Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart vs. Portland St. Patrick – – MHSAA Division 4 Baseball Regional Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – June 7, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today, your Bleacher Denizen is at Central Michigan University’s Theunissen Baseball Stadium to blog the Regional Baseball Division 4 Regional Final between the Irish of Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and the Shamrocks of Portland St. Patrick. It is a beautiful stadium. This is the first time I have ever been here. The press box is great and your Bleacher Denizen should get great notes!!

These teams played on May 17 and Sacred Heart won the game. These teams are rated #1 and #2 in Michigan, so I am anticipating a great game!!

I got here in time to watch the end of the first game where Maple City Glen Lake defeated Muskegon Catholic Central 1-0.

Sacred Heart won the coin toss and will be the home team in today’s game. St. Patrick will bat first. Here are the starting lineups.
ST. PATRICK

Jerryd Scheurer ss

Charlie Thelen c

Brady Leonard cf

Logan Howe 3b

Brayden Simon p

Tyler Thelen 1b

Simon White lf

T.J. Chamberlain rf

Nathan Fears cf

SACRED HEART

Grady Pieratt ss

Noah Zeien cf

Ryan Wiggins 3b

Jason Boge 2b

Teegan Duffy rf

Wyatt Browne c

Nate Siler p

Brady Davis 1b

Luke Hacker lf

It is not time to review the events of this game through the occasionally clear lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who never really got his baseball career going. However, he is proud to note that umpires and opposing catchers universally enjoyed the cooling breezes generated by your Bleacher Denizen’s flailing attempts to hit baseballs.

Jerryd Scheurer was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the first inning for St. Patrick. Irish Pitcher Nate Siler retired the next Shamrock hitter on a fly to right field. Jerryd Scheurer stole second base. Brady Leonard singled up the middle to drive Jerryd Scheurer home. Logan Howe walked and Brady Leonard advanced to second base. Brady Leonard and Logan Howe executed a double steal that put Brady Leonard on third base and Logan Howe on second.

Brayden Simon laid down a sacrifice bunt. Brady Leonard beat the throw to the plate and Brayden Simon was safe at first base as Logan Howe moved up to third base. Brayden Simon stole second base. Tyler Thelen was safe at first base and Logan Howe out at home on a fielder’s choice bunt to the pitcher. Brayden Simon advanced to third base. Tyler Thelen stole second base. Nate Siler struck out the next Shamrock hitter to end the inning.

St. Patrick scored two runs in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.

St. Patrick Pitcher Brayden Simon retired the Sacred Heart leadoff batter in the bottom of the first inning on a grounder to third base. Noah Zeien singled to right field. Noah Zeien was out at second base and Ryan Wiggins safe at first base on a fielder’s choice grounder to first base. Ryan Wiggins went to second base; there may have been a balk as he just trotted een though the ball did not get away from the catcher. Brayden Simon retired the next Irish batter on a grounder to third base to end the inning.

Nate Siler struck out St. Patrick’s leadoff batter in the top of the second inning. Nathan Fears drew a walk. Nate Siler retired the nexxt Shamrock batter on a fly to center field. Nathan Fears appeared to steal second base, but was tagged out after he slid past second base possibly because of some slippery turf. That was the third out of the Shamrock inning.

Brayden Simon retired the first two Sacred Heart batters in the bottom of the second inning on a grounder to the shortstop and one to second base. Shamrock Second Baseman Nathan Fears made a fine play going to his right to catch a ball going up the middle and threw the runner out at first to get the third out.

Nate Siler retired the three Shamrock hitters in the top of the third inning on a foul popup to the catcher, a fly to right field and a grounder to seond base.

Brady Davis walked to lead off the top of the third inning for Sacred Heart and stole second base. Luke Hacker was safe at first base when his third strike was not caught. Brady Davis advanced to third base. Grady Pieratt tripled over the center fielder’s head to drive Brady Davis and Luke Hacker home. Grady Pieratt came home when the throw from the outfield got away.

Brayden Simon struck out the next Irish batter. Ryan Wiggins singled up the middle. Ryan Wiggins was out at second base and Jason Boge safe at first base on a fielder’s choice grounder to second base. The Irish made their third out on a grounder to third base.

