The Dragon softball squad advanced to the semifinals of the Pieper Memorial Tournament in Royal Oak this weekend, only to have their three-game winning streak slowed by wet weather.
Lake Orion topped Riverview 9-1 early Sunday, but rain postponed their semifinal with Waterford Kettering and Coach Denny Davis isn’t sure if and when it will be rescheduled.
‘If we’re going to finish it up, we’d have to drop another date from our schedule,? Davis noted, saying the team’s schedule includes the maximum amount of game dates as is.
It’s possible the tournament could finish up this weekend, but details were not finalized at press time (the team already has a tournament on Saturday at Troy Athens and a doubleheader scheduled with Adams on Friday).
In any event, Davis was pleased with his team’s efforts in Royal Oak, battling back from an opening 3-0 loss to Walled Lake Central to record a pair of one-run victories.
‘We had to win two out of three to make it into the second day,? he said.
The Dragons did just that by beating Bishop Foley 4-3 and highly-regarded Regina 2-1 to close action on Saturday.
Offensively, the team was led by Jessica Bays and Tessa Tomlin, who each went 5-for-12 on the weekend.
Danielle Dunn picked up two victories on the mound (Regina and Riverview), limiting Regina to just four hits. Megan Dyer got the win against Bishop Foley.
‘We played really solid defense behind our two pitchers,? Davis noted, saying that the team escaped several bases-loaded jams against Riverview.
The coach credited the defensive efforts of Rachael Warren (3B), Susan Lawless (SS), Shelby Phillips (C) and Tomlin (RF), who threw out a pair of runners at first base.
He also pointed to the bunting of Tina Wolverton for sparking the offense and noted that Lawless is hitting over .200 points higher now than she was last year.
‘We’re improving across the board,? Davis said of his team, which is now 12-11 overall.
The team had lost four in a row heading into the tournament, including a pair of losses last Tuesday to rival Clarkston.
Davis said he hopes the strong weekend showing will help them regroup for a big stretch run.
‘We really played well all weekend, even in our one loss,? he said.
The team hosts Macomb Dakota this afternoon for a doubleheader.