Lake Orion and Troy split their OAA I meeting this season, but the Colts got the last laugh, winning a regional semifinal contest Saturday at Clarkston.
Troy, which went on to beat Ortonville-Brandon in the regional final, scored runs in the third and fourth innings and held on for a 2-0 victory behind sophomore ace Jordan Wheatley.
‘We had more people on base than they did, we just couldn’t get them in,? said Coach Denny Davis, who noted his own pitcher, Danielle Dunn, was pretty unhittable, too.
‘Danielle pitched probably her best game of the year,? he said. ‘The kids played the smartest game we’ve played all year.?
In the third inning, Troy got a runner on base when a pop-up was lost in the sun. A stolen base and a clean hit (with the infield drawn in) gave the Colts a 1-0 lead. They added a run in the fourth with a double and a Dragon throwing error.
‘There was only one other error, so I was pretty happy with how we played defensively,? Davis said. ‘We didn’t have any mental errors, just the two physical errors that cost us.?
Hits in the game were hard to come by in a game featuring very different pitchers.
‘It was a definite contrast,? Davis noted. ?(Wheatley) is a power pitcher and Danielle pitches to contact.?
Dunn, a junior, gives up about nine inches and up to 10 miles per hour on her pitches to Wheatley, but it was actually the Dragons that left more runners on base (six).
Lake Orion’s season finishes with a 23-16 mark.
‘I’m very pleased with a district championship,? Davis said. ‘At one point, we were 9-10 and it looked like we were going to struggle to get to .500.?
The coach credited assistants Bob Howey and Joe Woityra, the parental support and the attitudes of his players for the turnaround, which helped bring him to a career milestone along the way.
‘I’ve never coached such a nice group of kids,? he said. ‘It was very pleasing to have a 500th career win with a group like this.?
The team won the Troy Athens Tournament and was a final four qualifier at the never finished Pieper Tourney.
Plenty of talent is slated to return next season, with just four seniors (outfielders Emily Krause and Tina Wolverton, shortstop Susan Lawless and third baseman Rachael Warren) having graduated.
‘We’re going to miss those seniors, but we should be as strong next year as we were this year,? Davis said.