SOFTBALL — The Hartland Eagles went 4-1 over the weekend and claimed the Flight C championship at the Michigan Stars Tournament in Grand Blanc on Sunday.
"We're really happy," Hartland coach Carl Gabrielson said. "This makes two tournaments in a row between last weekend and this weekend."
After going 2-1 in pool play on Saturday, the Eagles were placed in Flight C, just below the two championship brackets.
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Sunday, the bats woke up and the Eagles pounded out 25 runs on 31 hits over two games to win the flight.
"We did well," Gabrielson said. "We're 14-3 now, which is very good. I'm very happy with the team. They came to play ball. They bounced back from Friday's game. Their minds are in the right place, the intensity was good and we're going to continue on from here."
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Sunday, Hartland beat Grand Ledge 11-4 and Utica 14-0. The Eagles had 11 hits, eight for extra bases, against Grand Ledge. Shelby Hard hard two hits, a home run, two RBIs and three runs; Laura Oliver had two hits and a run; Kayla Gustitis had two hits and a run; and Sarah Tomlinson had two hits and two runs. Abbie Minsker was the winning pitcher.
Against Utica, Minsker allowed just three hits.
"She was throwing the ball great all weekend," Gabrielson said.
Tomlinson was 4-for-4 with two runs; Chantel Olschanski was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs; and Gustitis was 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs.
On Saturday, the Eagles beat L'Anse Creuse North, 4-2; lost to Livonia-Stevenson, 9-1; and beat Imlay City, 5-0.
Minsker pitched all three games and had a big RBI single in the fifth against Imlay City. In the win over L'Anse Creuse, Hard had a two-run homer and Lindsey Pajot had two hits and an RBI.
Saturday
BASEBALL — The Hartland junior varsity baseball team won a tournament Saturday in Grandville to improve to 13-0 on the season, according to an email submitted by Joe Betoski, a parent of one of the players on the team.
The Eagles won the championship game 9-6 over the Grandville Vikings after defeating the Bryon Center Bulldogs.
TENNIS — The Eagles took second at the Lakeland Invite with 30 points, two behind first-place Farmington Harrison.
"It went great," Hartland coach Judy Jagdfeld said. "I have been surprised and thrilled at the accomplishments of such a young team this year."
Taking first in their flights for Hartland were: Abby Haughie (No. 1 singles) and Swan Germain (No. 4 singles); taking second were: Rachel Byron (No. 2 singles) and the No. 2 doubles team of Laura Seifert and Lexie Haynes; and taking third was Kaitlyn Ratliff (No. 3 singles).
GIRLS LACROSSE — The Eagles went 1-2 at the Rockford Tournament on Saturday.
Hartland beat Mattawan, 7-3, after falling to Forest Hills, 9-7, and Marian, 6-4.
Hartland is ranked No. 11 in Division 1 by laxpower.com, while Marian is No. 4 and Forest Hills is No. 12. Mattawan is ranked No. 11 in Division 2.
Ryan Skomial had two goals against Forest Hills and adding one each were: Taylor Pryde, Haley Crouse, Rachel Sharpe and Ashley Collins.
"Forest Hills had great draw control and had possession most of the game due to that," Hartland coach Katie Gutteridge said. "The girls worked hard to get it back but didn't possess the ball enough to overcome them."
Against Marian, Natalie Sochaki had two goals, both of steals. Skomial and Sharpe had the other two.
"The girls played their best game of the day versus Marian and really earned some respect from some of the top teams," Gutteridge said. "We came together as a team playing excellent defense, had great transitions up the field. Marian had a great showing from their goaltender but the Hartland girls stuck with them the whole game."
Against Mattawan, it was the Eagles who controlled possession and it led to the win. Skomial and Sochaki scored twice and Annie Quinn, Jessica Gust and Sharpe each scored once.
"Freshman Emily Bontekoe was huge on defense all day," Gutteridge said. "She had several great stops and interceptions and was a great communicator, keeping everyone organized."
Friday
SOFTBALL — It was bad news from the beginning with the Eagles expecting to play a doubleheader with Walled Lake Central and the Vikings insisting they were there for one game only.
