Softball, Tennis Teams Win Invites; Golf Places Fifth in Bay City

SOFTBALL — Hartland won the Chelsea Invitational Saturday, finishing the round-robin tournament a perfect 3-0.

The Eagles defeated Blissfield, 6-2; Dundee, 8-3; and Chelsea, 5-0.

“We were thrilled to win it, believe me,” Hartland coach Carl Gabrielson said. “We’ve been getting better every week and one of our goals is to start winning tournaments and we accomplished that.”

Abbie Minsker was the winning pitcher in the opener, allowing three hits with 10 strikeouts. Three freshmen led the way at the plate: Hannah Greene was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI; Lindsey Pajot was 2-for-3 with a run a two RBIs; and Shelby Hard was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

Versus Dundee, Jordan Phelps got the win on the mound and Minsker got the save. Laura Oliver was 3-for-4 with a run; Chantel Olschanski had two RBIs and was 2-for-4; and Greene was 3-for-4 with a run.

Minsker got the win against Chelsea, fanning eight and allowing three hits. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate. Pajot was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run and Dariean Bennington was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs.

“We’re 8-0, honorable mention in Division 1 and we’re playing well,” Gabrielson said. “This sets us up for some big games next week.”

The Eagles host Flint-Kearsley on Monday, then play a doubleheader at Howell on Wednesday.

GIRLS TENNIS — Hartland torched the competition at the Howell Invitational on Saturday.

The Eagles finished first with 33 points. Howell was second (13), Walled Lake Northern third (12) and Pinckney was fourth (7).

“I was very pleased with the results today,” Hartland coach Judy Jagdfeld said. “Ten of my 14 girls had never played a varsity tournament before.”

Hartland swept the singles flights with Abby Haughie, Rachel Byron, Kaitlyn Ratliff and Swan Germain all getting wins. The No. 2 doubles team of Laura Seifert and Lexie Hayes also placed first. 

The Eagles had three doubles teams place second: At No. 1, Allison Beaver and Caitlin Distelrath; at No. 4, Elle Cook and Briana Conway; and at No. 5,  Alex Piper and Justine Mixter.

“We are a very young team,” Jagdfeld said. “Half are underclassmen. Both freshman (Byron and Germain) brought home first-place medals.”

Hartland (1-2, 1-2 KLAA West) returns to Howell for West Division play Monday.

BOYS GOLF — Hartland sophomore Grant Klopfenstein tied for second overall in his first varsity tournament Saturday.

He shot a 76 at the Bay City Western Invite at the Bay City Country Club to help lead the Eagles to a fifth-place finish out of 13 teams.

“For him to finish tied for second and post a good number like that on a tough course, that’s a nice statement for him,” Hartland coach Nathan Oake said. 

Bay City Western was first with a score of 318. The Eagles shot a 338.

Junior Derek Andreen shot an 83, sophomore Cody Highfield shot an 87 and junior Grant Comly posted a 92.

Thursday

BOYS BASEBALL — Hartland took two over South Lyon on Thursday to remain unbeaten on the year.

The Eagles (7-0) won game one 14-3 after breaking open what was a close game in the seventh inning. Hartland then took game two by scoring 15 runs in three innings to end the game under mercy rules. The Eagles next travel to Swartz Creek on Monday for a doubleheader.

“I think the fifth inning of (game one) really carried over into the second," said head coach Brian Morrison said. “We had better at bats, we swung better and at better pitches."

Hartland senior Dan Richmond started it all off with a two RBI base hit in the fifth inning of game one. Hartland was trailing 3-2 at the time.

“He (Richmond) is not afraid to be in the situations he finds himself in,“ Morrison said. “He wants to be the guy up there with two outs and a man in scoring position. He wants to try to pull that out for the team to win.”

The Eagles put the game out of reach with eight-run seventh inning. Starting sophomore pitcher Jake Lowery opened the seventh with his first long ball of the season. He finished just one leg short of the cycle, missing only the triple. On top of a solid hitting performance, Lowery also put in six innings of work on the mound. Striking out six, giving up five hits and two earned runs improving his record as a
starter to 3-0.

In game two, Shane Felix and Travis Johnson each had two hits and drove in two runs. Jake Jesson struck out two batters and gave up two hits in three innings of work.

GIRLS TENNIS — Hartland senior Abby Haughie was grinning ear to ear for a good stretch on Thursday afternoon.

