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PBR Michigan Division 1 Team Of The Week - Lakeland

WHITE LAKE - Brad Farquhar’s second stint as head coach at Lakeland is going well.

Farquhar, who coached the Eagles for four years in the early 2000s, is in his second season in charge of the program since coming back.

After a 33-9 mark in 2018, Lakeland is off to an 18-2 start in 2019, ranked 20th in the Team Rankings and is the Michigan Prep Baseball Report Division I Team of the Week.

“The best thing that stands out about this team is senior leadership,” Farquhar said. “We have seven that want to win and are sold out for success. That makes a difference.

“We won 33 games last year and that group of seniors set the tone. It’s what we want the program like moving forward. This year the seniors are going right along with it.”

A 15-0 league record included six wins last week, three over rival Milford, and has Lakeland sitting atop the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North Division.

“It’s tough to beat a team three times in a year,” Farquhar noted. “The first two weren’t close, but the third one we had to come from behind. We took the lead on a double squeeze where we scored two runs with guys on second and third.”

Pitching has been a pleasant surprise with the team in the eyes of some.

“It’s not been surprising to me but maybe to those in the area,” Farquhar said of the outstanding pitching Lakeland has had to date. “The top four on the mound last year were all seniors, but we’ve had guys that have come in and stepped it up this year. They throw a lot of strikes and the defense backs them up.”

Trent Farquhar, pitching for the first time in his high school career, is 4-0 with a 0.68 ERA while Case Jaworkski is 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA. Both seniors, Farquhar is a Bowling Green commit and Jaworski is headed to Madonna. Ranked 55th in Michigan’s 2019 class, the left-handed hitting Farquhar, who plays shortstop when not pitching, is averaging .478 with 13 stolen bases.

Two other seniors have also been big in the impressive start to the season in Grant Burns and Patrick McDonald.

A Northwood commit, the 5-11 155-pound Burns is the leadoff hitter and center fielder for Lakeland.

“He’s the catalyst for our offense,” pointed out Farquhar, while raving about the defensive play of Burns. “I’ve not seen a high school guy go and get the ball like he does.”

McDonald, a 6-2 170 basketball standout who is looking at JUCO schools for baseball, is batting .405 with 20 RBIs playing first base and in the outfield.

Junior Drake Schultz and sophomore Kevin Krill (Video) have also been big contributors for Lakeland. Both catchers, Schultz is hitting .450 while Krill, a 6-1 180-pounder ranked 64th in the state’s 2021 class, is at .412 and is second on the team in RBIs.

“The best thing I like is that everybody accepts their roles,” Farquhar said. “We have 21 on the roster and that can be worrisome, but everybody has found a niche and contributed to our success. Our guys are happy for each other.”

Walled Lake Northern is on the schedule this week with Lakeland participating in the Mother’s Day Classic at Novi this weekend, an event for Awareness to Breast Cancer featuring teams using pink wooden bats.

“The seniors are the key to us keeping this going,” Farquhar said. “For the seniors that don’t play as much, they need to maintain their roles and continue to contribute. If we do that and throw strikes, we’ll be okay.”