The Lake Orion varsity baseball team bounced back from one three-run home run against University of Detroit Jesuit High School on June 13, in state quarterfinal action in Madison Heights.
But they didn’t get a chance to bounce back from the second three-run shot— and won’t get that chance until next season.
Cary Piligian’s homer over the scoreboard in leftfield off of Josh Deeg broke a 5-all tie in the bottom of the seventh inning, ending LO’s chances of going to the semifinals in Battle Creek one game early yet again.
‘He came in with something straight and I just got good wood on it,? Piligian said.
Piligian said he had hit a few homers this year, but this one was clearly the biggest yet. It sent U-D to its first-ever state semifinal, while also denying the Dragons their first trip.
‘The kid hit a fastball on the outside part of the plate over the fence in left,? Lake Orion coach Andy Schramek said, giving credit to Piligian.
It was the third quarterfinal loss since 2000 for LO, but perhaps the hardest one to take, given the manner in which they lost.
In addition, the Dragons started the season ranked as one of the top programs in the area and the state, while U-D’s 8-12 mark in the top division of the Catholic League left them in last place during their regular season.
‘We’re the underdog and that’s how we like it,? Piligian noted.
The ‘underdog? Cubs built a four-run lead through three innings, thanks in large part to a blast by Arthur Middlebrooks off of Jon Ruggeri.
Ruggeri, usually the team’s closer, started the game in order to limit the work of starters Lee Dickinson and Deeg, both of whom pitched in regional action three days earlier.
Schramek said afterwards that he was hoping to get four innings out of Ruggeri, but instead turned to Dickinson for help in the third.
One batter before the three-run shot by Middlebrooks, Dragon second baseman Joe Barnes had a potential double play ground ball get caught down the front of his jersey.
In all, the Dragons committed four errors, which led to a couple of unearned runs.
But U-D returned the favor in the top of the fourth, when what looked like an inning-ending double play ball of their own turned into Cub pitcher Aaron Fields throwing the ball into right-center field.
After a run-scoring wild pitch, and a two-out-two-RBI-single by Steve Garver, the score was tied at four.
Dickinson walked home a U-D run in the bottom half of the fourth, but LO responded again, this time with an RBI single by Ross Tonyan.
The Dragons then had runners reach second base in both the sixth and seventh innings, but couldn’t get the timely hit to take a lead—paving the way for Piligian’s heroics.
‘We really gave ourselves a chance to win this game, but you’ve got to give them all the credit in the world,? Schramek said.
The 8-5 loss finishes the LO season at 23-12, and, though they will lose some key seniors off of the team, the emergence of a few younger players in the playoffs will make them one of the favorites to be back in the quarters again next season.
The main challenges will be replacing Garver at catcher and in the middle of the lineup, and finding a solid starter or two to complement the likely new ace in Deeg. Ruggeri could be a solution as a starter, though he flourished this season as the closer.
However the team is assembled for next year, Schramek still has one of the state’s best feeder systems to rely on and will no doubt have a hungry group of players eager to get back after their first taste of quarterfinal action.
‘Our goal is not just to play great baseball, but to be one of the state’s best programs,? Schramek said, noting his thoughts were with the seniors that had just played their last game for LOHS.