BASEBALL: Back in familiar position, Lake Orion leading charge in OAA Red Division

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

LAKE ORION — It almost seems that it is a right of passage for Lake Orion to at least compete for a league championship in baseball. The Dragons are back in their usual spot in mid-May — in the heat of the OAA Red Division race.

Lake Orion is currently 18-8 overall and in-and-out of the Division 1 top 10. In the OAA-Red, the Dragons hold the lead with a 9-2 overall record, a game ahead of second-place Rochester Stoney Creek.

“I thought we’d be up there this season,” admitted 14^th-year head coach Andy Schramek, who has never had a losing season at Lake Orion and holds a fine 330-121 overall coaching record at the varsity level. “I knew the league would be good again. It always is. But we have put ourselves in a position to potentially win it.”

SINGE PATROL: Lake Orion junior Nick Deeg has emerged as one of the top left-handed pitchers in the state and is ace of a deep and talented pitching staff for the Dragons this season. File Photo.

The Dragons visit Stoney Creek for a league twinbill Wednesday and a sweep will likely sew up the conference crown. Stoney Creek edged Lake Orion in the final league standings last season by one game, when the division had nine schools (13-3 to 12-4 records, respectively). This season the division fields six squads with each team playing each other three times.

“The set-up is different, but it’s still a very good league and there really isn’t a weak team,” said Schramek, whose team’s only losses are to Rochester and Oxford, the teams in fifth and sixth place. “But we have played solid baseball in the league. Against Rochester, we pitched a two-hitter and lost. We gave them a couple of runs in one bad inning.”

Since Schramek became coach in 1999, Lake Orion has not finished lower than fourth place in the OAA’s top division (OAA-I or OAA-Red). They have claimed six league titles with multiple league runner-up finishes, won six district crowns, four regional titles and one D-1 state championship in 2007.

Right now, the Dragons sole concern is to win the OAA-Red, although sights will soon turn to a potential long postseason run. Lake Orion is set up with a fine pitching staff, including a pair of left-handers that would be the ace on most pitching staffs in the area.

Nick Deeg, a 6-foot-5 junior, and sophomore Brad Schaenzer, have proven to be dominant on the mound this season. Both are averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning, have combined for a 10-2 record and have ERAs under 2.00. Both are starting to hit the radar with some college and pro scouts.

The pitching staff does not stop there, despite junior Cody Campbell moving to Illinois last summer. Senior Jacob Gardner (Hillsdale College) has overcome some early-season arm problems, while senior Dalton Oveson and junior Travis Scheppler have also been key contributors on the mound. Nearly half of the Dragons’ roster can pitch.

At the plate, Deeg, junior Ryan Lambrecht and junior Nick Vogelmeier have led the way.

“We have a pretty solid lineup, “said Schramek. “I think the one area where we have not played consistent is on our weekend double headers. That’s where (six) of our losses have come. We have played a tough schedule.  But I think there were some of those games where I think we could have played better. But no one remembers those games (come June).”

Since winning its state title five years ago, Lake Orion has not made it past the district semifinals. In fact the past two years the Dragons have lost in the Tuesday pre-district contest.

Lake Orion will play against Waterford Mott in this year’s pre-district. The Dragons are the district host for the second straight year and fourth time in six seasons.

“It seems like we always draw that pre-district game,” sighed Schramek. “I think since I became head coach, we’ve played in the pre-district game 10 or 11 times.”

Regardless of the extra postseason game, Lake Orion is built for a long run thanks to a deep pitching staff.

“We’re hoping for a better (showing) this season,” said Schramek, whose team has won anywhere from 16 to 31 games in his previous 13 seasons at the helm. “We haven’t won a district since the year we won the state championship. One of our goals is to get past the district this season. That’s always the goal.”

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