Playing in just their second home game of the year, Lake Orion jumped out to an big early lead and set the speed at cruise in the final few innings, coasting to a 10-3 win over Royal Oak Kimball on April 24.
The Dragons scored four runs in each of the first two innings to jump out to an 8-1 lead in the OAA I contest behind starting pitcher Jon Krause.
‘We played four games over the break, so that helped us hit the ball early,? said coach Andy Schramek.
Meanwhile, Krause did his best to keep the Dragon defense off the field.
‘I was mixing it up a lot at the beginning,? Krause said of his pitching strategy, which involved plenty of curveballs and off-speed stuff in the early going.
‘But when we got up, there’s no messing around,? he said. ‘You just try to keep the pitch count down.?
Krause got Kimball hitters to hit an inordinate number of ground balls, playing to the strength of a Dragon defense that made no errors in the game.
‘With our great defense, keeping the ball on the ground will get tons of outs,? Krause said.
Schramek said his pitcher didn’t have his best stuff, but managed to be plenty effective.
‘Jon is an excellent pitcher,? Schramek said. ‘We needed a complete game out of him today and he delivered.?
Krause gave up just three runs on eight hits in going all seven innings for the Dragons. He struck out two.
Steve Garver, usually the starting catcher, had a break from that role as the designated hitter, but his bat didn’t take the day off. Garver went 2-for-4 with three RBI as LO moved to 2-0 in league action.
The Dragons were plenty busy over the break as well, starting with a doubleheader at Novi Catholic Central on April 20.
The Dragons dominated the first game, then overcame five errors with a dramatic comeback in the second leg of the doubleheader.
In game one, Jon Krause tossed five scoreless innings and Jon Ruggeri finished off the shutout in the sixth.
LO took an early 4-0 lead, then added three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to end the game an inning early at 10-0.
In game two, Matt Thomas? control on the mound and the defense behind him both failed the Dragons.
A six-run second inning helped CC jump out to a big early lead. But the Dragons chipped away at the lead and then scored big with a six-run inning of their own in the sixth.
Down 10-7, CC answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, but a Joe Barnes two-RBI double proved to be the difference in the decisive final inning. LO won 12-10.
Ruggeri got the win for the Dragons, who then went on to compete in the H.H. Dow Snowflake Tournament in Midland on April 22.
The Dragons lost the first game of the tournament and rain suspended play in the final innings of the second game. Schramek said it is not yet known if the team will make up the rest of that game.
In the meantime, the Dragons sit at 7-2 on the season with an important stretch of games coming up.
They will take on division rival Farmington on the road on April 26, host Grand Blanc in a doubleheader on April 27 and then host the Dragon Invitational on April 29.
Schramek said four teams will compete in the invitational, with LO battling Warren Cousino beginning at noon.