BASEBALL: Lake Orion sweeps Clarkston to claim OAA-Red title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION — One of the perks of winning a conference championship is that it proves that a team can sustain a high level of play for a long period of time.
Lake Orion has proven to be a model of consistency on the baseball diamond over the past two months and the Dragons have proved to be the best of the OAA Red Division.
LEFT-HANDED SPECIAL: Lake Orion's Nick Deeg fires this pitch during the Dragons' double-header sweep of Clarkston Tuesday. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotgraphy.com
Lake Orion put the finishing touches on the OAA-Red title Tuesday at home, posting an 8-2 and 4-2 sweep of rival Clarkston. The pair of wins gives Lake Orion (24-8 overall) a final league record of 13-2 and also gives the Dragons the league title for the seventh time in coach Andy Schramek’s 14 years at the helm of the Lake Orion program.
It marked Lake Orion’s first league championship since 2009.
“That’s what’s so nice about the league, that it’s something that you accomplish over two months of time, not a weekend,” said Schramek, who took over Lake Orion’s program in 1999. “I think for the most part we’ve played some really good baseball. Sure, there were a couple of games where we didn’t play our best, but it’s hard to go unbeaten in this league. We are in a really good league, it’s always tough. It’s a nice (accomplishment) to win this league.”
Lake Orion has done so with a deep and talented pitching staff — and sophomore Brad Schaenzer and junior Nick Deeg have hurled their way to several wins, mostly in league play.
SAFELY TOWARDS THE BAG: Clarkston's Jacob Laporte motors into third place during Tuesday's twinbill with Lake Orion. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
“I think we’ve proven to have the best pitching in the league,” said Schramek. “Brad Schaenzer and Nick Deeg are our normal starters in the league and they have pitched very well all season.”
In the opener against Clarkston, the left-handed Schaenzer fired a two-hitter with six strikeouts on the mound.
Nolan Page had two RBI at the plate and Schaenzer helped his own cause with a pair of RBI of his own for Lake Orion, which trailed 1-0 after the first frame but broke the game open with a five-run third inning. Ryan Lambrecht, Roman Kuster and Deeg also supplied two hits in Game 1.
In the nightcap, Clarkston tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning only to see Lake Orion plate two runs in the sixth to go ahead for good.
Page, who had two RBI in the contest, delivered an RBI single in the sixth while the Dragons plated their fourth run on a wild pitch. Connor Grant added an RBI groundout in the contest.
Deeg was sharp on the mound, fanning nine while scattering three hits.
“I thought overall we played two very good games of baseball, 14 solid innings,” said Schramek. “We got solid pitching in both games and we had some (timely) hits.”
Lake Orion will host a four-team Memorial Day Weekend tournament Saturday that includes Warren DeLaSalle, Troy and Plymouth, then come back Tuesday and host Waterford Mott in a Division 1 pre-district contest. The Dragons have not won a district since 2008, the year they were crowned the D-1 state champions.
“We’re hoping to go after a district championship next week,” said Schramek. “I think the pitching will be key for us. Pitching is one of the big reasons why we won the league title. Now, we’ll see how far we can go in the (state tournament).”
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