Mona Shores charges the field after securing the GMAA city baseball title.
(Photo/Jason Goorman)
By Jason Goorman
LocalSportsJournal.com
The pulse of high school baseball rang out loud and clear at last month’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association’s baseball championship.
The title game had all the makings of an instant classic.
For Mona Shores, it was capped off by a 3-1 win over the defending champs Fruitport in extra innings.
The game itself was highlighted by a pitchers’ dual that pitted Mona Shores aces, Owen Tornga and Julian Theilbar, against Fruitport’s Hudson Hazekamp.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better game, that’s an unbelievable high school baseball game,” said Mona Shores coach Brandon Bard. “I thought Hudson Hazekamp threw an excellent game for Fruitport. Talked to him a little bit afterwards and said, ‘that’s a tough one to lose like that when it goes that way against you.’”
The nine-inning battle had a classic solo home run in the top of the seventh by Jayden Ammeraal, who limped to the plate with his team down 1-0 and fighting muscle cramps in his legs. But it was Grady Gawkowski who drove in Max Silva on an RBI double in the top of the ninth that broke the backs of the Trojans.
Gawkowski later crossed home on a passed ball for the 3-1 lead.
“I’m proud of our guys, too,” said Bard. “They weren’t flawless today, made some base running mistakes, some things to clean up, but never once did they get down, never once did they stop being engaged in the game from start to finish.”
Mona Shores’ Tornga set the Sailors up for success by going 3 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and no hits. The masterful performance by the Louisville commit opened the door for Theilbar to go 5 1/3 innings with four k’s and one earned run that came in the bottom of the sixth.
Hazekamp threw an equally astonishing game for Fruitport, making it all the way into the eighth inning before being relieved by Trevor Rusnak. Hazekamp gave up just two hits and struck out seven along the way. The Trojans’ hurler fought his way through back-to-back innings that had the Sailors knocking on the door with runners on second and third with one out in the second inning. After the junior got through that challenge, he fought off a bases loaded third inning and kept Mona
Shores off the scoreboard.
The scoreless game was broken open in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Rusnack that drove in Avery Lambers for a 1-0 Fruitport lead. Lambers reached base on his lone hit of the game.
Ammeraal made sure that lead was not able to hold.
“There’s a lot of things you want to win your senior year,” said Ammeraal. “There’s a lot of things you want to do, lots of boxes you want to check and being city champs is one of those.”
Battling muscle cramps in his legs, it was a wonder how the senior was even able to take his place at the plate against Hazekamp. Any convincing that was needed for the gutsy plate appearance was settled at the crack of Ammeraal’s bat. Sending a shot over Marsh Field’s left-center fence was a moment Ammeraal will carry with him the rest of his life.
“First one over the fence, pretty good time for that one,” said Ammeraal, who looked like a 1988 Kirk Gibson limping around the bases during his home run trot. “Feels nice, I didn’t expect to hit it out, but it got out. Felt like nothing, which is a good thing.”
With the score tied at 1-all, Mona Shores had to rely on Theilbar to carry the load. The senior closed down Fruitport in the seventh and eighth innings and after Gawkowski’s RBI double in the top of the ninth, he had to face the pressure of securing the title for the Sailors.
Theilbar closed the door on Fruitport and the Sailors charged the field for their first city title since defeating Reeths-Puffer in 2022.
“When you stay in it and keep battling, the game of baseball can be extremely cruel, and sometimes it can work in your favor,” said Bard. “Couple bounces go our way in the ninth and thankfully it did.”
Mona Shores had to take down North Muskegon in the semifinals to reach the big game. The Sailors managed a 4-1 win over Norse ace Logan Slimko. The Sailors topped Holton in their opener, 12-0.
Tornga threw four hitless innings against North Muskegon and the Sailors backed him at the plate by building a 3-0 lead. The edge led Coach Bard to bring JP Charron in relief and save 49 more pitches for Tornga in the finals.
Fruitport reached the finals with a 3-0 win over Oakridge, and a 13-3 win over Reeths-Puffer in the semifinals.
