Novi pitcher Uli Fernsler is practically unbeatable for most high school baseball teams.
The only chance it seems, particularly early in the season when he’s on a pitch count, is to wait him out until the Wildcats go to their bullpen.
For the second week in a row, Fernsler’s departure allowed a Livingston County team to rally for a victory over Novi.
Trailing 7-1 after five innings, Howell stormed back Monday against three Novi relievers to win 8-7.
As was the case when Hartland beat Novi 4-3 five days earlier, a bases-loaded walk ended a walk-off victory for the Highlanders.
Howell’s seventh-inning rally began after the first two hitters were retired. Daniel Hampton hit a two-run triple to make it 7-5 and he scored on a passed ball to cut the lead to 7-6. Duncan Gray walked with the bases loaded to tie the score and Brady Hamilton walked to end the game.
Neko Hall’s two-run two-out single in the sixth started the rally.
Fernsler, who signed with Texas Christian but could be a Major League Baseball draft pick this year, threw strikes on 54 of 61 pitches through five innings. The top-ranked senior pitcher in Michigan, Fernsler struck out 11 batters while allowing two hits and no walks.
As he did against Hartland, Fernsler was removed while on an early-season pitch count. He came out after throwing 63 pitches in 4⅓ innings against the Eagles. Hartland came back from 2-0 down to win that game.
“Facing a top prospect like Uli, we knew it was going to be hard to score runs against him,” Howell coach Matt Hunt said. “We just knew we had to trust the process and keep grinding. I’m proud of our guys for never giving up. Our guys had some great at-bats and passed it on and believed in their ability.”
Howell is 6-2-1, averaging 7.7 runs per game.
“We’ve played well, but we can clean up some things,” Hunt said. “Our bats have been hot. Our pitching’s been pretty good. If we can clean up some things defensively, we’ll be strong.”
Hartland 5, Plymouth 0
Michael Zielinski allowed one hit and struck out 10 batters in five innings. Logan Randall completed the shutout, retiring all six batters he faced over the final two innings.
Northville 6, Brighton 3 (9)
Northville’s Nolan Coppens hit a three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie. Brighton forced extra innings when Andrew Everson hit a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Everson struck out 14 batters in 6⅔ innings against the unbeaten (8-0) defending state Division 1 champion. Chase Inge was 3-for-4 for the Bulldogs (7-2).
Pinckney 21, Ypsilanti 0
Pinckney 20, Ypsilanti 0
Pinckney’s Hayden Beaver hit a home run and drove in six runs in the doubleheader, while Henry Taube hit a home run and drove in five runs.
Owen Zylka struck out eight batters in three innings in the opener. Jax Raymond didn’t allow a hit and fanned eight in three innings in the nightcap.
Golf
Plum Market Invitational
Howell opened its season by finishing fourth out of 27 teams in a highly competitive tournament at Tam-O-Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield.
The Highlanders shot 307 with standout senior Zach Spencer out of the lineup. Derek Kantola tied for seventh out of 131 players with a 73, Luke Downing tied for 18th with a 77, Tad Pietila tied for 25th with a 78 and Gavin Hill tied for 34th with a 79 for the Highlanders.
Hartland finished 13th with a 324. Michael Maurin tied for 18th with a 77 and Aidan Oake tied for 39th with an 80 for the Eagles.
Chelsea won with a 297, five strokes better than Detroit Catholic Central. Bennett Boyle of Birmingham Brother Rice was the medalist with a 3-under-par 69.
Softball
Hartland 2, Salem 0
Hartland 10, Salem 10
Olivia Forrest pitched a shutout in the first game, striking out five batters in seven innings. The Eagles scored on a Skylar Spisz steal of home in the third and a double by Emme Kottong in the sixth.
Avery Richardson was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs in the second game, which was called by darkness after seven innings. The game will be resumed only if it impacts the KLAA West championship.
Laingsburg 6, Pinckney 1
Pinckney 18, Laingsburg 8
Pinckney’s Natally Pease hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the second game. Ayla Wright hit a home run and had three RBIs, Addison Wroblewski drove in three runs and Mackenzie Burns was 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Pirates in the nightcap.
Stoney Creek 13, Brighton 8
Brighton 7, Stoney Creek 6
Brighton’s Anna Minnick had four hits, including two triples and a double, in the first game. Freshman Kendall Pickens had a double, triple and three RBIs in the second game for the Bulldogs.
Boys lacrosse
Brighton 16, Livonia 4
Joe Skoczylas had five goals and three assists for Brighton (4-2).
Howell 19, Canton 3
Caleb Edwards had four goals and one assist, Ryan O’Dea three goals and seven assists, and Cody Baker three goals and two assists for Howell.
Hartland 24, Novi 1
Connor Gilbert and Coen Chwalek each had five goals and two assists for Hartland. Grant Barber had two goals and six assists, while Kellen Hull won 26 of 27 faceoffs.
Tennis
Hartland 7, Pinckney 1
Hartland’s Arianna Kinney won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles. Pinckney won the only close match, with Hope Elliott and Jenna Vandezande winning 6-3, 7-6 (5) at No. 1 doubles.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
