EAST LANSING — When Marcellus was getting ready for Friday’s Division 4 state semifinal matchup, head coach Christian Hutson was doing his best to take in the atmosphere.
The state finals were once again played at McLane Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University. Marcellus had been on a significant hot streak in the MHSAA post season to date and reaching MSU for the semifinals was certainly a big deal. Hutson did his best to put it into words following the contest.
Marcellus beat Painesdale Jeffers 4-0.
“I wish every coach could experience this today,” an emotional Hutson said following his team’s win on Friday. “Just this atmosphere and being on that field. You never know if it’s going to happen. It’s pretty awesome. I’m all smiles. I don’t know what to say because there’s been some years where it’s been tough for us. It’s paid off.”
Cale Hackenberg had himself a day to lead the Wildcats. He was dominant on the mound, posting a ridiculous 15 strikeouts in seven innings of work. He faced only 26 hitters and hung zeros on the scoreboard consistently, never giving Jeffers an opportunity to make a threat.
Hackenberg wanted the baseball prior to the game. In a conversation with Hutson and the coaching staff before the game, Hackenberg said he wanted the opportunity to put Marcellus in its first ever state finals appearance.
“I just trusted my team behind me. I really love playing with these guys, it’s so much fun,” Hackenberg said after Friday’s win. “Winning games is so much fun and we’ve done a lot of that lately so I’m really glad to be here.”
Marcellus scoring a run in the first inning was all Hackenberg needed. Hackenberg tripled to get things going before Abram Coffey hit a sacrifice fly to give the Wildcats the lead.
Coffey hit a 2-run single in the third inning as well to help pad the Marcellus lead.
And even with his dominance on the mound — Hackenberg recorded an 80-percent strike throw rate on the day — he said there were a few butterflies early.
But once settled in, he was all business.
“Definitely some butterflies, but once I settled in I was comfortable. It took about an inning or so,” he said. “I was comfortable on the mound. Being up 3-4 runs, it was awesome.”
Marcellus will play Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in the Division 4 state championship game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
The Wildcats have never won a state championship in baseball. Hutson said his team is gonna fight and look to make their community proud.
“I think our whole town was here today. It’s good to see, they brought the energy for us,” Hutson said. “The support all the way through this tournament has been unreal.”
In Friday’s win, which was the 22nd of the season for the Wildcats, Hackenberg slugged a pair of hits. Coffey registered two as well as they each tripled in the game. Gage Rumsey, Rory Rogers and Matthew Lehew each recorded a base hit as well.
Jeffers logged only four hits in the contest.
Sacred Heart beat Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 4-0 in the early game.
“We’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna battle. That’s what my team is always gonna do, we’re gonna play the game the right way and we’re gonna battle,” Hutson said.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Marcellus Wildcats in search of school’s first baseball state title
