Livonia Stevenson baseball winning in playoffs for hospitalized coach

The Division 1 baseball regional semifinal between Livonia Stevenson and Detroit Western International was a game in three acts on Wednesday, June 3. Stevenson (24-13) built an early four-run lead before Western rallied to tie it and eventually take the lead. Western held that advantage until the bottom of the seventh, when Stevenson scored twice to force extra innings. The Spartans then walked off with a 7-6 win on a hit-by-pitch in the eighth.

The victory sends Stevenson to Saturday’s regional final and keeps the Kensington Lakes Activities Association’s last remaining playoff team alive. The Spartans have a chance to become the fourth straight KLAA team to win a state championship. For interim coach Nate Hoffman, who is filling in for veteran coach Rick Berryman, the win was about honoring his predecessor and extending the season. “It’s surreal being in this position,” Hoffman said. “Our head coach ended up in the hospital a couple weeks ago. They’re playing for each other, and I think they’re playing a little bit for him, just to keep it going and give him something to look forward to.” MORE: Root canal surgery doesn't slow Novi Detroit Catholic Central pitcher Junior pitcher Caden Gawkowski entered in the fifth inning and stabilized the game.

He allowed two hits and no runs over 3 2/3 innings while Stevenson mounted its comeback. “He battled and kept us in the game,” Hoffman said. “As a team, we just kept fighting, took good swings [and] put ourselves in a situation to score the winning run. We made a few mistakes on the bases with some decisions in that sixth inning … but we continued to show resilience in battle, and that’s what they’ve done all year.” Stevenson struck first when Gawkowski drove in Luca Allevato in the opening inning. The Spartans added three more runs while holding Western scoreless through three innings, including two runs in the third to build a 4-0 lead. Western answered with two runs in the fourth.

After a bases-loaded walk scored one run, Andrew Grzanowski relieved Cameron McPherson. Damian Ybarra later scored on Daniel Rojas’ sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-2. Western carried that momentum into the fifth, scoring four runs to take a 6-4 lead. Angel Garcia led off with a double.

Johan Villarreal followed with another extra-base hit, putting himself on second and Jhon Soto-Ferrerira on third. Emilio Zuniga’s at-bat brought home two more runs. Gawkowski took over on the mound and closed out the inning. Western International wouldn’t score again. “I just wanted to win,” Gawkowski said. “I was mad.

We weren’t playing our best, and I just wanted to win the game. Having that mentality to want to go out there and get the ball, have it in your hands to take your team to the win, that’s what was going through my mind.” Trailing 6-4 with two outs in the seventh, Stevenson forced extra innings with two runs sparked by deep hits from Rocco Stefanovski and Walker Maxwell. Western put runners on base in the eighth, but Stevenson’s defense came through. Peyton Yatooma made a diving catch for the inning’s first out, and the Spartans recorded two more outs on balls hit up the middle to keep the game tied.

Hoffman said their resilience has been something the team had to develop throughout the season. “I’ll be honest, early in the season we didn’t keep that energy,” Hoffman said. “In fact, we’d kind of lose focus on the bench, and that would lead to loss of focus on the field. We had a lot of good at-bats throughout the game. That’s why I felt comfortable and confident going into those last couple innings even though we were down.” In the bottom of the eighth, Stevenson put runners on second and third. Western pitcher Johnnie Salazar hit Ben Machowicz with a pitch, allowing Allevato to score the winning run.

Stevenson will face Warren De La Salle next at Woodhaven High School. Gawkowski echoed Hoffman’s sentiment about playing for Berryman. “We’re doing it for him,” Gawkowski said. “He does a lot for us, so whatever we can do for him. [Hopefully] he gets healthier over time and can maybe come back.”