LocalSportsJournal.com
The pulse of high school baseball rang out loud and clear at last month’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association’s baseball championship.
The title game had all the makings of an instant classic.
For Mona Shores, it was capped off by a 3-1 win over the defending champs Fruitport in extra innings.
The game itself was highlighted by a pitchers’ dual that pitted Mona Shores aces, Owen Tornga and Julian Theilbar, against Fruitport’s Hudson Hazekamp.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better game, that’s an unbelievable high school baseball game,” said Mona Shores coach Brandon Bard. “I thought Hudson Hazekamp threw an excellent game for Fruitport. Talked to him a little bit afterwards and said, ‘that’s a tough one to lose like that when it goes that way against you.’”
The nine-inning battle had a classic solo home run in the top of the seventh by Jayden Ammeraal, who limped to the plate with his team down 1-0 and fighting muscle cramps in his legs. But it was Grady Gawkowski who drove in Max Silva on an RBI double in the top of the ninth that broke the backs of the Trojans.
Gawkowski later crossed home on a passed ball for the 3-1 lead.
“I’m proud of our guys, too,” said Bard. “They weren’t flawless today, made some base running mistakes, some things to clean up, but never once did they get down, never once did they stop being engaged in the game from start to finish.”
Mona Shores’ Tornga set the Sailors up for success by going 3 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and no hits. The masterful performance by the Louisville commit opened the door for Theilbar to go 5 1/3 innings with four k’s and one earned run that came in the bottom of the sixth.
Hazekamp threw an equally astonishing game for Fruitport, making it all the way into the eighth inning before being relieved by Trevor Rusnak. Hazekamp gave up just two hits and struck out seven along the way. The Trojans’ hurler fought his way through back-to-back innings that had the Sailors knocking on the door with runners on second and third with one out in the second inning. After the junior got through that challenge, he fought off a bases loaded third inning and kept Mona
Shores off the scoreboard.
The scoreless game was broken open in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Rusnack that drove in Avery Lambers for a 1-0 Fruitport lead. Lambers reached base on his lone hit of the game.
Ammeraal made sure that lead was not able to hold.
“There’s a lot of things you want to win your senior year,” said Ammeraal. “There’s a lot of things you want to do, lots of boxes you want to check and being city champs is one of those.”
Battling muscle cramps in his legs, it was a wonder how the senior was even able to take his place at the plate against Hazekamp. Any convincing that was needed for the gutsy plate appearance was settled at the crack of Ammeraal’s bat. Sending a shot over Marsh Field’s left-center fence was a moment Ammeraal will carry with him the rest of his life.
“First one over the fence, pretty good time for that one,” said Ammeraal, who looked like a 1988 Kirk Gibson limping around the bases during his home run trot. “Feels nice, I didn’t expect to hit it out, but it got out. Felt like nothing, which is a good thing.”
With the score tied at 1-all, Mona Shores had to rely on Theilbar to carry the load. The senior closed down Fruitport in the seventh and eighth innings and after Gawkowski’s RBI double in the top of the ninth, he had to face the pressure of securing the title for the Sailors.
Theilbar closed the door on Fruitport and the Sailors charged the field for their first city title since defeating Reeths-Puffer in 2022.
“When you stay in it and keep battling, the game of baseball can be extremely cruel, and sometimes it can work in your favor,” said Bard. “Couple bounces go our way in the ninth and thankfully it did.”
Mona Shores had to take down North Muskegon in the semifinals to reach the big game. The Sailors managed a 4-1 win over Norse ace Logan Slimko. The Sailors topped Holton in their opener, 12-0.
Tornga threw four hitless innings against North Muskegon and the Sailors backed him at the plate by building a 3-0 lead. The edge led Coach Bard to bring JP Charron in relief and save 49 more pitches for Tornga in the finals.
Fruitport reached the finals with a 3-0 win over Oakridge, and a 13-3 win over Reeths-Puffer in the semifinals.
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