On the Diamond: Jonesville left fielder Carsen Cornila sends Bradley home to beat Napoleon
Watch Jonesville junior Carsen Cornila drive in the game-winning run (5-4 final) with a double base hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.
HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale varsity baseball team kicked off the MHSAA baseball and softball playoffs locally with a visit to Jackson Lumen Christi for a District 82 quarterfinal game. The Hornets had a lofty task to take down the No. 3 ranked Titans (25-7).
Lumen Christi shook of a shaky second and third inning from Hornet bats to take a 12-2 victory and advance to the district semifinal round.
The Hornets hung tough with the Titans through the first couple of innings. After a quick 4-run start to the game for the Titans, the Hornets put runners in scoring position thanks to a single from senior Wyatt Wahtola, who would steal second. Tate Ortiz also got on base after a walk. Senior Carter Davis hit a line drive to left field to send Wahtola to third and Ortiz to second. Tydan Bible would send both Wahtola and Ortiz home on a single base hit.
The Hornets limited the Titans to just one run in the bottom of the second, and it looked like the Hornets might respond in the top of the third inning. Jace Lennox nearly had a triple before getting caught at third. Ben Champion got on base, and Wahtola had another base hit. Tyson Duff walked, advancing runners to third and second, but a ground out would stop their momentum.
From there, Lumen Christi would take control of the game, adding five more runs in the bottom of the third inning and two more in the bottom of the fourth. The game was called after five.
The loss marked the end of a tough season for Hornet baseball, finishing 5-27. The wins were a 13-4 victory over Adrian Lenawee Christian at Adrian College, Napoleon and Quincy in non-conference action and a sweep of Vandercook Lake in double digit finals.
The team loses seniors Wyatt Wahtola, Carter Davis, Anderson Holloway and Jace Lennox, a group that has been playing together since Jace Lennox can remember.
“The main thing I’ve taken away from all four years I’ve played here is just the teammates and guys that I played with, we’ve created these bonds when we were young playing in 10-U, 12-U,” Lennox said. “To play with these guys and see how these guys grew with me to my senior year was awesome. It’s kind of a weird feeling to see us all be upset to end our whole career. We’ve been playing since we were all little.”
Lennox says his senior teammates helped him push through this final season, the fans who always showed up to support the Hornets and the coaches for being their everyday even when things weren’t going well during season.
“Honestly, all my teammates are just great people to be around. I wouldn’t be able to make it through the season without them,” Lennox said. “So, a huge appreciation to them. I want to send out a thank you to all our fans and parents who come out to watch us and sit through it all. So, huge thanks to them, and (thanks) to our coaches. They still got to show up every day (even) if things aren’t going well. It’s not always a perfect thing going on for them, and they always got stuff going on, so thanks to the coaches for showing up.”
Lennox ends his athletic career for the Hornets having won a boys basketball district championship in his final winter sports season. Last spring, Lennox and this year’s graduating seniors were able to earn a playoff win against their LCAA rivals in Hudson 5-3. The seniors had earned multiple accolades during their time with the Hornet athletic programs. Wahtola qualified for the state finals his sophomore wrestling season. He had a 36-8 record his senior year.
Final Stats
The top leaders in the stats categories for the Hornets include Lennox with a .380 batting average, .676 slugging and 27 hits. Tyson Duff had 25 hits, Holloway 23, Wahtola 20 and Ben Champion 19. Anderson Holloway led in on-base-percentage with a .462. Duff led the team with 21 singles, while Lennox had 10 doubles and four triples. Lennox and Holloway each had a home run. Duff led the team with 14 RBIs, Holloway had 13 and Wahtola and Champion each had 12. Colton Wolf had five.
In base running, Lennox led the team with 26 runs, Champion 16 and Duff 13. Carter Davis and Luke Webster each had 11. Lennox led the team with 15 steals and a stolen-base success rate of 83.33%. Carter and Noah Davis each had nine steals. Holloway had eight.
Pitching wins included Holloway, Champion, Bible, Aidan VanWormer and Wyatt Wahtola. Champion led the team with 42 strikeouts. VanWormer had 38. Bible had 24. Holloway had 22. Wahtola had eight. Champion led the team with a 2.169 WHIP.
Noah Davis had 111 recorded putouts and a fielding percentage of .966. Champion had 68 putouts. Colton Wolf had 53 and a fielding percentage of .946. Lennox had 48 and a percentage of .825. Carter Davis had 36 and a percentage of .925. Champion and Lennox each recorded three double plays.
Lumen Christi would go on to face Hanover-Horton in the semifinals. Jonesville would face Michigan Center on the other side of the bracket. The winner results will be published at hillsdale.net.