Houghton catcher Dylan Horning throws to first as pitcher Kade Farrell looks on during a game against Hancock on Friday in Hancock. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — It was a day of firsts on the ball diamond at Driving Park on Friday: Houghton and Hancock varsity and junior varsity played each other for the first time in more than four years.

The Gremlins (7-0) beat the Bulldogs 12-0 in the first game, and Hancock squeaked out a 14-13 win over the Gremlin JV squad.

The last time these two high schools had played each other in baseball was 2018. The problem was a simple one. Hancock did not have the numbers needed to field a ball club over these past few years.

Hancock graduate (2018) and former baseball player Travis Pietila is the Bulldogs coach.

“We have 15 guys who want to play, and are getting better every day,” he said. “Our struggle has been being able to get outside for practice and do things the real way. In that first month or more, we were stuck in the gym, and it’s very hard to replicate anything in the gym.”

This was just their third and fourth games of the season. They lost their first two games to Iron Mountain. Pietila was happy to get the win in the JV game.

Houghton’s Kade Farrell was the hero of the first game. He threw a one-hit, complete-game winner. In six innings, he struck out seven and walked just two. Hancock’s Zachary Geborkoff spoiled the no-hitter in the third inning with a base hit to the left side. As well, Farrell went 3-4 at the plate with an RBI.

“Hats off to Kade,” said Houghton head coach Joe Romano. “He was stunning on the mound and impressive at the plate, and that’s what we need.”

Despite the loss, Pietila and his coaches were happy with what they saw.

“I thought we played a solid game,” Pietila said. “We fielded the ball cleanly. Credit goes to Houghton as their pitcher kept us on our toes and got us to hit ground balls.”

Another first on the afternoon was a JV-baseball game featuring the underclassmen of Houghton facing off against Hancock. According to Romano, the baseball team had around 30 players from all grades come out for practice last month – a record high.

“We’ve never had a JV team, and I’m grateful to the administration in allowing us to form a younger team and keep growing the program.”

In the second game, it was members of the junior circuit that got to showcase their talent, and they did quite well with lots of scoring. The Bulldogs opened with a five-run first. Two walks and a triple by catcher Luke Mikkola was the cause of that. Interestingly Mikkola was just a home run away from hitting for the cycle as he had a single and a double on the afternoon.

Houghton countered with two of their own. Both teams scored four in the second frame to make it a 9-6 Hancock tilt. While the Gremlins would go on to tally seven more runs in the later innings, it would not be enough, and the Bulldogs would notch their first win on the season at 14-13.

“I liked how we hit the ball well in that second game,” Pietila said. “Their pitcher threw strikes, and we put the ball in play and good things happened.”

HHS 121 026 – 12

HCHS 000 000 – 0

Junior varsity

HCHS 540 320 – 14

HHS 240 340 – 13