LocalSportsJournal.com
OAKRIDGE — The Spring Lake Lakers earned their spot in the Division 2 regional baseball tournament after claiming two district victories on Saturday. The district title was the first for the Lakers since 2018.
The Lakers defeated host Oakridge 5-1 in the district semifinal game then defeated Fruitport 10-4 for the district title.
In the semifinal game, the Lakers did not score a run until putting up five in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Zane Stahl was the winning pitcher. He allowed one run in the top of the first inning and that was it. Stahl allowed two hits, both singles in the first inning. He struck out 12 and walked two in the complete game performance.
In the pivotal sixth inning, Jaden Core started the rally with a single and later scored on a Zach Schlepp single. Later in the inning, Will May cleared the bases with a bases-loaded double.
In the championship game, the Lakers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning and built it to 5-0 after four innings. Fruitport plated its four runs in the top of the sixth inning, but Spring Lake responded with five in the bottom of the inning.
The Lakers used a 13-hit attack to claim the victory and also was aided by five Trojan errors.
Gerrit Lyyski posted the victory on the mound. Ryan Grimm came on in the top of the sixth and helped avert further damage by the Trojans.
Derrick Paggeot and Stahl led the way for the Lakers with three hits each. Owen Smies May and Oliver Smies each chipped in a pair of hits.
Spring Lake (19-13) heads into regional action at 5 p.m. Wednesday against the host Newaygo Lions. 