Sacred Heart scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead.

Nate Siler retired the two Sacred Heart batters in the top of the fourth inning ona one hopper to the shortstop and a bouncer to first base. Simon White walked and advanced to second base when T.J. Chamberlain was safe at first base on an error. Nate Siler got off the mound quickly and threw the next Shamrock hitter out at first base on a bunt to end the inning.

Wyatt Browne was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning for Sacred Heart. Jackson Verleger entered the game as a courtesy runner for Wyatt Browne. Jackson Verleger was out at second base and Nate Siler safe at first base on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. Nico Vasquez came in as a courtesy runner for Nate Siler. Shamrock Shortstop Jerryd Scheurer made a great leaping grab on a line drive that looked like s sure single to left field by Brady Davis. Jerryd Scheurer easily doubled the runner off first base to end the inning.

Jerryd Scheurer singled to right field to lead off the top of the fifth inning for St. Patrick. Charlie Thelen hit a triple that rolled all the way to the center field wall to drive Jerryd Scheurer home with the tying run. Nate Siler retired the next Shamrock hitter on a grounder to third base as Charlie Thelen held. Nate Siler retired the next two hitters on a foul popup to the catcher and a strikeout to leave the potential go-ahead run on third base.

St. Patrick scored one run in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3.

Brayden Simon retired the IRish leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth inning on a grounder to second base. Grady Pieratt singled to right field. Charlie Thelen fired the ball to second base to catch the runner stealing. Sacred Heart made its third out of the inning on a grounder to second base.

Nate Siler retired the Shamrock leadoff batter in the top of the sixth inning on a grounder to the shortstop. Simon White singled to center field. Hudson King came in to pinch run for Simon White. Hudson King appeared to be safe on a steal of second base, but was tagged out when he overslid the base on the turf. St. Patrick’s outfielder was out on a fly to right field where right fielder Teegan Duffy called off two teammates and made a great catch.

Shamrock First Baseman Tyler Thelen speared a hot line drive off the bat of Ryan Wiggins for the first Irish out in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brayden Simon retired the next hitter on a grounder to third base. Teegan Duffy walked. Brayden Simon struck out the next batter to end the inning.

The score was tied at 3-3 as the teams got ready for the final regulation inning.

Brady Davis came in to pitch for Sacred Heart and Nate Siler took over at first base.

Brady Davis struck out the Shamrock leadoff batter in the top of the seventh inning. Jerryd Scheurer walked and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Charlie Thelen walked. Jerryd Scheurer advanced to third base and Charlie Thelen to second base on a bounceout to the pitcher by Brady Leonard. Jerryd Scheurer came home with the go-ahead run and Charlie Thelen advanced to third base on a balk. Sacred Heart Catcher Wyatt Browne picked the Shamrock runner off third base for the final out.

St. Patrick scored one run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 4-3 lead.

Brayden Simon struck out the Irish leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh inning. Brady Davis drew a walk. Brady Davis advanced to second base on a groundout to third base by Pinch Hitter Hank McDonald. Grady PIeratt was intentionally walked. Brady Davis advanced to third base and Grady Pieratt to second base when Noah Zeien was safe at first on an error to load the bases with two out. Ryan Wiggins singled to right field to drive Brady Davis home. Shamrock right fielder T.J. Chamberlain fired the ball home to catch the runner trying to score from second base to end the inning.

Sacred Heart scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 4-4. The game went into extra innings.

Brady Davis retired the St. Patrick leadoff batter in the top of the eighth inning on a popup to second base. Brayden Simon walked. Brady Davis retired the next two Shamrock hitters on a strikeout and a fly to center field to end the inning.

As Brayden Simon hit the maximum pitch count in the seventh inning. The Shamrocks had to change pitchers. Jerryd Scheurer came in to pitch for the Shamrocks. Nathan Fears moved to shortstop and Brayden Simon went to second base.

Jerryd Scheurer retired the three Irish hitters in the bottom of the eight inning on a popup to the shortstop, a fly to left field and a strikeout.

After eight innings the score remained tied at 4-4.

