LocalSportsJournal.com
PETOSKEY– The baseball season came to an end for the Spring Lake Lakers in Division 2 quarterfinal action on Saturday.
The Lakers won a regional title, 5-0, over Petoskey in Saturday’s regional final game, but several hours later, the dropped a 7-2 decision to Forest Hills Eastern, the defending state champions in Division 2.
In the regional final game, the Lakers scored two runs in the second and two in the third and that was all that was needed with Zane Stahl on the mound. Stahl pitched a complete game shutout. He allowed seven hits and struck out five.
It was Spring Lake’s first regional baseball title since 1995.
Stahl helped his own case in the second inning with a two-run double. Derrick Paggeot and Owen Smies each had two hits for the balanced Spring Lake attack. Eight Lakers each had at least one hit in the game.
In the quarterfinal game, Forest Hills held a 3-2 lead until they broke open the game with four runs in the top of the seventh. Spring Lake’s two runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Gerrit Lyyski accounted for the Spring Lake runs with a two-run homer to get the Lakers on the board. It was Lyyski’s seventh home run of the season.
Lyyski took the loss on the mound. He allowed six hits and struck out six. Owen Smies and Gabe Trask had the other two hits for the Lakers (21-14).
The setback brought an end to the Laker careers of Carter Ball, Lyyski, Gabe May and Paggeot.
“These four seniors were so impactful to our success this year,” Laker coach Bill Core said. “Not only did they have to welcome in a new coaching staff, but break in nine underclassmen as well. Without their leadership and ‘team first’ sacrifices, no way do we finish with the season we did.”
