DETROIT — Dearborn Divine Child and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood employed late-inning rallies to claim Catholic High School League baseball championships May 21 at The Corner in downtown Detroit.
Divine Child scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth for a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over Jackson Lumen Christi for its second Cardinal Division title in a row and 13th in school history.
Only one of the eight runs was earned, that is, a run earned not by the errors or mistakes of the defensive team. That came in the first inning. Lumen Christi took a 1-0 lead on the combination of a game-opening double by Titans second baseman Kellen Crowley and a sacrifice fly by senior Jack Fitzpatrick.
Divine Child bounced back for a 2-1 lead in the third inning on back-to-back singles by sophomore Kole Boike and senior Dallas Terski, both scoring on an error by Titans first baseman Logan Hetherington.
The Falcons made it 3-1 in the fourth. Senior Andrew Ryan reached base on an error, then came home on a double by sophomore Kole Boike.
In the top of the fifth, Boike dropped a fly ball in a near-collision with sophomore left fielder Lukas Kovach. Two runs scored for Lumen Christi to tie the game at 3-3.
The ball barely left the infield in the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Falcons rallied for the win. With one out, Ryan reached first base on a swinging bunt. He raced all the way to third when Christi pitcher Wes Learned threw wildly to first base and scored the tie-breaking run on a weak infield ground ball by Gibson Shore.
Shore advanced on a pair of passed balls and scored on an infield single by freshman Jack Krakowski.
Divine Child and Jackson Lumen Christi came to the Cardinal Division final with formidable credentials. Divine Child (24-4), the defending champion, was ranked No. 5 in Division 2 while Lumen Christi, No. 5 in Division 3, had won its last 14 games in a row to build a 27-8 record.
In the state tournament, Divine Child will play Redford Union (0-14) at noon on Saturday, May 30. The winner moves on to face Garden City (28-5) at 3 p.m. The games are played at Garden City.
Lumen Christi will host Napoleon (19-12) at noon May 30.
Cranbrook wins first baseball title
Cranbrook Kingswood used a three-run sixth-inning rally to beat Allen Park Cabrini, 5-1, and win the Ste. Anne Division baseball championship, the school’s first in that sport to go along with 10 trophies in six other boys sports and 12 championships in seven girls sports since Cranbrook joined the CHSL in 2010.
Junior Chance Sui scored the Cranes’ first run in the opening inning and smacked an RBI triple in the second inning for an early 2-0 lead.
Cabrini cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning. Senior Eddie Hughes walked, stole second base and scored on a base hit by Andrew Ostrowski.
A lead-off double by junior Aiden Macauley, an error, and singles by junior Seth Hittleman and sophomore Josh Flanagan were the primary factors in Cranbrook’s decisive sixth inning.
“This team has been through ups and downs,” coach Nick Swanson said. “We lost our No. 1, and then our No. 2 player got knocked out yesterday. It’s rewarding to have these kids step up and actually bring this thing home.”
As for the state playoffs, the Cranes (21-10) will face Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (Div. 2, No. 1; 27-10) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at Orchard Lake.
Cabrini (11-7) opens against Allen Park InterCity Baptist (12-7) at noon, May 30.
Also in the state playoffs on May 30: Division 1, No. 1 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (15-5) vs. either Birmingham Seaholm (16-15) or North Farmington (16-11) at 10 a.m. at the Warriors Park. Novi Detroit Catholic Central (22-11) vs. South Lyon East (7-17) at 10 a.m. at Novi High School.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
