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Clarkston seniors gain first taste of victory over Lake Orion

Dan Stickradt | May 7, 2011 | Comments (0)

NOT IN TIME: Clarkston's Jacob Sims (left) awaits the late throw as Lake Orion's Zack Zott slides safely into second base during Friday's OAA Red Division clash. Sims and the Wolves had the last laugh in an 8-5 victory.

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

LAKE ORION — Seniors on Clarkston’s baseball team had never experienced the satisfaction of defeating its chief rival. That came to an end Friday.

The visiting Wolves built a 6-1 advantage on Lake Orion through two innings and hung on for a 8-5 OAA Red Division victory.

“Beating Lake Orion is a huge deal for us,” smiled Chase Toth, Clarkston’s senior center fielder who is headed for Michigan State. “I don’t think that any of us seniors have beaten them yet. It felt really great and everyone was excited coming into the game. We finally beat them.”

Clarkston (11-2, 4-2), which is off to its “best start in several years,” according to Wolves coach Phil Price, chased Lake Orion starter Zack Zott with one out in the second and the Wolves up 6-1. Zott faced 11 batters, giving up seven hits with one strikeout and one walk.

Clarkston’s Chase Toth set the tone on just the game’s second pitch, lacing a line drive over the center field fence. Jassiel Gonzales added an RBI single and Matt Rodgers scored on a balk for 3-0 lead in the first.

The Wolves added three more in the second frame on a three-run blast by Jacob Sims. Jared Sperry added an RBI groundout in the fifth and Justin Baetz smacked an RBI bloop single in the seventh.

Lake Orion sophomore Cody Campbell pitched the final five innings for Lake Orion (9-4, 4-2). He struck out nine and gave up two runs. His performance allowed Lake Orion to slowly claw back into the game. The Dragons ran out of time.

Roman Kuster was 3-for-3 with four RBI, including a two-run double, for the Dragons, while Bret Wyss had an RBI groundout in the first.

“He did a great job. We didn’t want to use him as a starter, but he’s really good at finishing games for us,” said Lake Orion coach Andy Schramek of Campbell. “The choice we have to be making is do we use him three times a week (as a reliever) or once a week.

Still it was the second loss in three days in Lake Orion, which fell into a second-place tie with Clarkston and Troy. Troy Athens is in the league lead, while Rochester and Rochester Stoney Creek are in fourth place with three losses each.

STRONG-ARMED: Clarkston's Matt Rodgers picked up the win Friday over Lake Orion, holding the Dragons to three hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings of work.

“Clarkston came on and swung the bat really well and this was another game where we came out and spotted a team some runs,” said Schramek. “We tried to come back but it was too much.”

Clarkston’s Matt Rodgers pitched 3 2/3 innings for the win, while Vince Siwicki pitched the seventh for the save. Rodgers gave up three hits and three walks and gave up two runs.

Price said it’s the little things that have made the difference this season, with a batting order change, solid base-running and consistent pitching that has helped Clarkston become a factor in the league race.

“It’s the little things. Matt Rodgers did a good job, his arm was a little tired, so Andrew Fairse came in and gave everything that had and then Siwicki came in closed it out,” said Price. “Our pitching has been (really good this year).

“Lake Orion is such a quality program and this is a classy rival,” added Price, smiling that the Wolves pulled out a win against the Dragons for the first time since 2007, when they split with Lake Orion.”They play baseball the right way. We’ve had a lot of close games with them. It’s nice to beat them this time.”