By Anthony Schulte
Sports Contributor
LAKE ORION — The Dragons are well into their 2023 season, and even as the weather continues to impact the schedule, they have not shown any signs of slowing down.
On May 1, Lake Orion traveled to Oxford for game one of three for the week against the Wildcats. It was a high scoring afternoon for Lake Orion, as they tallied seven runs across seven innings on their way to a 7-1 victory.
The scoring started early, with Lake Orion scoring four runs in the first two innings. The Dragons would tack on two more in the fifth, and one run in the sixth. Casey Robertson and Connor McCartan both had two hits, while Kael Gahan toed the rubber for the Dragons, only giving up one run on one hit.
The Dragons continued their dominance in game two of the series, shutting out Oxford 5-0, the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday.
Two Lake Orion pitchers, Robertson and Travis Acker, combined for the shutout. All five of the Dragons’ runs came in the fifth inning off a walk, error and single.
Acker struck out Wildcat Max Marsden to finish off the game.
Game three of the series was much closer, with Lake Orion pulling out the 4-3 win.
Both Lake Orion and Oxford scored a run in their halves of the first inning. The Dragons would tack on one more in the third inning and two in the fourth.
The Dragons garnered 12 hits in the contest, with Brandon Nepjuk going 3-4 at the plate. Joey Bruno and Carson Womack also had multiple-hit afternoons. Oxford scored two runs in the sixth inning, but it was not enough to prevent the Lake Orion series sweep.
Next on the schedule was a trip to Northville for a Saturday double-header.
Northville came into this contest with only one loss on the season, and Lake Orion was not ready for the test. The Dragons were shutout in both games, 3-0 and 10-0, respectively.
Lake Orion collected only four total hits across both contests. Jack Hegerberg and Womack both got hits in the first game, while Joey Hogan and Bruno garnered hits in the second game.
Lake Orion now sits at a record of 14-5 overall.
The Dragons have a three-game series against Rochester Adams, a make-up game against Detroit Catholic Central and a double-header against Cranbrook Kingswood slated for this week.