By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – Logan Tammerine slammed a home run, then slammed the door on Ann Arbor Greenhills Wednesday.

The Whiteford junior slugged a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning, then was brought in to pitch the final two innings and closed the door on Ann Arbor Greenhills as the Bobcats beat the Gryphons 8-3 to earn a spot in the Division 3 Regional final on Saturday.

Whiteford head coach Terry Pant said the Bobcats turned to their No. 1 pitcher Wednesday to make sure to keep 20-win Greenhills at bay. It was a 5-2 game when Tammerine was called upon.  

“They started to get a little momentum and we didn’t want them to get any more momentum,” Pant said. “At that point in the game anything could happen. We were thinking maybe bring him in right then and slam the door.”

The strategy worked, although Greenhills did manufacture a third run. With a runner on first, however, Tammerine struck out the batter and Luke Rasor gunned the ball down to second on an attempted steal, getting a double play to end the sixth inning.

The Whiteford defense had a good day. In the first inning, Ryin Ruddy made a great catch in deep center field, snaring a fly ball that he had to cover a lot of ground to get to. The Bobcats turned a nice doubleheader in the fourth inning to help out starting pitcher Nate Stevens. The game ended when Stevens, now playing shortstop, dove for a line drive, got up and narrowly threw out the final Gryphon batter.

Tammerine said he has tons of confidence in his defense.

“Luke (Rasor) is an amazing catcher,” he said. “Our infield, too. I know I can pitch to contact, and I have people behind me to back it up. I’m not worried about us the rest of the year. We’ll be fine.”

Tammerine ended up throwing 34 pitches. He’ll be ready to go on Saturday when the Bobcats face Jackson Lumen Christi in the regional championship game at 12:30 p.m. at Adrian College.

“He didn’t throw great today,” Pant said. “We sort of rushed him in there. I don’t think he had much time to warm up.”

Whiteford’s hitters had a good day at the plate. The Bobcats scratched out a run in the second inning, two more in the third and led 5-0 through four.

Whiteford starter Stevens, who missed a couple of weeks on the hill with an injury late in the season, reached the pitch count that Pant had for him through five innings. Tammerine went to the bullpen when Whiteford came to bat in the top of the sixth, but barely had a chance to loosen his arm when it was his turn to bat.

On the second pitch he saw, he hit a deep fly ball to right center that easily carried over the fence.

“His first pitch to me he threw me a curve, so I was thinking, ‘okay, I see how this at-bat is going to go,’” Tammerine said. “Next thing I know he threw me an upper zone fast ball and I just turned on it. It felt like nothing, just so smooth.”

It was Tammerine’s third home run of the season. He had two hits on the day, as did Brendon Masters, Shea Ruddy and Ryin Ruddy. Rasor, Stevens and Zayne Emch had the other Whiteford hits.

Pant did find some fault with a few Bobcat baserunners and said they need to fix that part of the game before Saturday.

“We were a little too aggressive sometimes,” Pant said. “The kids aren’t seeing the things they should be sometimes. That’s something we can work on this week.”

Whiteford will take a 21-10 record into the regional championship game. The Bobcats are trying for their seventh all-time regional title and first since 2021. Pant said he’s happy with how the offense, defense and pitching are shaping up.

“We’re still moving guys around and they are stepping in and making plays,” he said.