Hitters fought through the hot and humid Saturday for their chance to grab the MHSAA Regional title.
Both Clarkston and Rochester Adams made it to the final round at Oxford after each defeated OAA foes in the semifinals.
Adams took the lead at the bottom of the first inning scoring two runs.
A team effort from Clarkston brought the Wolves into the lead.
Chris Mocerino hit a home run bringing in two runs. A few more key hits from Chase Toth and Matt Rodgers brought the boys to 5-2. Adams took their lead back, scoring four runs at their turn at bat in the second.
‘I think that took a lot of wind out of our sail,? said Wolves Head Coach Phil Price.
The Highlanders claimed the regional title after finishing the game, 7-5.
‘I don’t think we played our best baseball for the season but our boys competed and bounced back. Sometimes in baseball you don’t always have your good stuff,? said Price. ‘I am proud of the kids. They did well.?
Matt Rodgers pitched, trying to keep Adams in the dugout.
‘Matt has been our bull dog all year. When he pitched well we had a good chance of winning. It just wasn’t his game,? said Price.
The boys beat Avondale High School in the semi-finals, 9-8.
‘Jarrett Coy pitched a great game for us,? said Price. ‘He gave us a chance at the end. Tyler Scarlett came in and relieved us.?
But really standing out was Andrew Fairse.
‘He had a torn ACL and he wanted to go out there and pitch,? said Price. ‘He did a great job for us.?
Toth batted 3-for-3, had two triples and two RBIs at the leading hitter.
The Wolves finished the season with an overall record, 22-9. They finished in second place in the OAA Red league with a 9-5 record.
Scarlett, Mocerino, Rodgers and Coy were named All-League for the season.
The team loses eight seniors and will see a lot of the team back next year ready for more.
‘The experience of playing regionals and winning districts will help them,? said Price. ‘We wanted that for a while. It’s been a while since we won our league and that will be our main focus. We will go from there.?