It was a frustrating end to a frustrating season for the Clarkston baseball team.
The Wolves started off the season ranked in the top 10 in the state, but never seemed to find their groove. Just when the team looked to be turning the corner something would go wrong.
This was the case during the Division 1 regionals at Birmingham Groves on June 10.
Clarkston defeated Lakeland 2-0 in the semifinals, but then fell 5-2 to the University of Detroit Jesuit in the championship game despite allowing just one hit.
‘Baseball is such a mental game,? Clarkston Coach Phil Price said. ‘It seemed all year long we either played well or we played (terrible). There was no where in the middle.
‘I thought we played an outstanding game against Lakeland. We fielded the ball, we hit, we executed and we did the things we needed to do. Against Jesuit we couldn’t bunt, we couldn’t field the ball and we couldn’t throw strikes. We had 10 walks. You can’t expect to win when you have 10 walks. We have great kids though and I wouldn’t trade our kids for any in the state.?
Clarkston led 2-0 over Jesuit entering the bottom of the fifth. Eric Ogg stole home on a passed ball in the first to score the Wolves first run and Steve Vanderheyden hit a RBI single in the top of fifth for their second run.
The bottom fell out for Clarkston in the bottom of the fifth inning. Starting pitcher Josh Hall had not allowed a Cubs hit and had just one walk entering the inning.
Hall walked the first two batters and was replaced by Steve McIsaac, who forced two straight outs. The next Jesuit batter hit a grounder to short, but the throw was over the first baseman’s head, which allowed a run to score.
Another error and three walks later, the Cubs led 4-2.
The Wolves didn’t get a hit in the top of the sixth and two Clarkston walks in the bottom of the sixth allowed the Cubs to score a run on bloop single, which was their only hit of the game.
Clarkston went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to give Jesuit its first regional championship in school history.
‘I don’t know how you give up five runs on one questionable hit,? Price said. ‘That’s baseball. You have to give it up to U-D. I thought they really competed. They took advantage of what we gave them. But I don’t know if there was a team that beat us all year when we played well. We find ways to lose sometimes.?
The Wolves had just one error in their 2-0 victory over Lakeland.
Starting pitcher Mike Kittle allowed just two hits and struck out eight in his second consecutive complete game shutout.
‘He was outstanding,? Price said. ‘He competed. He said, ‘Give me the ball and I’m going to win the game.? He did a nice job for us.?
Clarkston scored both of its runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Vanderheyden hit a RBI single to score Nicholas Shamoun and Dave Brelinski hit a sacrifice fly to score Ogg.
The Wolves finish the season 21-13. The Wolves lose seven seniors, but will return several starters including Hall and leadoff hitter Eric Ogg. Price said he had not thought about next year.
‘It’s hard to be thinking about that right now,? Price said. ‘Josh Hall pitched well in the regional final. He will be a big component for us. Eric Ogg was outstanding for us all year long and we will have Ty Taylor back. We have a good nucleus coming back. We are going to have to do the little things better, but we should be ok.?