It was a tough afternoon for the Fenton baseball and softball teams.
A temperature in the high 80s in Hartland didn’t make it any easier.
The Fenton boys were routed, 10-0 in a five-inning mercy, while the girls were drubbed 7-1 by the Eagles in their district openers.
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“That’s a good team,” said Fenton baseball coach Chad Logan of Hartland. “They’re 27-2 for a reason. Their offense is going to give a lot of people fits. They’re good at the plate and they’ve got depth on the mound. They’re going to be a tough out in the tournament.”
Hartland scored six runs in the second inning to blow the game open.
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Hartland junior pitcher Jake Jessen stymied the Tigers at the plate. He also hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to seal the mercy-rule victory.
“We couldn’t hit the ball and that team is good,” Fenton senior Chad Schupbach said. “We committed three errors and had three hits. They had 10 hits and one error. That’s the story of the game.”
Senior Dave Lenzi took the loss on the mound and Josh Bryant pitched in relief.
The Tigers (13-20-1) will finish their season in the Flint Metro League with a game against Flint Kearsley on Wednesday. Fenton is 7-7 in the league and Kearsley is 10-2.
On the softball diamond, Hartland sophomore pitcher Abbie Minsker allowed no hits and struck out 10. She struck out five Tigers in a row at one point.
“She did a good job,” said Fenton junior pitcher Samantha Cowger of Minsker. “She was changing speeds and she was effective. ... It just wasn’t our day. It was hot. We did what we could.”
Fenton’s lone run came in the sixth inning, with the Tigers trailing 3-0. Sophomore Sarah Halstead reached on an error to start the inning. Junior Sierra Hollis moved her up with a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, freshman Elizabeth Cowger, hit a grounder to second, but the ball was thrown over the first baseman’s head and Cowger got all the way to third. Minsker came back to get to flyball outs to end the inning.
“We had to play our ‘A’ game and we didn’t,” Fenton coach Rick Bescoe said. “We can play better and we should’ve played better.”
The good news for the Tigers is that their season isn’t over and they still have something to play for — a Flint Metro League title.
Fenton (22-12, 12-2) plays Flint Kearsley (10-2) in a doubleheader Thursday for the league title.
“We’re going to use (the loss to Hartland) as a positive,” Samantha Cowger said. “Districts are over for us, but it would be great to win the league.”