Rochester hands Stoney Creek first league loss
STRONG-ARMED: Rochester Stoney Creek third baseman Ben Yax scoops up the gournd ball and preps to fire it to first during Tuesday's OAA Red Division clash with Rochester. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — In the preseason, Rochester was supposed to be one of the better baseball teams in Oakland County this spring. Yet Falcons coach Eric Magiera has not always seen evidence of that on the ball diamond this season.
Rochester is starting to show signs of coming to life as of late.
The Falcons did enough to post its first shutout of the season Tuesday, handing rival Rochester Stoney Creek its first OAA Red Division loss of the season, 4-0. The win gave Rochester its third straight and keeps them very much alive in the hunt for the league title, as there is not a predominant favorite in the league.
Senior Nick Bradley pitched his way out of a trio of jams, including the bases loaded in the fourth inning, and Chris Saber fired a pair of scoreless innings for the save for the Falcons (6-4, 2-1).
“Nick actually didn’t have his best stuff. Grant it when he throws his best stuff, he can be one of the best pitchers in the state,” said Magiera. “Today, he struggled with his off-speed (pitches) but his fastball was still working fine. He pitched his way out of some jams.
“The biggest thing for him is he pitched to his strengths today,” added Magiera. “When he knew he was spotting pitches, he went back to his fastball and challenge guys. He wasn’t going to let another team beat him on his secondary pitch. A lot of times pitchers will force the issue, throwing a curve ball even though they are not going for strikes.
“We played some good defense behind him,” continued Magiera. “There have been a couple of games this season where we did not play defense at all, made a lot of errors.”
Bradley went five innings, striking out four, hitting two batters and allowing only two hits to gain the win. He helped his own cause by going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Shane Sullivan was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Rochester kept high-powered Stoney Creek off the scoreboard. Last week the Cougars (7-3, 3-1) routed Troy (16-0), the same team that defeated Rochester (7-1).
“For us it’s not surprise because we have high expectations this year,” offered Magiera, whose team ventured through and up-and-down season a year ago which ended with a 17-18 record. “I think we have one of better teams in the county. We just have to out and prove it.”
Rochester scored single runs in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings to pull away.
Mike Kmiec had an RBI single in the second and Sullivan laced an RBI single the following frame for the 2-0 advantage.
The Falcons added a third run in the sixth when Sullivan had a double and later scored on a wild pitch. Bradley smacked an RBI single down the left field line in the seventh inning for the final insurance run for Rochester.
“It’s a wide open race,” said Magiera. “There’s a couple of teams at the top that are going to be tough to beat on a regular basis. But if someone can get on a roll, they could sneak in there and win (the league). Could that be us? I don’t know. There are a lot of quality teams in the league this year. The winner may have a few losses.”
Zak Northup pitched the first three innings, giving up two runs and was the pitcher of record for the Cougars.
“I just don’t think we came ready to play,” said Stoney Creek coach Clint Rodger. “We didn’t run the bases well and our pitchers were a little off. Plus, Bradley is a good pitcher, one of the best in the league. We had some runners on and couldn’t get the hit when we needed to. “
The loss leaves only Lake Orion and Troy Athens as the only unbeaten teams in the league.
“This year, it’s hard to say (who the favorite is). It’s pretty wide open,”added Rodger. “If someone can get on a winning streak, they could take it.”
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com
Category: Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Stoney Creek
[…] “I think we have one of better teams in the county. We just have to out and prove it.”… Read more TAGS: baseball, Dan Stickradt, Stoney Creek High School This entry was posted on […]