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.
Past Close Calls Pay Off Big as Hartland Goes Extras to Clinch Comeback Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – The Hartland baseball had been accustomed to playing in close games throughout the MHSAA Tournament.
So when Saturday’s Division 1 Final against Macomb Dakota went to extra innings, the Eagles weren’t fazed by the moment.
Hartland pulled out a dramatic 5-3 victory in nine innings in a game that lasted nearly three hours.
The Eagles clinched their first Final since 2015 by scoring two runs in the top of the ninth.
Hartland won four straight games by one run during this playoff run and also won by two runs in the Semifinal against Grosse Pointe South.
“The close games definitely helped us with our mindset,” said junior Logan Randall, who pitched the final four innings and allowed only one earned run and two hits.
“Whenever times came tough during this game, we all knew what to do because we’ve been used to it. It’s happened five games in a row. We adapted and knew that anything could happen. Every playoff game had been back and forth, and we knew we could come out on top if we gave it our all.”
Hartland coach Brad Guenther said his team wasn’t always good at eking out the tight ones during the season.
“I’m super proud of them, but it’s something that wasn't our strength through the middle of the year,” he said. “We lost a lot of close games with a lot of new guys playing, but being in tough spots where we had to get out of jams kind of put us on this run and catapulted us.
“We gave up eight runs in seven games, and there were a lot of jams that they were in so we had to be good in those moments. We failed a lot in those moments too, but we were able to respond and execute when we needed to.”
Hartland (28-15-1) trailed 2-0 after the first inning, but rallied to tie it in the third.
In the top of the ninth, senior Michael Zielinksi laced a single to right field that was misplayed and allowed the go-ahead run to score.
“I was just trying to do my job,” Zielinksi said. “I was expecting to go up there and lay a bunt down, but he let me swing away and I was seeing the ball well all day. I got the barrel to it and hit it to right field, and the guy made a little mistake and we capitalized on it.”
Senior Roman Forcia followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Eagles a two-run lead.
“We knew they were a good team, and we knew they were going to come out strong and they did,” Zielinski said. “We had faith in each other, and everyone in that dugout knew we were going to find a way and we did.”
Both teams had opportunities to score in the sixth inning, but the score remained tied after both teams came up empty.
Hartland took a brief lead in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Randall, but the Cougars responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Jadon Ford to even it at 3-3.
“It’s pretty surreal right now,” Guenther said. “A lot of guys in our dugout were probably the only ones who really thought we had a chance to make a run and we could win these games like this. We were not the favorites along the way, but coming together and doing something special like that – these guys will never forget that.”
Top-ranked Dakota (36-7-1), which was searching for its first Finals championship, was plagued by missed opportunities and four errors.
“Both teams kept fighting, and both teams played hard,” Cougars coach Angelo Plouffe said. “They got a few more hits and we made a few more mistakes than they did, and it's the name of the game right there.
“I think they deserved it. They did it when they needed to and we didn’t, but I’m very proud of my guys and all my seniors because they got us here.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Michael Zielinski, sliding, is called safe at home during his team’s ninth-inning rally Saturday. (Middle) Eagles players celebrate after Max Rector (2) scores.