BASEBALL: Kettering’s Dudek pitches 1-0 district gem in upset of Lake Orion
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BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LAKE ORION — Avery Dudek openly admits he was a little nervous Tuesday evening.
With his Waterford Kettering baseball team clinging to a 1-0 lead and with runners on second and third, the senior left-hander got Jeff Turnbull to ground out to third to end a potential rally.
That play was also the finishing touches of a 1-0 Division 1 district gem that saw Dudek close the door on Lake Orion’s season in fine fashion, going 6 1/3 innings of no-hit baseball from the mound before giving up two hits in the top of the seventh.
“I was actually getting nervous, my head was going crazy,” said Dudek, who picked up his fourth win of the season. “I was just hoping my defense behind me was going to make plays.”
The win sends upstart Kettering (14-19) into Saturday’s district semifinals at Lake Orion against Clarkston. It took everything from Dudek to get the Captains sailing in the right direction, as he struck out 11, walked four, gave up the two seventh-inning singles, hit one batter and allowed two base-runners to reach on errors.
The Heater: Lake Orion hurler Brad Schaenzer delivers his fastball during Tuesday’s Division 1 pre-district game against Waterford Kettering. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
More importantly, he kept his composure during a pair of jams to stymie one of the state’s premier teams of the past decade.
“My curve ball was working a lot today,” offered Dudek. “I was throwing inside and trying to break out and then throwing outside to lefties and break right in. Other than that, the fast ball was working. I was placing it on the outside corner really well today. I just felt really good.”
Kettering only had two infield singles in the contest, one in the first inning and one in the second frame. The first was a chopper to third by Dan Wewcomb that was deflected by Orion’s third baseman and plated Paul Turk, who reached after being hit by a pitch.
The other was an infield single in the second inning by Taylor Salva.
Kentucky-bound Brad Schaenzer took the loss for Lake Orion (23-14), the OAA Red Division champions for the third straight year. He pitched four solid innings, giving up the two hits with eight strikeouts, a walk and one hit batsmen. Josh Bays pitched two innings of hitless relief.
The duo did not get the run support needed to advance.
Lake Orion loaded the bases in the top of the second on two walks and a hit batsmen, but Dudek got out of the jam by ending the frame with a strikeout of Miles Hardy.
Lake Orion was also hurt by a controversial call to open the seventh, where Bays was called out despite Dudek dropping a tossed ball to first base. The officials ruled that Dudek touched the bag first before colliding with Bays and dropping the ball.
The Dragons also had runners on second and third in the seventh courtesy of singles by Dan Hunter and Bay Smart and a stolen base by Smart. Dudek got the final two outs to seal the upset.
Reaching Back: Waterford Kettering senior Avery Dudek pitched a 1-0 gem in Tuesday’s 1-0 district upset of Lake Orion.Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“We made it pretty interesting there at the end, but I’m proud of my guys for pulling through,” smiled Kettering skipper Mike O’Malley. “Avery’s ERA this year is one and a half, maybe 1.60. There were some games where maybe we didn’t play very good defense behind him or gave him a lot of run support. He may be underrated in terms of (wins). But he’s a good pitcher.”
Stranding seven total base-runners, including the bases loaded in the second and two runners with only one out in the seventh was prototypical of the Dragons’ Achilles Heel all season.
“When he was outside the plate, we still swung at too many balls that we shouldn’t have. That’s been our season,” said Lake Orion coach Andy Schramek. “We get the bases loaded, we can’t score a run. In the last inning, we have one out with (two runners) on and we can’t score. Scoring runs with runners in scoring position has been the telling tale of our season.”
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In time: Lake Orion’s Bay Smart places the tag on Waterford Kettering’s Paul Turk during Tuesday’s Division 1 pre-district contest. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
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