Patience proved positive for the Dragons on Saturday as Lake Orion used comeback efforts against two of the state’s most highly regarded aces to win the Region 5 championship at Fraser High School.
The Dragons topped Utica Ford 9-2 in the semifinal and used a sixth inning two-run double off the bat of Nick Dunstan to edge Troy Athens 5-2 in the final.
‘He’s been doing those things for us all year,? Coach Andy Schramek said of Dunstan’s hit, which came with one out in the inning and the Dragons trailing 2-1.
‘He gave me a fastball and I was definitely looking for it,? Dunstan said. ‘You’ve got to love those situations if you’re going to be a baseball player. Those are the situations you live for.?
Lake Orion added two insurance runs on a throwing error by Athens? pitcher Matt Lamothe after a bunt by Ross Tonyan.
The Dragons didn’t have a single one-pitch at bat against Lamothe, forcing the Athens junior and likely Division I recruit to throw 117 pitches in his six innings of work.
That effort followed one in which the Dragons saw 122 pitches from Ford’s Trevor Borsak, who has signed with Central Michigan. Borsak couldn’t get through six innings.
‘We’ve had that approach all year long where we want to sit on certain pitches in counts,? Schramek said of his team’s patience at the plate. ‘We knew coming in that they’re both very good pitchers, but they had a tendency, for maybe an inning or two, to get wild, so we wanted prepare for that.?
In the first game, that wild inning was the fourth, with the Dragons scoring six runs to take command of the game.
The first four Lake Orion runners that crossed the plate did so thanks to three wild pitches and an error before Joe Barnes two-run double broke it open.
‘Blonde bombers play small ball,? said Jeff Chattaway from the dugout.
Chattaway started the inning with a single, the team’s only hit before Barnes? double as the ninth batter in the frame.
Chattaway had two hits and a walk, Barnes had two doubles in four trips to the plate and Ross Tonyan added a hit and two RBIs.
In game two, Brandon Riggsbee had two hits and a walk, Chattaway knocked in a run and scored one himself and Mike Musary added two hits in three trips.
Musary was called upon to pitch in the nightcap after scheduled started Connor Mielock broke a bone in his hand during practice earlier in the week.
Musary gave the Dragons 5 and 1/3 innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out four Athens hitters. Jon Ruggeri got the victory in relief, striking out three.
‘Having Mike Musary and Jon Ruggeri step up the way they did and keep us in the game all day long was huge,? Schramek said.
The pair’s biggest accomplishment came in the top of the sixth, where they kept LO down by just one run by stranding Athens? John Berra at third after a leadoff triple. That paved the way for Dunstan’s heroics in the bottom-half of the inning.
‘We didn’t capitalize in the top of the sixth inning when we had a couple of guys on base and that cost us,? said Athens Coach Mike Morris.
‘Andy’s got a great program over there and a lot of credit goes to them,? Morris added.
Athens, which won the OAA II finished at 19-14, but gained some valuable experience in advancing to a regional final.
For the Dragons, it was just business as usual, as the team won a regional for the second straight year and fourth time since 2000.
‘They’ve been in this situation time and time again,? Schramek said. ‘I had full confidence in them and they went out and won the game.?
‘I’m really proud of this team,? he added. ‘The 28 wins makes this the winningest team our school’s history.?
The 2000 team held the previous wins record with 27.
The 2007 Dragons, meanwhile, will look for victory number 29, and the school’s first trip to Battle Creek for the final four, with a win over West Bloomfield at Madison Heights Bishop Foley on Tuesday afternoon.
The Dragons beat the Lakers twice in OAA I play, winning 18-9 on the road on May 14 and 13-3 at home on May 25.
‘We know each other pretty well, so it’s going to come down to just who makes the least amount of mistakes,? Schramek said.
Game notes
*Josh Deeg got the win in the Utica Ford game, striking out five in six innings of work. He threw just over 80 pitches and could see some action against West Bloomfield. Deeg got the victory in the May 14 game at West Bloomfield earlier this season.
*Mielock pinch-ran for Chattaway and scored the first run of LO’s six-run fourth, which put them up 7-2. Wearing a small cast on his throwing hand, Mielock stole third base and scored on a wild pitch. He didn’t appear in the second game and Schramek said he would not be able to play in the field or bat the rest of the season.
*Farmington has also advanced to the quarterfinals, meaning the OAA I, which has just six teams, has three representatives among the state’s final eight teams.