Brady Davis struck out the three St. Patrick batters in the top of the ninth inning.

Jerryd Scheuer got the Sacred Heart leadoff batter in the bottom of the ninth inning out on a bouncer to the mound. Brady Davis doubled to right field. Shamrock Catcher Charlie Thelen made a great grab of a foul popup for the second out. Grady Pieratt was intentionally walked. The Irish made their third out on a popup to second base.

With nine innings in the books, the score was still 4-4.

Irish Shortstop Grady Pieratt ranged back into left field to catch a popup to retired the Shamrock leadoff batter in the top of the tenth inning. Brady DAvis struck out the next batter. Logan Howe was safe at second base on an error. Ben White enterred the game to pinch run for Logan Howe. Brady Davis retired the next Shamrock batter on a bouncer to the mound to end the inning.

Ryan Wiggins singled to left field to lead off the bottom of the tenth inning for the Irish. The next Irish batter bounced the ball to Shamrock Shortstop Nathan Fears, who tagged second base for the force out and fired the ball to Tyler Thelen at first base to complete the double play. Jerryd Scheurer struck out the next batter to end the inning.

After ten innings, the game was still tied at 4-4.

Brady Davis struck out the Shamrock leadoff batter in the top of the eleventh inning. Simon White walked. Simon White advanced to second base on a bounce out to second base by pinch hitter Isaiah Rockey. Irish Center Fielder Noah Zeien made a nice running catch of a drive by Nathan Fears to center field to end the inning.

Wyatt Browne, the Sacred Heart leadoff batter in the bottom of the eleventh inning made a bid for a single up the middle, but the ball glanced off Pitcher Jerryd Scheurer’s glove and went directly to second baseman Brayden Simon, who was able to get the out at first base. Jerryd Scheurer retired the next two Irish hitters on a foul fly where First Baseball Tyler Thelen made a fine catch running back and a fly to center field.

AFter eleven innigs, the game remained tied at 4-4.

Brady Davis struck out the Shamrock leadoff batter in the top of the twelfth inning. Charlie Thelen singled to left field and stole second base. Brady Leonard lined a single to center field and Charlie Thelen advanced to third base. Charlie Thelen scored from third base on a suicide squeeze sacrifice bunt by Logan Howe. Brady Leonard advanced to second base on the play and then stole third base. Brady Davis struck out the next Shamrock batter to end the inning.

St. Patrick scored one run in the top of the twelfth inning to take a 5-4 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer retired the Irish leadoff batter in the bottom of the twelfth inning on a grounder to the shortstop. Grady Pieratt was hit by a pitch. Grady Pieratt beat a Shamrock pitchout and stole second base but the play was ruled a balk. (Grady Pieratt was safe at second base in either case.) Grady Pieratt advanced to third base with two out on a groundout to first base by Noah Zeien. Jerryd Scheurer made a leaping grab of a bouncer to the mound and flipped the ball to first base to get the final out.

It took twelve innings, but St. Patrick won this game by the final score of 5-4 and will play Maple City Glen Lake in today’s quarterfinal.

Ryan Wiggins had three singles and one RBI for Sacred Heart. Grady Pieratt had a triple, a single and two RBI. Brady Davis had a double. Noah Zeien had a single.

Nate Siler pitched six innings. He gave up three runs and struck out three Shamrock batters. Brady Davis pitched six innings. He gave up two runs and struck out nine batters.

Charlie Thelen had a triple, a single and one RBI for St. Patrick. Brady Leonard had two singles and one RBI. Jerryd Scheurer and Simon White each had a single. Logan Howe and Brayden Simon each had one RBI.

Brayden Simon pitched seven innings for St. Patrick. He gave up four runs and struck out four Irish hitters. Jerryd Scheurer pitched five shutout innings for St. Patrick and struck out two batters.

I also covered the Shamrock Quarterfinal game against Maple City Glen Lake. Here is the play by play of the quarterfinal game!

https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2025/06/08/portland-st-patrick-vs-maple-city-glen-lake-mhsaa-division-4-state-baseball-quarterfinal-the-bleacher-denizen-june-7-2025-by-chuck-krafft/