Jordan Phelps threw a one-hitter for Hartland (10-2, 2-1 KLAA West), but the Eagles lost 3-2.
Phelps had three strikeouts and four walks, but all three runs were unearned because of five Hartland errors.
"We had a bad night," Hartland coach Carl Gabrielson said. "We made too many mistakes. ... I'm hoping this lesson brings out the character in the team and gets us back on track."
Hartland is playing in the Michigan Stars Tournament in Grand Blanc this weekend.
BOYS LACROSSE — Hartland lost to Huron Valley, 10-8, on Friday.
Scoring for the Eagles (4-5, 2-2 KLAA West) were: Jack Bontekoe with three goals; Chris Griffin and Andrew Skowyra with two goals each; Mike Bair with one goal; and Austin MacDonald added three assists.
Buck Short had two saves in net in the first half and Rockey Crotty had seven saves in the second half. Jordan Martin had five takeaways and eight groundballs on defense.
Thursday
BASEBALL — Timely hits helped Hartland to a five-inning, 13-3, mercy of Howell on Thursday.
The Eagles (8-0, 4-0 KLAA West) scored all 13 runs in the first four innings, nine coming between the second and third frames.
"We put some good swings on and had some good at-bats, but they had a few errors and a few walks," Hartland coach Brian Morrison said.
The Eagles had eight hits and benefited from six walks and three Howell errors.
Jake Lowery was 3-for-4 with a single, double, two-run home run and four RBIs. Jake Jessen had a single, a double and two RBIs, and was also the winning pitcher. He threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and three runs, with four strikeouts.
Hartland hosts Walled Lake Central on Friday at 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS — The Eagles have struggled to start the season, but pulled off a big 5-4 win over Plymouth.
"Plymouth came in to the match in first place in their division so the win tonight was super sweet," Hartland coach Judy Jagdfeld said. "My No. 1 doubles team of Allison Beaver and Caitlin Distelrath was amazing. After losing a close first set they came back to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-2."
The Eagles (2-3, 1-3 KLAA West) handed the Wildcats (5-2, 5-0 KLAA South) just their second overall loss of the season. Hartland is scheduled to play at Howell at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Hartland 5, Plymouth 4
Singles — Abby Haughie (H) d. Lindsay Stemberger 6-2, 6-3; Rachel Byron (H) d. Sarah Mitchell 6-0, 6-3; Kaitlyn Ratliff (H) d. Kirthi Duraiswamy 6-1, 6-1; Miranda Cerny (P) d. Swan Germain 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles — Allison Beaver-Caitlin Distelrath (H) d. Britta Swanson-Kayla Griffey 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; Brittany Rose-Andrea Haidar (P) d. Laura Seifert-Lexie Hayes 6-4, 6-0; Mariah Texarz-Marlowe Susselman (P) d. Mattie Raush-Caitie Helm 6-1, 6-0; Erin MacKenzie-Laura Schmid (P) d. Briana Conway-Elle Cook 6-2, 6-3; Justine Mixter-Alex Piper (H) d. Molly Hudgins-Lauren Prochazka 6-1, 7-5.
GIRLS SOCCER — Hartland earned its third shutout in its last four games with a 7-0 win over Milford Thursday.
Julie DeBus had three saves in net for the Eagles (5-1-2, 2-1-1 KLAA West), who led 5-0 at the half.
Hailey Pleshakov scored two goals and scoring one each were: Lexie Schmidt, Karen Nichols, Lindsey Scott, Michelle Rollins and Katie Pioch.
Wednesday
SOFTBALL — The Eagles bounced back from their first loss of the season to split a doubleheader with Howell on Wednesday.
Hartland lost the opener 4-1, and took the nightcap, 3-2.
"They won the first game on the long ball," Hartland coach Carl Gabrielson said. "In the second game, it was just the opposite."
Howell had two doubles and a home run in the opener and Gabrielson said his team "couldn't catch up."
The Eagles won the second game by stringing together singles and capitalizing on Howell mistakes.
"Howell is ranked No. 6 in the state and this was a battle for first in the KLAA," Gabrielson said. "It was nice for us to bounce back after the loss."
