Gull Lake Rallying for Another Run
May 31, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A year ago, Richland Gull Lake coach Bill Blakely looked across C.O. Brown stadium and saw one of the state’s top power hitters of all-time – plus five sophomores battling through the nerves of playing in an MHSAA Division 2 Semifinal.
This spring, that big bat – catcher Zach Fish – played instead for Oklahoma State University. But now, the Blue Devils’ coach sees a team filled with big-game experience and capable of rolling despite the graduation of an all-state Dream Teamer or the recent loss of its ace pitcher to an injury.
Gull Lake is 34-2 this spring and 72-4 over the last two heading into Saturday’s District at Otsego. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 1 in Division 2 with wins over No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian, No. 7 St. Clair and previously-ranked Division 1 Portage Central – that last victory coming Saturday by a score of 9-7 in the Greater Kalamazoo Tournament championship game.
“They remember the games from last year, the importance of playing clean,” Blakely said of his team, which despite Fish's graduation returned this spring nearly intact. “They remember from last year that mistakes can just kill you, and you have to minimize those regardless of the competition.”
That perspective should continue to pay off as the Blue Devils attempt to reach Battle Creek again in three weeks – and this time advance to their first MHSAA championship game.
This week’s Second Half High 5 team honoree has gotten pitching wins from 10 players. Five have at least four wins, and together the staff has a 2.24 ERA. Three pitchers will do the same at Division I or II colleges next season – Nate Stegman (5-1) at Eastern Kentucky University, Lucas Hamelink (7-0) at Hillsdale College and Anthony Wargolet (4-0) at Lake Erie College.
That level of pitching depth is rare to say the least. But as of Thursday morning, Blakely still wasn’t sure who would start Saturday’s District Semifinal. Stegman, an all-state selection in 2011, suffered an arm injury a few weeks ago and might not make it back even if Gull Lake returns to Bailey Park.
So the Blue Devils also must continue to rely on a line-up that returned eight starters from last season’s Semifinal order. Three are hitting at least .400 – shortstop Colton Bradley (.488), third baseman Logan Holwerda (.467) and second baseman/catcher Patrick Gaudard (.402). More impressively, 12 players total have an on-base percentage of at least .400, and the team has 138 stolen bases while being caught only 20 times.
“We’ve talked about having the pieces in place where we could make a run for it,” Blakely said. “We’ll put the pieces together. We’ve won this year differently that last year – we’ve bunted a lot more, stolen a lot more. That part for us is completely new.”
But the pressure that comes now is not. Not only is most of the team back from last season, but Hamelink, Gaudard and junior Connor Owen were part of their 100th Gull Lake wins Saturday – the Blue Devils also went 30-11 when all three were on the team in 2010.
The tough part now will be extending the streak without Stegman. But that depth and experience will go a long way toward making it possible.
“The games when something is on the line, they’ve been more focused and less nervous,” Blakeley said. “And we purposely put together a difficult schedule to have that playoff game atmosphere.”
PHOTO: Outfielder Aaron Fadden is hitting .283 with 14 stolen bases this season after also starting for Gull Lake in 2011.
Portland St. Patrick Caps Near-Perfect Season with Extraordinary Finish
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – Portland St. Patrick flourished at all three aspects of the game Saturday during the final baseball championship matchup of the 2025 season.
And the top-ranked Shamrocks left little doubt which team was the best in Division 4 this spring.
Timely hitting, stellar pitching and superb defense propelled them to a convincing 10-0 win over Plymouth Christian Academy in five innings at McLane Stadium.
“It was a little surreal, like it didn’t feel real at that moment when we did win it,” said St. Patrick pitcher Brayden Simon, who tossed a one-hitter with two strikeouts and one walk allowed.
“We've been dreaming about this since the first practice in the spring, and this is what we wanted since the beginning.”
The Shamrocks finished with a 34-1 overall record and their only loss coming against No. 2 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
The final game was a culmination of hard work and commitment to secure the program’s first Finals title since 2017.
“We just executed at a very high level today,” St. Patrick coach Bryan Scheurer said. “And this is like the opportunity that you wait for when you practice. We do some very unselfish team things that they buy into like they love it, and it was on display today. I’m so proud and happy for them, and it was winning baseball.”
The top-ranked Shamrocks scored at least one run in every inning and kept the Cougars off the scoreboard with an array of defensive plays.
“They put a lot of balls in play against me, and I can’t believe how well those guys played for me (on defense) tonight,” Simon said. “It was an overall good effort. Everybody just bought in, and we are going to do what it takes to become a champion. We are going to do the little things right every game, and for the most part we did that.”
The Shamrocks stormed out to an early 3-0 advantage with three runs in the first inning and tacked on three more over the next two innings.
They added a pair of runs in the fourth inning to increase their lead to 8-0.
“Our motto for the team has been ‘Bring the juice,’ and we take an early lead and respect them so much with seeing their path and schedule and we just wanted to keep getting one more,” Scheurer said. “Get one more and keep playing till they tell you to stop playing.”
Sophomore Jerryd Scheurer, junior Charlie Thelen and Tyler Thelen combined for six of the Shamrocks’ 10 hits. Charlie Thelen had two RBIs and two runs scored.
A throng of fans filled the bleachers to support the tiny school consisting of fewer than 90 students.
“It’s great to see that these people all showed up and are waiting for us to celebrate,” junior Brady Leonard said. “They all came here to support us, and here we are giving back to them.”
The Eagles (29-8) finished runners-up for the second time in three years. They lost to Beal City in the 2023 Final.
Plymouth Christian Academy managed only one hit and committed four errors this time. The Eagles’ only real scoring chance came in the fourth inning when they loaded the bases before popping out to end the inning.
“It just spiraled, and that's baseball,” Eagles coach Euro Perkola said. “I told the boys after the game that not one game defines you, and we had a great season overall. That’s a great pitcher and coaching staff over there, and they play the game the right way. It just wasn’t our day today.”
PHOTOS (Top) Portland St. Patrick players pile on the pitcher’s mound to celebrate their championship win Saturday evening at McLane Stadium. (Middle) Simon White (15) lays down one of several Shamrocks’ bunts.