In a well-known rivalry, Lake Orion was not the story so much as it’s No. 1 pitcher, Danielle Dunn. Dunn, a 27-game winner last season, pitched all 14 innings of the Dragons? 6-3, 9-5 doubleheader sweep at Clarkston last Wednesday.
‘She’s only a sophomore and she’s got six different pitches. I always joke with her that she can’t break a pane of glass because she doesn’t throw very hard,? Dragons coach Dennis Davis said.
‘She’s left-handed and that confuses people. It shouldn’t have any affect on anybody. She can break the ball in and out. She has risers and a drop ball. She has a nice little changeup.
‘She keeps us in the game. In order for us to win, we have to have great fielding, because she’s not going to strike out many people. She’s not overpowering (and) fast, but she moves the ball around well and if we play defense behind her, we have a shot.?
Dunn rang up eight strikeouts against the Wolves, but one she didn’t get was Clarkston freshman Taylor Hasselbach. Hasselbach had two RBI triples in the second game, one of which should have been out of the park, Clarkston coach Don Peters said.
‘She’s just a flat-out hitter,? Peters said.
‘If we had a fence that was normal, she would have hit it out.
‘The first game of the season, she hit the top of the fence.
‘When we first got her, she wanted to lift everything. That gives you pop-ups.
‘We’re working hard with her and the girls on changing their swings.
‘Now we need her to mentally understand how and where a pitcher is going to pitch to her and get her to hit it.?
Clarkston managed nine hits in the two-game set, but throwing errors and passed balls helped keep the Wolves out of the games.
?(It’s) frustrating. We had four throwing errors at least, and that’s all kinds of runs,? Peters said.
‘It’s driving me crazy about not being able to block the ball back there. We’ve got to get better.?
Clarkston (3-4) looked poised to make a charge trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning of the first game. Brook Chadwell started things with a leadoff double. After Lindsey Upchurch’s pop-up bunt soured, resulting in the first out of the inning, Kaitlyn Woodard, as a pinch-runner, came home on a passed ball. With Katie Smith on first, Jenny Jochum struck out and reached first base on another passed ball. Smith and Jochum would later score.
‘The juices were flowing and the kids were ready to go, but it didn’t work,? Peters said.
The Wolves didn’t wait as long to get going in the nightcap. The Dragons led off with a 3-0 lead and Clarkston promptly answered back with three of their own. Holding a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning, Lake Orion (2-1) scored four runs to put the game away.
Fatigue was not a factor in the Wolves? fourth and fifth games in three days, Peters said.
‘We can sit there and look for all these excuses, but I’m not big on that stuff.?
The four-day, seven-game stretch will mean a lot to the Wolves over the course of the season.
‘I wanted to use this as a developmental week. I didn’t have any idea that we wouldn’t have any rainouts. It’s not all bad, I’m disappointed in this, but it’s like taking a pre-test before an exam,? Peters said.
‘It’s time to roll up the sleeves and go to work.?