As disappointing as 2025’s Division 1 baseball regional final loss was, it provided Livonia Franklin plenty of motivation during the offseason.
The Patriots (22-8) made it their goal this spring to win their fourth district championship in five years and earn another shot at a regional title.
On Friday, May 29, they scratched the first item off that to-do list, edging Taylor, 1-0, in the district semifinal before turning around and beating Kensington Lakes Activities Association East rival Westland John Glenn, 12-2, in five innings in the championship.
Franklin will face the winner of the Saline district in the regional opener Wednesday (4:30 p.m.)
“These guys set this as their goal as soon as our season ended down in Woodhaven,” said coach Matt Fournier, who has won six district titles in his 19 seasons leading Franklin. “The goal was to come back, have a strong season and win districts to see if we could get another shot at this. We started talking with the juniors who were going to be seniors right away after that loss, so it’s fulfilling to see these guys do what they said they wanted to accomplish.”
Pitcher Cooper Scholz did the job against Glenn, a team the Patriots beat 15-0 and 13-0 during their season-opening series in March, striking out five while allowing two earned runs on six hits. But it was Madonna University signee Logan McLaughlin who did the heavy lifting against Taylor to put Franklin in position to win another district title.
The senior went the distance, striking out 10 while allowing just one hit and no walks. A dominant outing like that was needed because Franklin’s bats couldn’t get going against the Griffins.
Connor McBride and Ryan Davis had two hits apiece, while Scholz and Konnor Cavazos added one each. But it was an error at shortstop that allowed Brody Burgess to drive in Robert Keskitalo for the game’s only run in the second inning.
“That’s why we have him where he’s at, and that’s why he’s going to throw well at Madonna,” Fournier said. “He wanted the ball. He wanted to put the team on his shoulders, and that’s what you look for out of a senior leader, and Cooper did the same thing, putting the team on his back and pounding the zone in the second game.”
Scholz had a little more breathing room, thanks to a pair of four-run innings. Jake Kotrych helped break the game open with a two-run line drive to right field that scored Keskitalo and Brody Gross in the second, and Nick Cox later grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought home Burgess and McBride for two insurance runs in the fourth.
Cox sealed the victory with a walk-off single an inning later.
“I actually love when the game is closer because it’s more fun for me, honestly,” said McLaughlin, who has thrived in tight games this season. “I know the guys have my back, so there’s nothing to worry about when the ball’s in my hand. It’s just about attacking, staying aggressive and not backing down.”
McLaughlin threw 105 pitches to the 21 batters he faced, 62 of them strikes.
“I started off hot, and I just tried to keep it going, stay consistent and keep it in the zone,” McLaughlin added.
While the Patriots were heating up, Fournier finished the evening cooling off.
Before the handshake line, Gross and McBride snuck off to grab two Gatorade buckets. Brendan Bache and Davis picked them up when Fournier wasn’t looking and then splashed the longtime coach to celebrate getting back to the regional tournament.
It’s never easy getting that far. Fournier knows it. This will be just his sixth regional appearance in two decades. But his players made it their goal, and they weren’t about to waste the chance to soak the man who helped them get there again.
“It’s awesome because we put a lot of work in during the offseason and then had a long grind throughout this season, so it’s nice to get a trophy out of it,” McLaughlin said. “Losing to Woodhaven last year, that was a tough one, especially losing by one run when they scored in the bottom of the sixth to go up 2-1. It was crushing, so we just knew we had to get back this year.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Livonia Franklin downs Westland John Glenn, 4th district in 5 seasons
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
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