'Hungrier Than Ever' St. Mary's Wins 3rd-Straight Title in Record Perfection
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – Nearing the end of a season that saw Orchard Lake St. Mary’s score more than 400 runs, it was a first-inning infield grounder that scored the only run the Eaglets would need to record their third-consecutive Division 1 baseball title on Saturday at McLane Stadium.
“In the moment, nobody thought it would be the only run,” said St. Mary’s catcher Ike Irish, who drove in Nolan Schubert, who had singled, moved to second on an error and to third on a failed pickoff attempt. “The ball didn’t bounce our way, and so that one run was big, but there were a lot of other big plays in the game.”
The Eaglets (44-0) became the first team in MHSAA history to win that many games, and extended their second-best-in-state-history winning streak to 66. Their 411 runs scored made them the third team in Michigan this year and 15th on record to surpass 400 in one season.
None of it mattered to Grosse Pointe North lefty Brennan Hill, who gave up only three hits while walking one and striking out nine.
“I knew that if I trusted my stuff and was in the zone and I was competitive, I could do what I did today,” Hill said.
St. Mary’s snuffed out rallies by North in the first and seventh innings by picking off runners in scoring position.
“I don’t think anyone in the park thought that one run in the bottom of the first was going to be the difference,'' Eaglets coach Matt Petry said. “We executed, played good defense, and Ciaran (Caughey) and Jasen (Oliver) did a good job on the mound.”
But the Eagles had to hold their breath in the seventh inning.
Brennan Hill singled and went to second on an infield out. After the second out, Parker O’Neill walked. Drew Hill then hit a hard smash down the first base line.
But first baseman Blake Grimmer played the grounder perfectly, stepping on first base to end the threat and seal the championship for the Eaglets.
North first-year coach Kevin Shubnell, whose team finished 23-8, was emotional when asked how his team will be remembered.
“There’s been a lot of change and turnover and turmoil in this program the last couple of years,” he said. “My one mission was to make this a positive experience for our six seniors. ... I’ll never forget them.”
The Eaglets, meanwhile, were basking in the glow of achieving a goal they set a year ago.
“Last year, we wanted to go 44-0,” Oliver said of the 2021 team. “We were 43-1, which was OK, but we came back this year, hungrier than ever.”
PHOTOS (Top) St. Mary’s Blake Grimmer (13) celebrates the final out of Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Eaglets’ Ciaran Caughey makes his move toward the plate.
Parks Thrives on Mound & at Plate to Help Deliver Forest Hills Eastern's 1st Title
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – Evan Parks wasn't nervous before or during Saturday's Division 2 championship game at McLane Stadium.
Not while he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and not while going 3-for-3 with an RBI at the plate.
After his Ada Forest Hills Eastern team won its first baseball Finals title, defeating Grand Rapids Christian 3-0, it was a different story.
“It's starting to set in now,” he said with a nervous laugh.
Parks held Grand Rapids Christian to one hit, an infield single by Nathan Hedlund, walked three and struck out nine.
"With him on the mound, him at the plate, him in the field, we always feel very, very comfortable," Hawks coach Ian Hearn said. "Our motto all year has been 'Team,' be servants for one another and serve one another."
Grand Rapids Christian pitcher Camden Seth had a good outing, scattering 10 hits while strong defense kept Forest Hills Eastern from causing any more damage.
"They’re very talented," Hearn said. "They have a lot of very good baseball players, and coach (Brent) Gates does a really nice job. They kept us in check."
Parks drove in the only run the Hawks would need in the third inning. With two out, Caleb Kuiper singled and scored on a double by Parks off the fence in right field.
The Hawks added single runs in the fourth inning on a groundout by Max Ferrick, and in the fifth inning on a single by Leo Hearn.
“Hats off to them,” Gates said. “Their pitcher did a great job on the mound. We battled. We competed. We just came up short.”
The Hawks finished 39-4 after a 25-0 start.
“We had amazing chemistry,” Hearn said. “Right out of the gate, they competed well. We knew we were a pretty good team. I’m super proud of them and super proud of the way they handled themselves all season long.”
Parks, for his part, stayed focused, admitting he didn’t know he had no-hitter until the fifth inning.
“I just threw strikers,” he said. “That’s what it comes down to. That’s how you get outs. We worked real hard all summer, all fall, all winter, even all spring and we finally got it done.”
Forest Hills Eastern’s work came to a close when Parks induced a game-ending double play.
“There is no way to describe it,” Parks said of his reaction to the final out. “It means all the world when you see the ball down, your defense is playing for you. It means all the world when you see the play finally finish, and it's done.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ada Forest Hills Eastern raises its championship trophy Saturday at Old College Field. (Middle) A Hawks runner slides into third base as Grand Rapids Christian’s Nathan Hedlund (5) anticipates the throw.