For the first time in 15 years, the Lake Shore Shorians are baseball district champions.

“It means a lot to us,” said Shorian senior Steven Likins. “We haven’t won in 15 years. We’ve been working hard to get to this point, playing together since freshman year, and it’s just big.”

Despite having to play in the Division 2 pre-district game, Lake Shore cruised with an 18-2 victory over the district host Hazel Park Vikings on Tuesday. Then, on Friday, they beat the Lincoln Abes, 16-1, in the semifinals then beat the Center Line Panthers, 15-0, in the championship game.

None of those games made it past the third inning.

After falling short of winning the Macomb Area Conference Gold — their first big goal — by one game, getting the district done feels especially fulfilling.

“I told them, our district, that’s our next goal up,” said Shorian head coach Brendan Osantowski. “We were right in there. And then I told the guys like, you know, this is ours to take. So I know they did a great job focusing.”

Patience was the Shorians’ weapon in the district championship game. They drew 15 walks and needed just four hits, including a double by Cameron Whitcher, to score their 15 runs. A bases-loaded walk to Tommy Ahearn gave them their run-rule win.

Jack Pierce threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Zach Caleca finished it off with a scoreless, two-K third.

“I was fortunate enough to be with them since freshman year when I ended up getting the varsity job,” Osantowski said. “This senior class I’ve known for four years. So again, they’ve worked so hard, not just them, but everyone in the program, from the beginning of just being in the weight room, and then, you know, working all the way until we got to starting the season. I know how bad they wanted it.”

The Shorians’ softball team also won a district championship on Friday, also beating Center Line.

Center Line had the unenviable task of turning straight to the championship game after winning an 18-8, 2.5-hour long marathon against Fitzgerald in the game immediately before.

Head coach Rob Conti said that, by the time they had to play for the title, the Panthers were gassed.

“Not only physically, but mentally,” Conti said. “I think kids are emotionally spent. Fitz is a rival. They want to beat Fitz in the worst way. They’re in our league. For us to go in that long game and beat them, it did take a toll emotionally and then physically. You run out, you know, you run out of gas, run out of energy, as you saw.

“We were throwing guys that we could hope could get it over. And that’s what happens when you don’t have any arms and you had a rough game before it.”

The Panthers finished 8-13. Among their top players were senior catcher/utilityman Dylan Fenger, junior pitcher/shortstop Hunter Hughes and freshman Cruz Santiago.

Lake Shore will take on Harper Woods (6-13) in next week’s regional semifinal on Wednesday, June 4 at Hazel Park at 4:30 p.m. The Pioneers went through South Lake and Detroit Southeastern to win their district.

“We’re going to enjoy today,” Osantowski said. “Because, again, it’s kind of been a long time for us. But again, I think they know our next goal we had, because we didn’t just break it down from, you know, league to state championship. You know, we broke it down from, you know, we’re going to try to run districts and we’re going to try to go after regionals and then move on from there.

“So they know we’re going to let them enjoy it today and they know we’re going to go right back at it starting next week.”