It was no secret that Clarkston headed into its district tournament as the favorite. So there was no real surprise to see them come out of the bracket as champions. But how they went about it was a bit surprising to say the least.
The Wolves turned a few heads and turned away Ponitac Northern, Pontiac Central and eventually Waterford Kettering before picking up their fourth consecutive district title. The Wolves outscored their competition by the combined score of 37-0, including a 6-0 win over Kettering in the district title game. It was the fourth win for the Wolves over the Captains this season.
Clarkston improved to 20-12 overall on the year and now sets its sites on the winner of the Walled Lake Central district. Land said Lakeland and Walled Lake Western are the teams to beat in that district, but the he prefers to get a rematch with Walled Lake Western, who beat Clarkston last year in the regionals.
‘I want to play Western again. That’s who I want,? Clarkston coach Al Land said.
The Wolves got on the board in the top of the first inning when Suzie Giroux hit a sacrifice fly which brought home Katy Kleinedler to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
Giroux added another RBI in the third scoring Laura O’Neill giving the Wolves a two run cushion. Clarkston added its third run on a Katie Jorgensen RBI which scored Kleinedler to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead.
Kettering’s best chance for offense came in the bottom of the fifth when they had runners at first and second with two outs. After caoch Al Land called a timeout for his team, pitcher Kelly Robinson, who had three strikeouts and went the distance for her third straight district game, got the Kettering batter to strike out. Land said the difference in the game came down to Clarkston being able to get their base runners home, while Kettering left scoring opportunities stranded. The Captains left a runner on third in the bottom of the first inning as well.
‘We’ve played aggressive on the bases all year,? Land said. ‘If there are extra bases to be taken, we’ll take them and try to put pressure on them. Hopefully they don’t make a good throw and we can get some runs.?
While six runs was more than enough for the win, it was his defense, and his team’s fourth consecutive shutout including a late season win over Lake Orion which has Land smiling. His defense was hardly tested by either Pontiac School and responded well in the district championship game, he said.
‘I was very concerned because the last two games we didn’t get any balls hit to us on defense against Northern and Central. We talked about just playing the game with a passion today and have them expect everything to be hit to them and I thought we played very well on defense,? Land said.
Kettering played its outfielders deep throughout the entire game as a result of Clarkston getting many hits deep over Kettering’s outiedlers? heads in the teams? regular season meetings. Eventually that strategy caught up with the Captains when shortstop Caitlin McLean placed a ball in left center field just outside in the infield and as a result of some poor Kettering fielding made it a 6-0 win.
The Wolves carry with them a five-game winning streak into regionals and a confidence level which is at a season high, Land said.
‘I know we have a good defense and I said all along we just have to get a little consistent. We weren’t necessarily that at the beginning of the year, but the last quarter of the season we’ve been very consistent,? Land said.
As well as the Wolves played, their opponents in this district were obviously not the caliber of competition the Wolves will face in the next round. Traditionally, the Wolves and Captains have had some great playoff games, but that was not the case this year. Clarkston was never threatened in its district. So, is there a chance they are overconfident or not as ready as they could be had they faced stiffer competition?
‘You want to be ready when you go to a regional because it’s going to be someone good obviously and you want to play some good games. This year Kettering was a little down this year,? Land said.
Expect Robinson to stay on the mound for the regional game, but the Wolves will be without the services of standout first baseman Katie Jorgensen. Land said she will be out for the regional game to retake her ACT. She wanted to make a good score even better, Land said.
‘She plays outstanding first base for us. She’s a very smart player,? Land said.
In her place will be Courtney Bollman, who is one of three senior four-year letter winning Wolves to win a district in each of her four years at Clarkston. Heather and Suzie Giroux are the other two.