Hartland Goes 10 to Land 1st Title
June 13, 2015
By Andy Sneddon
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Brett Oliver delivered when it mattered the most.
John Baker did it all day long.
Baker struck out 11 and walked three in going the distance Saturday as Hartland won its first Michigan High School Athletic Association baseball championship with an epic 2-1, 10-inning win over Portage Northern in the Division I title game at Michigan State University’s McLane Baseball Stadium.
“Getting over the quarterfinal hump was huge for our program because we’ve been getting there, we’ve been pretty successful,” said Hartland coach Brian Morrison, whose team had made it as far as the MHSAA Quarterfinals – but never beyond – in four of the last seven years. “We kept knocking on the door and finally broke through. You get here and anything can happen.”
The Eagles (28-16-1) knocked on the door all game long against Portage Northern, stranding 16 runners and outhitting the Huskies, 10-5. Hartland went down in order just once in the game.
Hartland used a walk, a bunt and a Baker double to seize a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but didn’t score again until the 10th.
Richard Bortle and Thomas Rivet hit back-to-back singles to open the frame, then Oliver, the No. 9 hitter, drilled a fly ball over the head of the right fielder to easily score Bortle from third with the winning run.
“We had plenty of chances throughout the whole game,” said Oliver, who was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk to that point. “I myself left runners on base. But we just kept battling as a team, we stayed together, we didn’t get down on each other.
“My thought was just get my pitch, swing at my pitch, swing hard, make sure it gets out of the infield. That was probably the best pitch I saw all day, and I got ahold of it. I didn’t even know where it went. I just put my head down and sprinted.”
Baker allowed five hits and was dominant early, outlasting Portage Northern starter Tommy Henry in a classic pitchers duel between two juniors.
Had the game gone to the 11th inning, Baker would have had to leave the mound because of the 30-out pitching limit.
“Unbelievable,” Morrison said. “He’s done that all year. I think that was his fifth win of this postseason. He’s tough, and his pitch count wasn’t outrageous. He’s not going to let you take him out.”
Henry, a left-hander, allowed seven hits, walked six and struck out eight over eight innings, continually wiggling out of trouble. Reliever Max Schuemann took over in the ninth and worked out of a two-on, none-out jam. He wouldn’t be able to repeat the feat in the 10th.
“(Henry) got in trouble several times and kept battling out of it, and that’s what he can do,” said Portage Northern coach Chris Andrews. “He pitched his heart out. It was two first-team all-state Dream Team pitchers going at it. Shouldn’t be any other way.”
Portage Northern (30-8-1) also was making its first appearance in an MHSAA baseball championship game. The Huskies tied the game 1-1 on Brady Young’s sixth-inning RBI single. Ryan Beadle led Portage Northern with two hits.
“It’s tough; you feel for the seniors,” Andrews said. “But this is the best team Portage Northern’s ever had and I’m proud of that. These guys played their hearts out. Probably one of the best high school baseball finals of all-time. Just a great game, great group of kids.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hartland players celebrate a 10-inning win and their first MHSAA baseball championship. (Middle) Max Cadman (13) slides into third base ahead of a throw as Portage Northern’s Thomas Scheffert prepares to tag.
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.