SOFTBALL: Lake Orion rallies past Romeo to claim first regional crown since 2004
Troy Athens ousted in regional semifinals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — In several recent trips to the regional round of the Division 1 softball state tournament, the lack of one big inning or clutch play has hindered Lake Orion’s bid to reach the state quarterfinals.
That was not the case Saturday at Bloomfield Hills High School.
The sixth-ranked Dragons used a six-run fifth inning to pull ahead of Romeo and lift Lake Orion to a 6-1 triumph over the Bulldogs in the regional finals.
The Dragons captured their first regional title since 2004 and advanced to Tuesday’s state quarterfinals against No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy at Wayne State University.
“I don’t know what to say. I am almost speechless,” admitted senior pitcher Sierra Gonzales. “We got to this same game two years ago and lost to (Romeo, 5-1). We didn’t want that to happen again.”
While Gonzales yielded one earned run, scattered five hits and hit one batter, the Dragons’ offense simply erupted in the fifth inning to back her fine pitching performance.
With one out and the bases loaded, junior slugger Shelby Misiak ripped a bases-clearing triple to give Lake Orion (35-5) the lead for good. Later in the frame, Carly McGee, one of five seniors on the roster, laced a three-run home run — the first of her varsity career — to cap the scoring.
Gonzales only gave up a sixth-inning leadoff double down the stretch, and Romeo did not seriously threaten the Dragons’ lead over the final two innings.
Romeo (23-8), honorable mention in the polls, scored its run in the second inning when pitcher Madisyn Collins doubled and later scored on an RBI single by Rachel Sweet.
“In the last four years, we’ve had two Final Fours and two Sweet 16s,” noted Romeo coach John Olley. “We’ve and a great run. We’ve won a lot of districts (in the past 10 years) too. That’s not bad. Sometimes you win (regionals) and sometimes you don’t. We had a good run. They had that one big inning that made the difference. They earned it.”
LAKE ORION 11, BIRMINGHAM GROVES 1: Lake Orion pulled away from four-win Groves to advance to the regional finals for the second time in three seasons.
Tied at 1-1, Lake Orion scored the go-ahead run in the fourth, exploded for five in the fifth and tacked on four more runs in the top of the seventh.
The Dragons totaled 15 hits, led by freshman Tessa Nuss’ two hits, two RBI and a run scored.
Junior Alexis Aguilar scattered five hits in the win from the circle.
ROMEO 6, TROY ATHENS 0: Romeo advanced to its fourth straight regional finals contest with this regional semifinals victory over the Red Hawks.
Madisyn Collins got the win from the circle, scattering seven hits over seven innings.
Romeo scored one in the second, two in the fourth and three in the sixth to pull away.
Morgan Gardiner had an RBI double and scored a run, Madison Jones was 2-for-3 and scored a run and Bre Olley was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Romeo.
Athens, which finished 21-19 under first-year coach Carrie Brennan and captured its first district since 2012, simply could not string together enough hits to give Romeo a scare.
“I told them to focus on the small moments and execute and we didn’t do that and Romeo did on a couple of occasions,” said Brennan. “(Romeo) was very focused and did what they had to do. They’re a good team. It was still a good fight.
“I am still proud of my girls,” continued Brennan. “We hope to come back next year and go further, set the goals of winning regionals. We need to set our goals high.”
Maddy Ellinger finished 2-for-3 with a walk for Athens. Samantha Stosiak, Katie Kosnak, Mikayla Kirkland, Rachel Van Proeyen were also seniors with one hit apiece.
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