Above photo: Coach Lou Grondin (far right) is pictured with seniors who played their final game in the regionals at Pellston; they include (from left) John Paul Herbon, Troy Garlock, and Tim Mullen. Bottom photo: Coach Grondin (right) was selected All-District Coach of the Year and (from left) Tyler Huskey, Kyle Spencer, and Tim Mullen earned All-District honors as players.

Two Straits Area Conference (SAC) opponents, St. Ignace and Rogers City, hooked up in the Division IV regional semifinals with the Hurons, SAC champions, shutting out the Saints 13-0 Saturday, June 11, in Pellston.

The Hurons scored four runs in the third inning, four in the fourth, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh, while Austin Fairbanks struck out 15 Saints and allowed five singles during the seven inning contest.

After two scoreless innings, the Hurons took advantage of two bad infield hops on the Saints to spearhead a four-run third inning. St. Ignace put two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth, but couldn't get the key hit to produce any runs.

The fourth went scoreless before lightning and rain delay halted play for two hours and 15 minutes. The Pellston ground crew did an exceptional job of getting the field ready to play and the Hurons added to the lead with four runs for a 8-0 lead after five innings and tallied one run in the sixth and four in the seventh.

Kyle O'Boyle recorded one of the five singles during the Saints regional game with Rogers City. Zach Schroeder recorded the first hit for the Saints before suffering an injury when a foul ball hit the left side of his face in the third inning; he couldn't continue to play. Tim Mullen, Kyle O'Boyle, Troy Garlock, and James Peterson chipped in singles.

The Saints, district champions, completed the season with seven victories, but more importantly, they have just three seniors who were graduated, leaving a strong nucleus for next season.

John Paul Herbon started as the Saints catcher during his sophomore, junior, and senior season, and was part-time starter as a freshman. Note: The district championship that the Saints won last week wasn't the first in school history. St. Ignace won the first district crown in 1999 under Coach Jim Morey.