GAYLORD — At this rate, the Petoskey baseball team is going to run out of fingers to hold up representing consecutive district championships.
They’re probably just fine with that. And the No. 1 always works as a solid go-to.
On Saturday in Gaylord, playing in a Division 2 district tournament with a Northmen team barely tied to the streak that grew to six last season, Petoskey baseball made it seven straight district titles won on the diamond.
It’s a feat rarely seen in the sport, to continue such dominance, though baseball has been something bigger than just a way to pass the spring months in the Petoskey community for a while now.
Wins of 13-1 over Cheboygan, then 4-2 over host Gaylord Saturday helped deliver the title, with the Blue Devils giving everything they had in nail-biter
Down a couple of key pieces, both atop the lineup and on top of the mound, Petoskey never lost a step and came through when they needed to most.
In the district championship, Petoskey and Gaylord sat knotted at 2-2 until the top of the seventh, when back to back errors delivers life to the Northmen that they took advantage of.
Fred Hollerback scored on a bases loaded error by the Blue Devils to bring on a 3-2 lead, then one batter later, Tyler Pool scored on an error.
Petoskey’s Dylan Aukeman then shut down Gaylord from there, picking up three strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh.
Aukeman delivered once again for Petoskey, striking out six across seven innings with five hits and one walk issued.
Pool doubled at the plate, Tate Russell went 2-for-3 with an RBI, then Beckett Blake also had an RBI.
Against Cheboygan, Russell doubled in a run, Zach Wodek went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, Blake and Pool each had two hits and three Rbis, Brady Kanine drove in two, as did Brock Jeffers.
Russell and Mateo Lange combined for five innings and 10 strikeouts, giving up just two hits.
The win for the Northmen (24-8) brings on a Division 2 regional semifinal game against Escanaba at 4 p.m., Wednesday, June 3 in Kingsford.
DIVISION 3
Harbor Springs shows both sides
ELK RAPIDS — A good sign of a great team is when one quality can pick up another on the field.
When the bats aren’t finding gaps, Harbor Springs’ arms have been able to hold opponents off the board. When it’s the arms that need a little help, the bats come through.
It’s been that kind of story all season for Harbor Springs and the story continues now past Saturday thanks to a Division 3 district championship in Elk Rapids.
The Rams earned wins of 5-1 over Mancelona and 6-4 against Elk Rapids to earn the title and keep the season alive.
Harbor’s previous district title came in the 2024 season.
Nick Lemieur brought another gem in game one against the Ironmen, going a complete seven innings with three hits and a walk issued, to go with eight strikeouts.
Greyson Rife doubled, Ben McShannock had two RBIs and a single, Thaddeus Cosens singled twice and drove in one and Ryan Novak added an RBI.
The Rams began the district final with a pair of runs in the first inning, but fell behind 4-2, then 4-3 after three, with the deficit holding until the sixth, when the Rams plated three runs and held on from there.
Caiden Phillips doubled and had an RBI, Rife went 2-for-3 with three runs, then Nolan Kennedy, Cosens and Lemieur all had an RBI.
McShannock earned the win over 5 2/3 innings, striking out four.
The title moves Harbor Springs (27-3) into an Elk Rapids hosted Division 3 regional seminal at 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 3 against D3 reigning champ, Traverse City St. Francis.
DIVISION 4
Harbor Light starts weekend off right
PELLSTON — It might not have been an evening of Friday night lights when the Harbor Light Christian baseball team took to its Division 4 district tournament in Pellston Friday, though there was a whole lot of lighting up the scoreboard on Friday night for the Swordsmen.
Victories of 18-3 over Burt Lake NMCA and 7-0 over Inland Lakes helped bring on a district title for the Swordsmen.
It comes as a repeat title for Harbor Light after a district title in a 25-win season a year ago and run to the regional finals.
Harbor Light’s Will Paulus was on the top of his game on top of the hill against Inland Lakes in the championship, tossing 6 2/3 innings with just three hits allowed, no walks and six strikeouts.
Paulus also doubled and drove in two at the plate, Ayden Burns doubled, Daniel Urman went 3-for-4 and CJ DuBois had an RBI single.
Everyone hit in the opener against NMCA, which went just four innings, led by 3-for-3 games from DuBois, Lynus Cadarette and Gerrit Boerman. Urman also doubled in the game, while Dubois earned the win with six strikeouts.
Travis Rose also pitched an inning, collecting two strikeouts.
The win sends the Swordsmen (24-8) into a Division 4 regional semifinal against Hillman at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 3 in Hillman.
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey-area baseball teams reign over districts for D2, D3 and D4