DETROIT — This was a case of the means justifying the end.
Dearborn Divine Child used a seven-run outburst to shut out Macomb Lutheran North, 10-0, for the Catholic High School League boys baseball Cardinal Division title, its first since 2022 and 12th in school history.
At the same time, Ann Arbor Greenhills rallied its last at-bat for a 3-2 decision over Royal Oak Shrine to repeat as the CHSL Ste. Anne Division champ.
The games were played May 22 at the Willie Horton Field of Dreams at The Corner Ballpark located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, built on the former site of Tiger Stadium.
The Falcons play 'small ball'
Divine Child third baseman Dallas Terski’s RBl single in the first inning gave the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.
The floodgates overwhelmed Lutheran North in the third inning.
Divine Child sent six batters in a row to the plate. After Terski led off with another ground ball single to left, successive bunts by Ethan Davis and Cam Niehaus filled the bases. A walk to Brennan Bush and bunts by Ethan Perkins and Mason Bush resulted in three runs.
After a strikeout, two more runs scored on a single by Andrew Ryan and a walk to Matthew Esparza. Terski, in his second time at bat in the inning, singled in runs six and seven to push the Falcons’ lead to 8-0.
Coach Jeremy Shay explained the “small ball” strategy: “We tried to get pressure on them, to put the ball into play, to try to limit strikeouts.”
The game was called by the 10-0 mercy rule in the fifth inning after Terski and Davis scored on singles by Niehaus and William Anders.
Nine batters participated in Divine Child’s 13-hit attack. Terski had three RBI.
On the mound, right-hander Niehaus limited Lutheran North to two hits and struck out 10 batters.
“He’s one of the best we got,” Shay said of Niehaus. “He’s been tough all year.”
Seniors Carson Carroll (2 innings pitched, 5 runs, 8 hits, 7 walks) and Landon Boesl (3 IP, 5 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks) shared the misery on the mound for Lutheran North (18-4).
Divine Child (20-7) had slipped past Lutheran North (18-4), 3-2, in a regular season game back on April 15.
Greenhills overcomes the pressure
It was just a matter of time before either Shrine or Greenhills made their move.
Greenhills had runners on second and third in the fourth inning and loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, only to waste both opportunities.
Shrine took a 2-0 lead in its fifth inning. Nate Alba and Murphy drew walks and sprinted home on a triple to deep right center by Jackson Poulton, where any further damage faded in the heat of back-to-back strikeouts fired by Gryphons southpaw Nick Roney.
The Knights threatened again in the sixth. With two outs, Clayton Barbato singled and stole second base. Alba walked. Both moved up to second and third on a wild pitch where they were stranded.
The Gryphons’ (26-3) game- and championship-winning rally started innocently enough with a walk to Josh Dorfman. Twoey Bullock singled, Fran Love doubled sending Dorfman across the plate, Jeremiah Bowman singled but Love moved just a base ahead, and Talen Pilz cracked a base hit to left field to drive in the winning runs.
“Maybe a little pressure got to us,” Greenhills coach Tom Ward said. ”We definitely came out a little tight at the start, but we’re never done till we’re done. We’ve had to come back a couple of times this year.”
About his team, Shrine (16-8) head coach Dan Noble said, “They’re a group that kind of finds a way, and today was the one time where I felt that we just didn’t find a way.”
Roney threw five innings allowing Shrine’s two runs, walking seven and striking out 10.
Pilz relieved the last two innings (3 walks, 4 Ks) and delivered the winning hit.
Junior Nate Alba went the distance for Shrine, giving up seven hits, walking three and striking out three.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
