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2023 MHSAA Tournament: Division 1 State Final - Novi vs Mattawan

EAST LANSING - For the first time ever, Novi is a state champion.

The Wildcats pounded out 15 hits and sophomore left-hander Uli Fernsler threw a complete game in an 8-3 win over Brownstown Woodhaven in the Division 1 finals on Saturday morning.

Novi never trailed in the game, scoring two runs in the top of the third and adding three in the fourth before tacking on three more in the sixth.

Caleb Walker and Brendan Bennett each had three hits for the 18th-rated D-1 team in Michigan, with the left-handed hitting juniors combining to reach base seven times. Walker had a single to open the Novi third with Thad Lawler producing the biggest hit of the inning on a two-run single up the middle with two down.

An inning later, Trevor Reed and Walker had base hits before Bennett drove in Reed with a single to left on a 2-2 count. Andrew Kummer and Brett Reed added run-scoring singles in the frame for a 5-0 lead.

Woodhaven scored one in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a pair of Novi errors and singles from Jacob Wright and Nick Phillips. 

However, Novi put a three-spot on the board in the sixth starting with a single from Bennett and walks to Andrew Abler and Kummer. Bennett touched home on a wild pitch and Brett Reed capped the scoring with a two-run double to left-center field.

A Jace Davis two-base hit and an RBI single from Andy Phillips trimmed the deficit to 8-2 in the bottom of the seventh and Michael Budai added a hit in the inning to make it 8-3 before a caught stealing and Fernsler strikeout finished off the Warriors.

Fernsler, the 15th-rated 2025 southpaw pitcher in Michigan, gave up eight hits, did not allow a free pass and fanned eight for Novi, which needed a two-out run in the seventh in a 4-1 10-inning win over Mattawan in the state semifinals on Thursday.

Nick Phillips had a pair of singles for Woodhaven, which has now been state runners-up twice, the other coming in 2018.

LINESCORE

Novi                002  303  0  -  8  15  2
Woodhaven  000  100  2  -  3    8  0

Records: Novi 32-8, Brownstown Woodhaven 32-12.

Winning pitcher: Uli Fernsler (7 innings, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 8 strikeouts, 0 walks).

Losing pitcher: Tyler Harris (3.1 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks). Others: Brad Styles (0.1 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks), Jacob Wright (1.1 innings, 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks), Andrew Phillips (2 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts).

Leading hitters: (Novi) - Caleb Walker 3 singles; Brendon Bennett 3 singles, 2 runs, RBI; Andrew Kummer 2 singles, 2 runs, RBI; Brett Reed single, double, 3 RBIs; Thad Lawler single, 2 RBIs; Alex Czapski single; Trevor Reed 2 singles, run; Stephen Boujoulian single; Keegan Litkewycz run; Yuta Nose run. (Woodhaven) - Gary Pilgrim single; Jacob Wright single; Nick Phillips 2 singles; Jace Davis double, run; Andrew Phillips single, RBI; Dante Perry single; Michael Budai single, RBI; Dawson Terry 2 runs.