another little hook as well.
Lake Orion had come back from a 3-1 deficit, tying the score in the fifth inning as Barnes crossed the plate for the second of his three runs on the day. After giving up three runs over the first three innings, Dragons pitcher Josh Deeg held Farmington scoreless over the final four, setting up his teammates to score the walk-off winner.
As for another good story, here’s the rest. That game-winning single came off Farmington reliever Cam Fowler, who moved over from shortstop to start the sixth inning. Dunstan’s single was the only hit Fowler gave up over the final two innings.
The ending surely stung for Farmington, which was making its first and still only Finals appearance in the sport. But Fowler, just a sophomore that season, bounced back in a big way although that afternoon marked his last high school baseball game.
Three years later, Fowler was a first-round pick by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, and he made his debut as an 18-year-old the next season. He’s played a decade with the Ducks, making the NHL All-Star Game in 2017 and also playing on the U.S. Olympic team in 2014.
Barnes went on to play baseball at Grand Rapids Community College and South Carolina-Upstate, and Deeg played at Xavier and then Madonna.
Click for coverage of the game from the Lake Orion Review and watch the game winner below from the MHSAA Network.
PHOTO: Lake Orion's Nick Dunstan fires a throw across the infield from his spot at third base during the 2007 Finals weekend.