MUSKEGON – The Fruitport baseball program waited 34 years to reclaim local supremacy, and on Saturday that long wait came to an end.

With a 9-1 victory over North Muskegon at Marsh Field, the Trojans took home the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament championship.

Earlier in the day, Fruitport defeated Western Michigan Christian 8-5 and Mona Shores 7-4 to advance to the championship game.

It was an all-around great day for the Trojans, who are off to a great start this season.

“It means a lot,” Fruitport head coach Nick Reed said about winning the tournament title. “I played here, and we had a couple heartbreakers when I played. The last time we were here was 2014, and we had a good team, but we just ran into a powerhouse in Shores. But today these guys grinded, and it means a lot to the program, all the dedication they’ve given.”

The significance of the championship wasn’t lost on Fruitport senior standout Ryan Bosch, who had a big game on the mound and at the plate.

“It feels awesome,”  he said. “I mean, the past four years we’ve dealt with a lot of adversity. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but this year feels different. Everyone is buying in and we just seem to have a different culture. It just feels amazing.”

Bosch took the mound in the championship game, because he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“He told me, ‘It’s my ball,” Reed said about the mid-week conversation he had with his star pitcher. “We don’t like to pitch him on three days rest, and he pitched on Tuesday. But you know, he wanted it and so that was his ball.”

Bosch was more than up to the task, keeping North Muskegon’s offense under control while striking out 15 batters.

“Honestly, I felt like junk at the beginning,” Bosch said. “But as the game kept going, it was better and better. Just every pitch, I was thinking about being competitive, and I think that helped.”

The Fruitport offense threatened in the first inning by loading the bases but was unable to capitalize, keeping in the score 0-0.

It took until the bottom of the third for the Trojans to get rolling.

Braxton Ward led off the inning with a double before advancing to third on an infield single by Jax Flynn.

Flynn then threatened to steal second, drawing a throw by North Muskegon that allowed Ward to swipe home, giving Fruitport a 1-0 lead.

Tommy Anderson then launched a two-run home run over the left field fence to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead.

A North Muskegon solo home run to lead off the fourth inning made the score 3-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, Fruitport’s Avery Lambers ripped a two-run double to right center, increasing the Trojan lead to 5-1.

Later in the inning, Ashton Kemp had an RBI groundout to make the score 6-1 and Hudson Hazekamp scored on a wild pitch, extending the Trojans’ advantage to 7-1.

Ward added an RBI double in the fifth inning, then Bosch hit a solo homer to right-center in the bottom of the sixth, giving Fruitport its final margin of victory.

“It felt awesome,” Bosch said about his home run. “I got here and had a hard time seeing the ball the first couple of at-bats. I tried to adjust, but then I just went back to my normal stance and stayed true to myself.”

The Trojans totaled nine hits in the game from nine different players.

“We’re deep that way,” Reed said about the offensive diversity. “We just grind at-bats, and if you look up and down our lineup, we have guys hitting, and it just shows how deep we are.”

The Trojans, now 15-1 on the season, will return to action on Tuesday against Comstock Park.

“This is awesome – it was one of our team goals,” Bosch said. “But we have to keep it going. It can’t be the highlight of our season. We have to be ready for Comstock Park on Tuesday.”