St. Francis Adds 4th 'C' to 'Character, Commitment and Compassion' - Championship
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – Traverse City St. Francis senior Charlie Olivier threw up three fingers before heading to the outfield in the seventh inning of Saturday’s Division 3 Final.
It signified more than the three outs the Gladiators would eventually get to accomplish a feat that hadn’t occurred in 35 years.
“At St. Francis, when we arrived in middle school, there were the three Cs – character, commitment and compassion,” Olivier said after a 5-4 win over Marine City at McLane Stadium.
“And it reminded me of the three outs of the seventh inning, and I held up the three just because all we’ve been doing this year is showing character and commitment to this team and showing so much compassion for one another. I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else other than this team.”
Appearing in a Division 3 Final for the third time over the last eight years, the Gladiators (31-8-1) overcame a late rally by the Mariners to hang on and win their first championship since 1990 (in Class D).
“Winning a state title in baseball is so hard, and there are so many things that can happen to lose one baseball game – and not always does the best team win,” said St. Francis coach Tom Passinault, who’s been coaching high school baseball and football since 1993.
“We’ve had some really good teams through the years that got beat, but this team finally did it and turned the corner and made us state champs.”
The Gladiators struck first in the opening inning when junior Matthew Kane ripped an RBI single to score junior Tyler Thompson, who led off the game with a single.
St. Francis added to its lead with a three-run third inning.
Kane delivered another RBI single to make it 2-0, and then Olivier followed with a suicide squeeze to score Sam Wildfong.
After a pitching change, Braxton Lesinski knocked an RBI single past a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded and St. Francis held a 4-0 advantage.
“That was awesome,” Kane said. “I struggled a little bit in the playoffs, so to start the game out 2-for-2 with some RBIs – that was special,” Kane said. “My hard work paid off so I'm happy, and this team is so special. We didn’t lose a single guy from last year and added a freshman, and it's just a brotherhood. The coaching staff is awesome, and it’s been a full team effort. I couldn't be more proud of these guys.”
Harrison Shepherd’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning scored Thompson to give St. Francis a 5-0 cushion, but Marine City didn’t go away quietly.
The Mariners, playing in their first Final, scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of a hit batsman, a wild pitch and a throwing error.
“It’s kind of what they always do; they battle all the time,” Marine City coach Ryan Felax said. “We haven't been held under four or five runs the whole tournament, so I knew falling down 5-0 wasn't anything and we would be able to battle back. It just was not enough in the end, and this is a tough one to swallow. It just hurts.”
St. Francis starter Tyler Endres held the Mariners hitless through the first three innings before Lanse Vos replaced him in the fifth.
Vos settled down after the rocky end to the fifth inning and retired six of the last seven batters he faced.
“I felt really good at 5-0, and Tyler was mowing,” Passinault said. “We knew we would go with Lanse at some time, and I put him in a bad spot with coming in on a 2-0 (count), but then he had a couple clean innings.
“I’ve been around high school sports for a long time and always been envious of guys who had 30-year reunions for state championships. I’m just ecstatic.”
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City St. Francis’ Tyler Thompson (2) eludes a tag at home to score one of his two runs during the Division 3 Final. (Middle) The Gladiators’ Tyler Endres delivers a pitch.
Hot Hitting Again Bolsters Plentiful Pitching as Novi Clinches 1st Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – When Novi head baseball coach Rick Green presided over his team for the official start of practice in March, there were two immediate observations.
One, in his words, “there is a lot of work to do” – but that’s normal talk that just about every coach probably spoke at that moment.
Second and most importantly, there was something else about his team that stood out as he began his 23rd season at the helm.
“I knew we had the pitching staff as long as we are healthy,” Green said. “We were deep in the pitching staff.”
The entire state saw that firsthand during this MHSAA Tournament.
For the first time, Novi is a state champion in baseball following an 8-3 win over Brownstown Woodhaven in the Division 1 championship game at Michigan State University’s McLane Stadium.
Over seven tournament games, Novi allowed just 14 runs, and Green added that another facet of his team emerged over the last three weeks.
“Our pitching staff carried us most of the way, and then hitting came through in the playoffs,” he said.
It certainly wasn’t an easy road for Novi (32-8), which knocked off the likes of Catholic League finalist Detroit Catholic Central, No. 3-ranked Northville, No. 7 Battle Creek Lakeview, No. 16 Hartland and a 30-win Woodhaven team en route to the title.
Before this dream run, Novi hadn’t made it to the Semifinal round since doing so in 1973, when the Wildcats finished runner-up in Class C.
Senior Alex Czapski was able to speak about the historical significance for the program better than any of his teammates after the game, given he had older brothers who graduated in 2014 and 2017 and the farthest any of them got was the Regional round.
Czapski, whose tying single with two outs in the seventh inning of a Semifinal against Mattawan kept Novi alive before his team went on to win that game in 10 innings, literally has grown up around the program.
“We have just been playing for this team for a long time,” Czapski said. “We had pitching depth, and we had hitting that tended to get hot. The thing we know about this team that makes us stand out is we have a brotherhood. Our team chemistry is something I don’t think I’ve seen out of a Novi team.”
Novi was in control throughout the Final, collecting 15 hits and putting constant traffic on the bases.
The Wildcats opened the scoring in the top of the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead on a 2-run single by junior Thad Lawler with the bases loaded and two outs.
Novi tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning, with juniors Brendon Bennett and Andrew Kummer and senior catcher Brett Reed each providing RBI singles to give their team a 5-0 lead.
Woodhaven (32-12) got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, cutting Novi’s lead to 5-1 when senior Nick Phillips singled with pinch-runner Dawson Terry on second base. Terry scored when a throw to home got past the catcher.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Novi all but put the game away by scoring three runs. One scored on a wild pitch, and then Reed hit a 2-run single to left-center to give the Wildcats an 8-1 lead.
Woodhaven did make things a bit interesting in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs and putting runners on first and third with one out. But Reed threw out a runner trying to steal second, and Novi sophomore Uli Fernsler then finished a complete-game performance with a strikeout to start the celebration on the field.
Fernsler allowed three runs and eight hits, walked none and struck out eight. Woodhaven, meanwhile, had to use four pitchers and struggled to contain Novi’s offense.
The Warriors were making their second trip to the championship game after falling 8-1 to Grosse Pointe South in 2018.
“(Fernsler) pitched a really good game, and we were the opposite,” Woodhaven head coach Corey Farner said. “We didn’t hit our spots at all and had a hard time getting outs. You can’t put 19 runners on base and expect to win. That was the difference in the game. They pitched a really good game, and we didn’t.”
Bennett had three hits and an RBI, junior Caleb Walker had three hits and Reed had two hits and three RBI to lead Novi in its historic victory.
“This is so special,” Green said. “I’m so happy for our kids, and I’m so happy for all of our past players.”
PHOTOS (Top) A Novi hitter drives a pitch during Saturday's first championship game at McLane Stadium. (Middle) The Wildcats raise their trophy during the awards presentation. (Below) Novi's Uli Fernsler makes his move toward the plate. (Photos by Olivia Napier/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)