Haughie, who is playing No. 1 singles again this year, beat Brighton senior Taylor Parrish in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

“This feels very, very good,” Haughie said. “I lost to her last year and she was the one person I wanted to beat this year and I’ve done it.”

Freshman Rachel Byron defeated Brighton senior Lia Mancuso, at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-4.

However, the Bulldogs took the rest of the flights. Still, it didn’t damper the mood of the afternoon.

“We haven’t been able to play a lot,” Haughie said. “It’s finally sunny. It’s nice to be out here playing.”

Brighton 7, Hartland 2

SINGLES — Abby Haughie (H) d. Taylor Parrish 6-2, 6-4; Rachel Byron (H) d. Lia Mancuso 6-1, 6-4; Rachel Raneses (B) d. Kaitlyn Ratliff 6-3, 6-1; Kate McClure (B) d. Swan Germain 6-3, 6-3.

DOUBLES — Aubry Russell-Shannon Urban (B) d. Allison Beaver-Caitlin Distelrath 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-4; Mary Wojtala-Lexie Willey (B) d. Laura Seifert-Lexie Hayes 6-4, 7-6 (5); McKenna Russell-Rylie Haupt (B) d. Mattie Raush-Caitie Helm 6-2, 6-2; Alyssa Pratt-Mackenzie Stuenkel (B) d. Briana Conway-Elle Cook 6-1, 6-0; Sydney Wisniewski-Julie Hamlin (B) d. Justine Mixter-Alex Piper 6-2, 6-3.

BOYS GOLF — Adam Firavich led the way with an even-par 35 as Hartland defeated Howell, 152-164, on Thursday at Dunham Hills.

Filling out the Eagles’ scorers were: Chris McRae (39), Austin Rivet (39) and Craig Stoddard (39).

Howell was led by Logan Simmonds and Jacob Schroeder, who both shot 40.

Hartland (2-0) is at the Bay City Invitational at the Bay City Country Club on Saturday at 1 p.m.

GIRLS LACROSSE — Hartland defeated Huron Valley 13-2 Thursday to move its record to 3-2 on the season, according to hartlandlacrosse.com. The Eagles next play Monday at Canton.

Wednesday

BOYS LACROSSE — On a bitterly cold evening, rivals Hartland and Brighton met for the only time on the regular-season schedule and the Bulldogs came away with a 12-5 victory.

"We asked the kids to give their best effort," Hartland coach Mike Holka said. "But we had a lot of dropped balls, turnovers and we failed to clear."

Hartland senior midfielder Jack Bontekoe led the Eagles (2-4, 1-1 KLAA) with two goals and two assists; senior Austin MacDonald scored two goals; and sophomore Chris Griffin scored one goal.

Hartland hosts Ypsilanti-Lincoln on Monday.

BOYS AND GIRLS TRACK — Hartland Patch featured the team in its spotlight. Click here for the story.

Tuesday

BOYS GOLF — Hartland opened head-to-head play with a five-stroke win over Pinckney on Tuesday at in cold, rainy and windy conditions, according to coach Nathan Oake.

Hartland's Adam Firavich shot a 39 for the low score of the day on the par-35 layout. Other Eagle scores were: Chris McRae (41), Austin Rivet (42) and Craig Stoddard (43).

The 165-170 gives the Eagles a 1-0 on the season. Hartland next plays Thursday vs. Howell at Dunham Hills.

GIRLS SOCCER — Hartland defeated South Lyon 3-0 on Tuesday, according to @hartlandsports.

The Eagles are now 4-0-2 on the year. Hartland next plays April 26 vs. Brighton.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK — Julie DeBus of soccer, Austin McDonald of lacrosse, Avery Evenson of track and Abbie Minsker of softball were named Athletes of the Week, according to @hartlandsports.

Monday

GIRLS LACROSSE — Hartland lost to South Lyon 14-10 on Monday after a second-half comeback fell short, according to Hartlandlacrosse.com.

Ryan Skomial led the Eagles with three goals. Haley Crouse, Taylor Pryde, and Natalie Sochacki netted two goals each. Rachel Sharpe scored one, the site said.

The loss drops Hartland to 2-2 on the season. The Eagles next play 7 p.m. vs. Huron Valley.

Sunday

GIRLS LACROSSE — Hartland Patch featured the team in its spotlight. Click for the story.