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2026 High School Team Preview: Sacred Heart Academy Fighting Irish

MOUNT PLEASANT - Sacred Heart has lost in the tournament to the eventual champion for three consecutive years. No game was more disheartening than a year ago when the Fighting Irish were defeated by Portland St. Patrick 5-4 in 12 innings in the regional finals.

Senior southpaw Brady Davis is 24-3 in his career, those losses all coming in the tournament the past three years, and headlines the returnees for head coach Earl Hartman Jr., who has a career record of 908-419 in 42 years at the helm. Davis was 10-1 with a 0.64 ERA, striking out 93 in 54.2 frames a year ago.

“We try to learn life lessons along with baseball fundamentals,” the veteran head coach said about his program, which has had teams win 30 or more games for three consecutive seasons.

“We’ll be a competitive D4 team, but we’re not as gifted as the last three 30-win seasons where we could compete with everyone in any class.”

But a strong one-two punch on the mound is expected to keep Sacred Heart one of the top teams in the state in Division 4. Nate Siler, an all-state performer a year ago, joins Davis at the top of the rotation after going 9-2 with a 0.40 ERA in 2025, fanning 102 in 69.2 innings.

“They will both throw in college,” Hartman pointed out. “Our obvious strength is on the mound, but we lost most of our offense and defense. Only four starters return so we will need support from untested and new players.”

A quartet of four-year starters are among six full-time regulars gone from a year ago, with three playing in college including Grady Pieratt, now at Alma.

Teegan Duffy, one of six seniors on the squad, had a .385 average a year ago and is the top returning hitter for Sacred Heart, with Davis and Siler also contributing at the plate. Davis batted .301 and Siler .289 last season.

Senior Noah Zeien is another returnee after carrying a .426 OBP last season, while also pitching in 10 games with a 2-1 record.

Seniors Brody Collin, Nico Vazquez and Caleb Strauch all saw action a year ago as did junior Hank McDonald and sophomores Jack Morrow and Mark Deskovitz.

“Nine of 10 graduates the last two seasons are college athletes, with five football and one hockey,” explained Hartman.

As for the upcoming campaign, the long-time mentor sees another big year ahead after going 31-7 a year ago.

“I always like my teams!” Hartman said. “I feel our pitching can keep us in any game.”

But replacing the 2025 graduates will be a challenge.

“I hope we’ll develop some newcomers to watch,” Hartman concluded. “Being healthy and getting production from newcomers will be the key to success this season.”

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