St. Mary's Tops Off Tourney Run with Title, Record-Tying Win

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

June 19, 2021

EAST LANSING – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s senior Tommy Allman stole the show on the mound in Saturday’s Division 2 Final.  

His talented teammates did the same on the base paths.

Allman pitched six solid innings, and the Eaglets set a new Finals record for stolen bases in a decisive 9-0 win over Stevensville Lakeshore at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium.

Top-ranked St. Mary’s (43-1) won its second Division 2 championship in a row and the program’s fifth Finals title overall. The 43 wins tied for the MHSAA record with four other teams: 2010 Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, 1997 Midland Dow, 1995 Stevensville Lakeshore and 1985 Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher.

“It was a good outing, and I was dialed in,” said Allman, who’s headed next to Jacksonville University. “I trusted my team behind me, and everything was working; the off-speed, curveball and slider.

“This is the best way to end it, with a state championship. The whole year we battled, and we pulled it off. I’m proud of my team.”

Allman surrendered only two hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. He struck out seven and didn’t allow a walk.

Relief pitcher Jake Keaser recorded the final two outs.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's baseball“It was a heck of a performance from Tommy; that was awesome,” St. Mary’s coach Matt Petry said. “The plan was to split the game among three guys, but Tommy was throwing so well that we didn’t do that. I made the decision to take him out (in the seventh), and he got a great ovation.”

The Eaglets finished with 12 stolen bases. The total eclipsed the previous Finals record of nine, set by Colon in the 1989 Class D Final against Gaylord St. Mary’s.

Alex Mooney and Ryan Mooney both tied the Finals individual record with three steals each.

“We work out all year trying to stay athletic, and I feel like it really helps,” said Alex Mooney, who scored twice and had two RBI. 

“From the first inning we knew we were getting good jumps and their pitchers were not doing the best job of keeping us on. We got our timing down, and we knew we could swipe bags and we did.” 

Nolan Schubart broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-RBI double.

“Nolan is a stud, and I had all the confidence in the world that he was going to get a hit there,” Alex Mooney said. “It was a huge hit for us, and it really got us going and started that big inning for us.”

Ryan McKay followed with another double to drive in a pair and make it 4-0.

The Eaglets finished with six runs in the inning, then added another three in the sixth.

“This was the ultimate goal,” said Petry, whose starting lineup was loaded with Division I college talent.

“We have three goals each season: Win the Catholic League regular season, the Catholic League tournament championship and the state championship. We always had this day in the back of our mind, and we were able to close it out.”

Freshman Noah Chase started on the mound and went 3 innings for the Lancers.

Lakeshore, which committed three errors and had only two hits, finished the season at 28-12 overall. The loss was its first in a Final after winning back-to-back Division 2 titles in 2017 and 2018 and a Class B crown in 1990.  

“Going into the fourth, we felt really good about ourselves and the game plan was working,” Lancers coach Mark Nate said. “I’m proud of our kids for the way they fought early, and then their true talent came out and that's the bottom line.

“That team is a very, very good baseball team, and they’re deserving of winning it all.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary's Alex Mooney (2) hones in on a pitch during Saturday's Division 2 Final. (Middle) Lakeshore's Andrew Lies (2) stretches for first base as St. Mary's Ike Irish takes a throw.

Be the Referee: Pine Tar Usage

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

March 26, 2025

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Pine Tar Usage - Listen

Those of a certain age remember the Pine Tar Incident involving George Brett – when the Hall of Famer was called out after homering in the ninth inning for having too much pine tar on his bat. Kansas City appealed that decision. Major League Baseball agreed and Brett’s homer was re-instated, leading to a Royals win.

Is pine tar allowed at the high school level? It is. Pine tar, resin, or any drying agent can be applied to any bat – up to 18 inches from the base of the knob.

If a bat has too much pine tar, what happens to the offender?

If it’s caught before the at-bat, the bat is simply removed from play.

If the at-bat has started, then the bat is removed from play AND the batter is called out. 

Previous 2024-25 Editions

March 11: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 4: Gymnastics Deduction - Listen
Feb. 25: Competitive Cheer Inversion - Listen
Feb. 18: Ice Hockey Delay of Game - Listen
Feb. 11: Ski Helmets - Listen
Feb. 4: Wrestling In Bounds or Out? - Listen
Jan. 21: Block or Charge? - Listen
Jan. 14: Out of Bounds, In Play - Listen
Jan. 7: Wrestling Scoring - Listen
Dec. 17: Bowling Ball Rules - Listen
Dec. 10: Neck Laceration Protector - Listen
Dec. 3: Basketball Goaltending - Listen
Nov. 26: 11-Player Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 19: 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football - Listen
Nov. 12: Back Row Setter - Listen
Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
Oct. 15: "You Make the Call"
- Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18:
 Libero - Listen
Sept. 10:
 Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen