The Sacred Heart Irish fought and fought, but in the end saw their regional championship hopes come to an end with a 2-0 loss on Saturday against Muskegon Catholic Central in Evart. Matt Kornexl pitched a strong game, but was unable to get any run support. In the 7th inning, Kornexl surrendered only his second run of the game after the home plate umpire allowed a bizarre four-strike single for the Crusaders. After an appeal from Sacred Heart and the official scorekeeper, the umpire’s call stood. Kornexl’s final line was two runs allowed on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
Muskegon Catholic Central pitcher Devin Combes never gave the Sacred Heart offense a chance, surrendering only four hits with a hit batter in the win. The Crusaders will continue their defense of their 2015 state title next week in the quarterfinals.
The Irish reached the regional final after defeating Beal City and Vestaburg last weekend, and picking up a big win over Brethren earlier in the day.
