EAST LANSING — This was quite an anniversary present for longtime Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart baseball coach Earl Hartman. 

On Saturday, his team’s matchup with Marcellus in the Division 4 championship game also happened to fall on the same day as his 57th wedding anniversary. 

The Irish provided a nice gift, winning the school’s third Finals championship and first since 1996 with a 10-0 win in five innings over Marcellus.

“We were here (39) years ago in 1987, also on our anniversary, but we were runner-up,” said Hartman, who just finished his 43^rd year as head coach. “Took a long time to make amends.”

Always one of the state’s top-ranked programs in Division 4, the biggest thing for Sacred Heart this year was getting past powerhouses such as Beal City and Portland St. Patrick before getting to the Semifinals. 

The Irish finally did so again this spring, and went on to earn dominant wins in East Lansing. Sacred Heart had defeated Royal Oak Shrine Catholic in its Semifinal, 4-0.

“We still had to dial it in, but once we got over that St. Patrick and Beal City hump, it was smooth sailing from there,” said Sacred Heart senior Brady Davis, who was the standout in Saturday’s Final.

On the mound, he allowed just one hit while throwing all five innings, striking out eight.

At the plate, Davis hit his first-ever home run, sending a shot over the big wall in right field with a man on in the fourth inning to give the Irish a 7-0 lead.

“I’ve always dreamed of hitting a bomb like that,’ Davis said. “So it was great.”

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Davis came up with the bases loaded and one out with Sacred Heart up 9-0. He then sent a deep fly ball to the outfield to bring home the 10th run and end the game on the run-differential rule. 

The Irish wasted little time getting going Saturday, scoring four runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. Senior Teegan Duffy had an RBI single, junior Hank MacDonald an RBI groundout and then freshman Jaxon Moore had a two-run single to comprise the rally for Sacred Heart. 

Marcellus had a threat in the fourth inning, loading the bases with two outs before Davis got out of the jam with a strikeout. 

Beyond that, Davis was in full control. 

Marcellus (22-12) was making its first appearance in the championship game. 

“That team is unreal,” Marcellus head coach Christian Hutson said. “That’s a buzzsaw.

“Nobody believed we could make it this far. It’s an amazing experience. There’s nothing to be ashamed of for this group.”

Indeed there wasn’t for Marcellus, but the day belonged to Sacred Heart’s team and the anniversary celebration for its longtime coach.

“It’s huge for the whole community and everybody showed up,” Davis said. “For Coach Hartman, It’s been a while since we’ve been back here, so we wanted to do it for him.” 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Sacred Heart's Noah Zeien (3) sprints to first base during the Division 4 Final on Saturday. (Middle) The Irish's Maxim Boykin Lynch crosses the plate as the ball lands in front of Marcellus catcher Eli Torres.