HARTLAND — Graysen Lesniak was just finishing up middle school, so he didn’t bear the scar tissue from Howell’s extra-inning loss to the eventual state baseball champion in last year’s district championship game.
But Danny Hampton and some of his teammates stepped onto the field Saturday, May 30 for a district final rematch still wounded by the memory of watching Hartland celebrate a walk-off victory on the Highlanders’ field.
For Hampton, it was one of seven early postseason exits as a four-year varsity player in basketball and baseball.
In his final opportunity to win postseason hardware, Hampton celebrated a district championship thanks in large part to a tall lanky ninth-grader who doesn’t look or pitch like a freshman.
Lesniak pitched 3⅓ innings of shutout relief during 17th-ranked Howell’s 7-4 victory over defending Division 1 champion Hartland in a district championship baseball game on Saturday, May 30, 2026. It was Howell’s first district championship since 2021.
Hampton turned double plays from his shortstop position in the sixth and seventh innings to prevent the Eagles, who won eight straight postseason games by two runs or less, from mounting another one of their patented comebacks.
“Hartland’s a great program,” Hampton said. “Obviously, they won the state championship last year. So, it’s great to come back and win my first district and a lot of our first districts out here. Graysen did a great job out there to clutch up. He’s just a freshman who has a long time to go.”
Lesniak wasn’t ready to take the ball in a big game when Howell and Hartland met way back on March 24 and 25, though he did come off the bench to bat. He gradually developed trust over the next two months and was handed the ball with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning following the second walk of the inning.
With Howell trailing 4-2, Lesniak got a strikeout and proceeded to pitch 3⅓ scoreless inning while the Highlanders mounted a comeback by scoring four runs in the fifth. Lesniak allowed one hit and one walk.
“I just trust my guys behind me,” Lesniak said. “I knew they could back me up if I needed them to. Just stay composed and throw strikes. My role hasn’t really been that big, yet the coaches put me in. I did what I could. I’m just glad I could do it for my team.”
Lesniak has pitched 37 innings over 12 appearances, including six starts. He has a 4-1 record while putting together a 2.27 earned run average and allowing an opposing batting average of only .199.
“Graysen’s been great all year long,” Howell coach Matt Hunt said. “There was no doubt in our mind to trust him in a spot like that. He started with midweek games and did really well there. We tried him out in conference games and he continued to do well. He got his big shot last weekend in the Flint tournament against some really good teams and today against Hartland.”
Howell’s four-run rally began with two outs in the fifth. Nick Myers singled home the first run and Lesniak tied the game with a line single to right. Two runs scored on an error following a single by Jagger Daus to give Howell the lead.
Hartland came into the game having already won two tight postseason games. The Eagles rallied from three runs down in the bottom of the seventh to beat Brighton, 5-4, in a pre-district game on Tuesday, May 26. In the district semifinals, the 11th-ranked Eagles won 2-1 over 13th-ranked Okemos behind another gem by Michael Bernardi.
A double by Carson Perkins broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning. Bernardi threw a one-hitter, striking out seven.
Hartland’s playoff magic finally ended against its M-59 rival.
“It’s a pretty surreal feeling,” Hartland coach Brad Guenther said. “We were really confident and feeling really good about what we were bringing to the table. We were down 7-4 and feeling we have a good chance to win in that last inning. It’s created a belief within the players and within the team.”
Howell (24-14-1) didn’t have nearly as tough a time in the district semifinals, winning 11-1 over East Lansing in five innings. Myers allowed only two hits in five innings.
Howell will return to Hartland to play a regional semifinal game against Dexter at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 3. Dexter beat Howell 8-6 in the Lee Shelander Classic on May 16.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell freshman helps end Hartland’s reign as state baseball champ
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