Hartland earned honorable mention status in the latest Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association rankings. The Eagles were tied with Grand Blanc in the KLAA West standings going into Wednesday night's action. Howell is third in the standings.
Hartland (10-1, 2-1) struggled at the plate in the opener, but had nine hits in the second game. Lindsey Pajot had two hits; Laura Oliver and Sarah Tomlinson both had two hits and a run; and Kayla Gustitus had a key sacrifice bunt which moved up the eventual winning run.
GIRLS LACROSSE — Hartland moved to 5-2 on the season with a 17-9 win over Huron Valley at Lakeland High School Wednesday night. The game was moved to 6:00pm (from 7:30pm) due to the threat of bad weather.
Junior Courtney Lee scored six goals to lead the Eagles, according to Hartlandlacrosse.com.
Sophomore Ryan Skomial scored five while Haley Crouse and Rachel Sharpe netted two goals each, and Taylor Pryde and Natalie Sochacki both had one, the website said.
Hartland next plays at Rockford on Saturday.
Tuesday
GIRLS SOCCER — Hartland sophomore Michelle Rollins had the best scoring chance for the Eagles in a 1-0 loss to Brighton on Tuesday night.
"It was close," Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. "She got her foot on it, she just couldn't get turned to get it in the net."
Brighton's Brielle Haupt scored the winning goal with 29 minutes left in the second half.
Hartland put pressure on in the last several minutes of the game, with Rollins' chance coming with 3:28 remaining. Her attempt came on a long pass from near midfield by sophomore Rachel Washburn.
"It was a tough game," Kartsounes said.
The Eagles (4-1-2, 1-1-1 KLAA West) host Milford on Thursday.
BOYS LACROSSE — Hartland rolled over Walled Lake Western, 20-2, on Tuesday night.
Cam Fritts led the way with three goals; Jim Francis, Dane Bourdo, Austin MacDonald, Brennan Sopko and Jack Bontekoe all scored two goals; and Josh Domke and Andrew Skowyra each had one goal.
Hartland (4-4, 2-1) hosts Huron Valley on Friday.
Monday
GIRLS LACROSSE — Hartland turned in a dominating performace to defeat Canton 20-1 Monday, according to HartlandLacrosse.com.
Thirteen different players scored, including two each for Ryan Skomial, Haley Crouse, Natalie Sochacki, Taylor Pryde, Annie Quinn, Jessica Gust and Ashley Collins, the website reported.
Rachel Sharpe, Sara Barnett, Kayla Hinkle, Caci Pippin, Rachel Gibbs and Amber Crouse all scored one each, the site said.
With the win, Hartland improves to 6-2 on the season. The Eagles next play Wednesday at Milford vs. Huron Valley United.
BOYS LACROSSE — Hartland defeated Ypsilanti Lincoln 17-0 Monday at home.
Austin MacDonald had four goals; Jack Bontekoe, Cal Bourdo, CJ Reuschlein and Nick Lipon had two goals each; and Andrew Sherman, Josh Domke, Mike Bair, Jimmy Francis and Chris Griffin each scored once. Buck Short had three saves and Rocky Crotty had one save in the game.
The Eagles now are 3-4 on the year. The team hosts Walled Lake Western 7 p.m. Tuesday.
BOYS GOLF —Hartland finished 15th among 28 teams in the Country Club Classic on Monday at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, according to an email from coach Nathan Oake.
Catholic Central was first with a total score of 303. Among Livingston County teams, Pinckney tied for second with 304 and Brighton tied for 13 at 321. Hartland had 322.
Adam Firavich led the Eagles with a 78 while Craig Stoddard carded a 79. Chris Pentescu shot an 82 and Austin Rivet had an 83, the email said.
"This was an excellent tournament with most of the top teams in the state in the field," Oake said in the email. "Our guys played solid on a very nice golf course, but a very difficult day. We take away from this the fact that we each need to look hard to save two to three strokes per player over the course of an 18-hole tournament if we want to consistently compete with the best teams in the state."
The Eagles will next tee it up 4 p.m. May 9 at Milford.
GIRLS SOFTBALL — Hartland won 4-2 over Flint Kearsley to remain unbeaten on the year. The Eagles next play Howell on Wednesday. For our full story, click .