KALAMAZOO – The last time the Saugatuck baseball team found itself in the regional round was when Blake Dunn was a senior.
Dunn now plays for the Cincinnati Reds and is someone the current Trailblazers look up to.
Saugatuck won its first district championship since 2016 on Saturday, May 30, and reached the regional semifinals, losing 9-2 to Kalamazoo Christian on Wednesday, June 3.
But the Trailblazers didn’t hang their heads after the loss. They know it has been a long time since the team was in this position.
“This is a step in the right direction. I am proud of our guys. There have been a lot of changes coaching-wise (in their careers) and other things they have gone through, and they stuck it out, won a district championship and competed in a regional game,” Saugatuck coach Jaden Grigg said. “I told them that this is the standard now. This is where we want to be year in and year out.”
The Trailblazers won their SAC division title as well.
“Blake Dunn set the tone here (and we all look up to him). The future is definitely bright. We don’t usually win conference, and we did. We won districts. It has been great,” Saugatuck starting pitcher Holden Burd said. “We just have to build on it for next year.”
Next year, the Trailblazers will be without Sam Bos and Morgan Davis. But the rest of the starting lineup and pitching rotation returns.
“We only graduate two guys, so next year, the sky’s the limit,” Grigg said.
The game
Burd gave up three runs in the first inning on two singles, a walk, and a couple of wild pitches, then settled in and pitched masterfully for the next four innings.
“It was huge that he settled down. It kept us in a game against one of the best teams we have seen all year,” Grigg said. “Holden has thrown strikes all season. He might not have the strikeout power that other guys have, but they don’t hit the ball hard against him. He kept us in the game.”
Kalamazoo Christian had a couple of hits in the fifth and Saugatuck intentionally walked the next hitter to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, Burd got the ground ball he needed to complete a home-to-first double play but the throw home was offline and two runs scored. The next batter hit a slow chopper up the middle that went through and scored two more to push the lead to 7-0.
“After we got out of the first inning with just three runs in, we had some hope,” Burd said. “We settled in and kept it close.”
The Trailblazers got on the board in the sixth when Jack Drummond singled and Braison Jones launched a two-run home run over the right-field fence.
The Comets added two more in the seventh after Burd has exited the game.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Saugatuck baseball plays in first regional in a decade, future looks bright
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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By Dan D'Addona, Holland Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
