EAST LANSING – Where their last few wins required heroics at select moments, the Dakota Cougars were better together on Friday – after getting two harmless singles in the first three innings against No. 2 Bay City Western, they strung together six-straight hits in the fourth inning, starting with an Evan Morrison single then an Evan Kavalick double.

It set the groundwork for No. 1 Dakota’s 6-2 win over No. 2 Bay City Western in the 2025 Division 1 baseball state semifinals.

Pitcher Luke DeMasse scored both with a single to break the scoreless tie, then Jadon Ford moved him to third. DeMasse scored on an RBI single by Jacob Gjonaj, then both he and Ford got into scoring position on a passed ball before Brady Hamby poked a line drive over the drawn-in infield, scoring both for Dakota’s fourth and fifth runs within six batters.

Every run came off Bay City Western starter and Michigan State commit Luke LaCourse.

Dakota head coach Angelo Plouffe said that it being the Cougars’ second time through the order helped them key in on LaCourse’s stuff.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Plouffe said. “We have some pretty good hitters too. We were able to put a big run there, a big inning, and that’s huge for us.”

LaCourse was tagged for nine hits and six earned runs. He struck out eight Dakota batters and pitched all six innings.

After shutting out Brother Rice last Saturday, DeMasse was brilliant on the mound again, refining his repertoire for maximum efficiency. The first time through the Warriors’ order, he burned warms by getting nine of his first 12 outs via ground ball.

Then came the swing and miss – he struck out four-straight batters in the fifth and sixth, seldom giving the state’s No. 2 team any chance to chip into the lead, and got five of the last seven outs on Ks.

He even almost homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth inning against one of his offseason training mates.

“I just came up there as confident as can be,” DeMasse said. “I was definitely sitting fastball. If he threw me a slider, then take it. I was really confident up there.

Instead, he collected his second hit of the game – something no BCW player did. Then he stole second, advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Gjonaj.

His two runs scored on Friday were more earned runs than he allowed in 21 innings all postseason: zero.

He finished his playoff pitching run with 21 innings, zero earned runs, nine hits, three unearned runs, one walk and 22 strikeouts against Macomb Area Conference Red’s Chippewa Valley, No. 10 Brother Rice and No. 2 Bay City Western.

“He’s phenomenal. Stud,” said Dakota head coach Angelo Plouffe of his ace. “Nothing phases him. That’s why he’s a dude.”

DeMasse was a worm’s worst nightmare, getting nine of his first 12 outs via ground ball. Then, as his confidence grew, the strikeouts started coming, and he punched out five of the last seven Warriors, including a stretch with four in a row.

“Most of their ground outs were from the fastball, which, I’ll take a ground ball any day,” DeMasse said. “But I noticed I didn’t really throw a lot of offspeed whenever I struck them out a bunch. It was just that little tweak – nothing really changed too much. It was just, like, hitting my spots on the changeup and slider at the knees.”

Bay City Western scored in the top of the fifth when LaCourse singled then moved to third on an E5 by Brady Hamby, who sailed a throw to first on a ground ball by Jaxon Jenkins. They both scored on a single by Brayden Simmon in the top of the fifth.

Due to pitch count regulations, DeMasse will be ineligible to pitch in the team’s Division 1 state championship game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. back in East Lansing against Hartland, meaning he’s thrown his final pitch for Dakota.

He’ll likely slot back into his typical third base position in the championship.

“I think this team, really, this team is special to me,” DeMasse said. “I always want to go out there and perform for them, because I know that they’re going to perform for me whenever I pitch. They’re going to be able to play defense, they’re able to give me runs.

“It’s really special. We’re a special team. We deserve to be here. And I just think that we definitely have a chance to win it.”

Hartland (27-15-1) earned the right to take on Dakota by beating another MAC team – the Grosse Pointe South Blue Devils (35-9). The Cougars will likely start MAC Red Player of the Year Ryan Petrovitch with the state title on the line.

The Eagles and Blue Devils traded runs early in their 10 a.m. start from McLane Stadium on Friday, with Hartland scoring one in the first before the Blue Devils punched back with a two-run second thanks to a double by Evan Bernard and James Michelotti.

But they weren’t able to tack on any more against Hardland starter Ty Kraut, who went the distance despite getting just one strikeouts, and Dylan Crowe’s two-run double in the third inning put the Eagles back ahead for good.

The Blue Devils wrapped a memorable season with a co-MAC White championship to go along with their district and regional titles.