Hartland's Baseball Season Ends In State Quarterfinal loss

MADISON HEIGHTS - The season had come down to this.

Hartland High School's baseball team trailed by two runs and was down to its final three outs.

Despite the reality of the moment, Shane Felix still believed.

The senior had seen the Eagles come through with last minute heroics before and now, with Hartland one win away from advancing to the Division I state semifinals this weekend in Battle Creek, he sensed one more surge.

But when Sterling Heights Stevenson pitcher Ryan Lavoie struck Jake Jessen out, the Eagles' run ended suddenly in  a 3-1 quarterfinals loss Tuesday afternoon.

The Eagles finished the season with a 33-4 record.

"We're upset because we expected to win," said Felix, who drove in Hartland's lone run with an RBI single in the fourth inning. "It's kind of a letdown, but we still put up a battle all year and did what most Hartland teams don't do."

Stevenson scored what turned out to be the game-winning run in the sixth inning on Anthony Persichino's RBI single. Stevenson tacked on a run in  the seventh, loading the bases with three straight singles before Steve Minaudo scored on a wild pitch.

Trailing by one in the sixth, Hartland had threatened, using back-to-back singles by Dan Richmond and Sean Bennett to give the Eagles a pair of runners with no one out.

But Lavoie pitched out of the jam, once again shutting Hartland down without any damage.

"They threatened a little more than we did and they came up with a couple more hits in key situations than we were able push across," Brian Morrison, Hartland coach said. 

Hartland managed to stay close behind sophomore Jake Lowery, who allowed only one run through five innings. He pitched in and out of trouble, keeping the Eagles within striking distance. But after Stevenson built the 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh, the Eagles couldn't come up with the hits they needed to keep their season going.

Lavoie struck out the final two hitters he faced, finishing the game with eight strikeouts, scattering six hits.

"We definitely could have used a lot more offense," Bennett said. "We just needed to string together a few more timely hits.

"I guess it just wasn't our day. (Lavoie) pitched a great game, but we didn't come out and swing like we usually do."

Afterward, Hartland's seniors struggled to come to grips with the loss, believing they had more to offer at this weekend's state championships in Battle Creek.

"It's sad our run has to end like this," Felix said. "But that's life sometimes and things like that happen."

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