Lansing Christian vs. Portland St. Patrick – – Baseball District Semifinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – May 30, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft
Today, the BleacherDenizenMobile is pointed at Fowler High school, where the Pilgrims from Lansing Christian will meet the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick in the baseball district semifinal. Your Bleacher Denizen got there in plenty of time as the day is beautiful and the drive was easy. It is very sunny, but about 70 degrees, so not too cold!
While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this original song from my Christian playlist! (With two Christian schools playing, I guess a Christian tune is appropriate.) Here is the John 3:16 song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYixQ0OWsd4
Here are the starting lineups. Portland St. Patrick will be the home team and Lansing Christian will bat first.
LANSING CHRISTIAN
Sam Mustapha p
Will Marl c
Wyatt Batson 1b
Colin Hereford ss
Colin Hartzler rf
C.J. Bruce dh
Adam Buchinger 2b
Sparky Birn 3b
Ben Seifferline lf
Joe Carson will play center field, but will not bat.
PORTLAND ST. PATRICK
Jerryd Scheurer ss
Charlie Thelen 3b
Brady Leonard cf
Tyler Thelen 1b
Isaiah Rockey 2b
Logan Howe c
Mason Simon lf
T.J. Chamberlain rf
Hudson King dh
Sean Fedewa will pitch, but will not bat.
It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally clear lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who will be turning seventy very soon. His baseball career never got off to much of a start. Your Bleacher Denizen developed a plan to save wear, tear, and ultimately money on baseball gloves. Instead of letting baseballs hit the glove and start wearing it out, the Bleacher Denizen learned to let balls drop, roll and stop so he could pick them up with his bare hand instead of exposing his glove to moving baseballs. This was intended to keep his glove fresh and new!!
However, his coach did not appreciate the cost savings and even because to criticize the Bleacher Denizen because in the coaches opinion, the Bleacher Denizen was giving up outs!! As the coach held far more authority, his opinion prevailed. As the balls dropped in, the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time dropped out!
St. Patrick Pitcher Sean Fedewa struck out the three Pilgrim batters in the top of the first inning.
Lansing Christian Pitcher retired the St. Patrick leadoff batter in the bottom of the third inning on a popup to third base. Charlie Thelen belted a ground rule double over the right field fence. Brady Leonard walked. Charlie Thelen and Brady Leonard executed a double steal; after an overthrow, Charlie Thelen scored and Brady Leonard ended up on third base. Brady Leonard scored on an RBI groundout to second base by Tyler Thelen.
Isaiah Rockey walked. Sam Mustapha struck out the next Shamrock batter to end the inning.
St. Patrick scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Colin Hereford walked to lead off the top of the second inning for Christian. Sean Fedewa struck out the next two Pilgrim hitters. Shamrock Catcher Logan Howe fired the ball to first base to pick the runner off and end the inning.
Mason Simon walked to lead off the top of the second inning for the Shamrocks and went all the way to third base when T.J. Chamberlain was safe at second base when an error was made on his sacrifice bunt. Sam Mustapha struck out the next Shamrock hitter. Jerryd Scheurer singled up the middle and drove Mason Simon and T.J. Chamberlain home. Jerryd Scheurer advanced to third base when Charlie Thelen was safe at second base on an error. Brady Leonard doubled to drive Jerryd Scheurer and Charlie Thelen home.
Tyler Thelen singled to right field to drive Brady Leonard home. Tyler Thelen advanced to second base on a balk. Isaiah Rockey doubled to deep left field and drove Tyler Thelen home. Isaiah Rockey advanced to third base on a throw to the plate. Logan Howe singled to right field to drive Isaiah Rockey home. Logan Howe advanced to second base on a wild pitch and to third base on a balk. Mason Simon walked. Logan Howe scored and Mason Simon went to second base on a wild pitch. Sam Mustapha struck out the next Shamrock hitter. Hudson King singled to left field and drove Mason Simon home.
Zach Jarvis entered the game to pitch for Lansing Christian. Sam Mustapha moved to first base and Wyatt Batson moved to second base. Zach Jarvis retired the next Shamrock hitter on a grounder to second base to end the inning. St. Patrick scored nine runs in the bottom of the second inning to take an 11-0 lead.
Sean Fedewa struck out all three Pilgrim batters in the top of the third inning.
Charlie Thelen blasted a home run to right field to lead off the top of the third inning for St. Patrick. Zach Jarvis retired the next Shamrock hitter on a bouncer to second base. Tyler Thelen doubled to center field. Isaiah Rockey walked. Tyler Thelen took third base and Isaiah Rockey second on a wild pitch. Logan Howe doubled to deep center field to drive Tyler Thelen and Isaiah Rockey home. Mason Simon walked. Pinch Hitter Donovan Tirado singled to drive Logan Howe home.
This gave St. Patrick a 15-0 lead in the third inning. The game was ended because of the Mercy Rule. St. Patrick will play Fowler in the district final. When I finish typing that game, I will put the link here.
Sam Mustapha pitched one and two thirds innings for Lansing Christian. Zach Jarvis pitched two thirds of an inning. Colin Hereford walked once and was the only Pilgrim batter to reach base.
Charlie Thelen had a double, a home run and one RBI for St. Patrick. Logan Howe had a double, a single and three RBI. Tyler Thelen had a double, a single and two RBI. Brady Leonard had a double and two RBI. Jerryd Scheurer had a single and two RBI. Hudson King and Donovan Tirado each had one single and one RBI.
Sean Fedewa pitched three nearly perfect innings as he allowed no hits and only one walk. He struck out eight Pilgrim hitters.
St. Patrick played Fowler in the District Final that followed. Here is the play by play of that game!! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/05/30/fowler-vs-portland-st-patrick-baseball-district-final-the-bleacher-denizen-may-30-2026-by-chuck-krafft/