Clarkston’s baseball team has a tall order this week: taking on Lake Orion. The Dragons (10-1) are ranked No. 1 in the state in the latest coaches? poll, and they host the Wolves Wednesday at 4:30.
The Wolves, winless in their two Oakland Activities Association contests, get two more chances this week to turn it around. Aside from the trip to Dragon Country, the Wolves were scheduled to take the field at West Bloomfield Monday.
It’s been a tough start for Clarkston (3-5), but they’re hoping that getting back to basics in practice will lead to a strong finish.
‘Kids need to be fundamentally sound offensively, and defensively we need to execute and stop walking people,? Clarkston coach Phil Price said.
‘We’re having a little bit of difficulty right now, but we can pull it together a little later on,? Clarkston shortstop Ty Taylor said.
‘We’re working on a lot of fundamentals. We’ll pull it together.?
The Wolves lost nine starters from last year, and the resulting changes in the lineup are taking some getting used to.
‘I’m hoping we’re going to grow a lot and get better as baseball players,? Wolves centerfielder Eric Ogg said.
‘We need to get more experience and play as a team and we’ll get better.
‘Last year we started better but we were more experienced with a lot more returning starters. This year we have a lot of juniors who have never started on varsity before.?
Breaks in play due to weather and spring break have been cumbersome for the team, Ogg said.
?(It affects) our timing. Hitting a pitcher and then not playing for a week, that’s hard for everyone.?
Prior to last weekend’s tournament play (look for the results at www.clarkstonnews.com), Clarkston lost a tough game to Royal Oak April 23, 6-1. The score wasn’t indicative of the Wolves? play, Price said.
Clarkston pitcher Nick Shamoun held the Ravens to one run going into the fifth inning.
‘I did pretty well. I missed some of my spots and walked some batters, but I threw pretty well,? Shamoun said.
‘I figured we still had a chance. I was pitching a good game and we were in it all the way through the fifth. We just needed one more run to get back in it.?
Royal Oak added a run in the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead.
‘The game was a lot tighter than the score. Until the sixth inning, it could have gone either way,? Price said.
In that sixth, already with a 2-1 lead, the Ravens scored four more runs.
‘We just didn’t execute,? Price said.
‘They had some bunts and we didn’t handle it correctly behind (Shamoun). He walked some guys and it was a bad combination.?
After a rough outing in his last start, Shamoun was much better on the mound against the Ravens, Price said.
‘This time, he competed a lot better. He deserved to win.?
At the Nathan Manuel Memorial tournament in Clarkston April 21, the Wolves went 2-1 on the day. Clarkston dropped Brandon 10-7 and Waterford Mott 13-8. In the championship game, Clarkston lost to Birmingham Groves 8-6 in a five-inning contest called due to darkness.
The Falcons earned an 8-0 lead after the second inning. Clarkston started a comeback, scoring three runs in the home half of the fourth and fifth innings, to cut the lead to two runs.
‘We had runners at second and third and we couldn’t get the tying runs in,? Price said.
‘It was our own fault. We didn’t come out to compete in the first two innings.?