Advertisement

The baseball team earned a trip to Kalkaska for Saturday's regional finals by winning the district championship the previous week. After earning an upset win over No. 8 ranked Elk Rapids in the opener 6-5 in eight innings, the Devils were defeated in the final 4-0 by Standish-Sterling.

Tom Pentecost started the game against Elk Rapids, and after allowing an early run held the Elks scoreless for a few innings and allowed the Devils to take the lead.

With a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning, David Marr scored on a wild pitch to give the Devils a 2-1 lead. They scored three more runs in the inning, including a run by Pentecost to help his effort.

The Devils held that lead until the sixth inning, when the Elks scored four runs to tie the game and eventually force it to extra innings.

In the eighth, Scot Hansen hit an RBI single with two outs, to score Billy Kraemer, and advance the Devils to the regional final. Matt Pater came in to relieve Pentecost, and earned the win.

Unfortunately for the Devils, it was their last run scored of the year.

In the final, they faced Standish-Sterling and a strong pitching staff. The Panthers were coming off a 5-0 shutout victory over Newberry in their opener, and continued their scoreless inning streak against East Jordan.

Justin Migut and Dewey Milan combined to allow just three hits, leading the Panthers to a 4-0 win. Pater pitched for the Devils, striking out two and allowing six hits.

The Panthers scored a pair of runs in the first inning, followed by a run in both the second and fourth innings. Marr and Ryan Gettel had hits for the Devils in the game.