Looking to change his fortunes from the mound this season, Clarkston pitcher Josh Hall did just that. The right-hander threw 11 strikeouts in a complete game for the Wolves (7-11), who took a 10-1 win against Auburn Hills Avondale Thursday, after adding a changeup to his pitching lineup.
‘I started using a changeup more often than I usually do and that helped me out a lot,? Hall said.
‘All I had was two pitches and they knew right away that it was a curveball if it was off-speed. So I had to change it up.?
Clarkston tagged Yellow Jackets (13-6) starter Marc Moffitt for five runs in the second inning and earned two more in each of the third and fourth innings.
‘It all starts with Josh Hall. When you’ve got a pitcher who’s always throwing strikes and not walking people, it’s easier to play defense behind him,? Clarkston coach Phil Price said.
‘We made some nice plays defensively. When you make plays, you gain confidence. Baseball is a game where if things are going well, everything snowballs.?
The lopsided win came on the heels of a 15-0 home loss to Troy May 7.
‘We really needed a win. It was good for us,? Price said.
‘It was really nice that we came out and played a really good, fundamental baseball game and we did the right things. Our kids wanted to send the message since we’re hosting districts and Avondale is going to be there. We wanted to come out and play well and we did.?
Avondale coach Tom Kurczewski said the Yellow Jackets? lack of persistence doomed the team.
‘We really didn’t put any pressure on them, once they got that lead, the game was theirs. We didn’t put up much of a fight. Our starter had some trouble throwing strikes in the second inning and it exploded in his face,? Kurczewski said.
‘They weren’t pounding the ball all over the field on him, but at the same time, a pitcher has to do all the little things to win and (Moffitt) didn’t do that.?
Kurczewski said his team’s play has resulted in one of two extremes this season.
‘We haven’t been behind in many games and the games we’ve lost were 9-1, 8-2. We have won one game this year when we didn’t score 10 runs or more,? he said.
‘Either we score a lot or we don’t score any.?
Clarkston hosts West Bloomfield Wednesday and they head to the Chuck Jones Tournament in Royal Oak Saturday. The Wolves host rival Lake Orion Monday at 4 p.m. The Dragons defeated Clarkston 7-1 two weeks ago.