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PBR Michigan Division 4 Team Of The Week - Portland St. Patrick

PORTLAND - Notice to Division 4 teams in Michigan - Portland St. Patrick has never had a team with a lineup or pitching this deep.

Those are the words of Bryan Scheurer, head coach of the Michigan PBR Division 4 Team of the Week.

“In seven games we’ve only given up four walks,” noted the coach of the unbeaten Shamrocks “We’re always ahead in the count. When you have pitching like that, it helps you play good defense.”

The state champions in 2017 after finishing as state runners-up in 2016, St. Patrick went through an injury-plagued season a year ago.

“For the juniors, that was their first experience (of losing) after winning state as freshmen,” Scheurer reflected. “That makes you take a step back and reevaluate something you may have took for granted. People say it’s hard to win, but it’s much harder to defend.

“We were inconsistent, though we were better at the end of the year. We just ran into a pitcher that was better than us that day. Sometimes that humbles you.”

St. Patrick has rebounded nice well to start this season, with a win over Potterville the lone complete game last week. The Shamrocks also led 5-0 in another contest before it was suspended due to weather.

“I didn’t know our lineup would have so much depth,” Scheurer admitted about this year’s squad that is junior-heavy with three seniors and three sophomores on the varsity.

Three juniors are key components to a pitching staff that also includes senior Nathan Lehnert, who threw a shutout in the state semifinals as a freshman. Lehnert missed his sophomore year with a torn labrum from football and was still not in form as a junior. But this season Lehnert is 2-0, with a six-inning outing this past week featuring 12 strikeouts and no walks, going to a three-ball count just once in the game.

“He’s thrown very very well for us,” Scheurer said.

Left-hander Devin Fedewa is also contributing this year after a torn ACL forced him to watch the 2018 season from the sidelines. Fedewa was the winning pitcher in the state championship game in 2017 as a freshman.

Junior Brandon Scheurer, nephew of the head coach and a Saginaw Valley recruit, has four saves this season in a closing role, permitting no runs, one walk and two hits in nine innings with 19 strikeouts.

Another junior, Sam Mauren, is 1-0 as a starter while senior Tanner Lawson “is a high strikeout guys that can be effectively wild” is another pitcher for St. Patrick.

“Right now we have five different guys that have a win,” Scheurer said.

A trio of sophomores have played key roles in the lineup batting 5-6-7. Catcher Chase Fitzsimmons, a 6-4 225-pounder, led the team in hitting a year ago at .410. Evan Schrauben plays DH and first base and bats sixth while Connor Cross, who sees time in the outfield and at first, is the seven-hole hitter.

“Evan has come up and really hit for us this year,” Scheurer noted. “He’s more mentally tough and mature this year.

“Connor is super versatile,” added Scheurer of Cross, a quarterback on the football team that reached the state semifinals and the two-guard in basketball. “We’ve got a lot of young kids and the way they’re hitting is a pleasant surprise right now.”

Add in a healthy Lehnert and Fedewa, and last year’s 20-8 “down year” is almost forgotten.

“If we can throw strikes, take the outs they give us and not give up free bases, we can keep this going,” Scheurer said. “Our philosophy is to make them get three hits in an inning to score. Offensively we want to stay with our approach and with two strikes shorten up. We want to be a team that’s tough to pitch to. What frustrates us, we try to flip.

“We have 14 on the roster and 12 have the opportunity to be contributors,” added Scheurer, whose team was 1-3 last year against the next four opponents on the schedule starting with Laingsburg tonight. “Last year was humbling, but this year we’re back doing it the right way.”