Things were going well for Clarkston as they took an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning of the district championship game against Waterford Mott. But after two walks and a three-run homer by the Corsair’s David Decard, the Wolves? fourth straight district title was in serious doubt.
In response to the threat, Clarkston’s coaching staff resurrected Steve McIsaac, who was pulled after pitching six strong innings while fighting off a cold, to close out the victory.
‘Usually when I’m sick in sports, it will help me focus a little better. (The sickness) cut out the distractions and I could just relax and play baseball,? said McIsaac. ‘It was tough because there were none out (when I reentered) I just had to throw strikes. It was a pressure situation.?
Adding to the late inning drama was Mott’s Kerry Schultz, the first batter McIsaac faced upon reentering the game. Schultz rapped a double through the infield and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
With the tying run at the plate the pendulum swung back in the Wolves favor. Philip McCleery struck McIsaac’s next offering hard but his aim was not true as the ball skyrocketed up into foul territory to the right of the plate where Brandon Phillips cradled it into his catchers mitt. An alert Phillips then turned his attention to third, where Schultz had strayed within four steps of home, and threw the baserunner out before he could return to the bag.
When the dust settled, the Corsairs ended the sequence with two men out and none on base. McIsaac then induced a grounder which second baseman Frank Davis gobbled up and lofted to first for the final out.
?(McIsaac) showed a lot of bull dog as a pitcher, he battled. It was a warm day and he was sweating a lot and he just had the mindset to come in and get the job done,? said Clarkston Coach Phil Price. ‘Mott’s a good team, they have some excellent ball players. We had a couple mental lapses, but so did they.?
McIsaac finished with five strikeouts and one earned run while scattering nine hits.
The Wolves found success in the batters box by staying patient and forcing Mott’s pitchers to throw strikes.
‘We were just trying to play basic error free baseball which won’t happen 100 percent of the time, but I think we gave them too many runs. I think we walked eight kids, most of the time if you walk that many batters you are not going to win,? said Mott Coach Neal Mozdzierz.
Clarkston’s four-run third inning was keyed by two straight walks drawn by Dave Brelinski and Eric Bryan, who both ended up scoring on an error (Brelinski) and a double by Phillips (Bryan).
‘What helped us was we made their first pitcher throw a lot of pitches,? said Price
Mott’s Justin Johnson lasted three innings and was credited with the loss. Devon Brinks struck out five and walked three in four innings of relief for the Corsairs.
The change in pitchers did not disrupt Bryan as he singled home Eric Ogg, who reached on another free pass in the fourth to bring the score to 5-0.
Bryan’s bat kept booming in the sixth, after Mott scored three in the bottom of the fifth. He knocked in Steve Vanderheyden with a single and scored along with Josh Hall on another double by Phillips to bring the score to 8-3.
Bryan also played a big role in getting the Wolves into the district championship when he smashed a two-run homer to left center field, giving Clarkston a 2-1 lead over Waterford Kettering en route to a 7-4 win in the district semifinal. Mike Navarre got the win on the hill against Kettering.
‘I just wanted to stay agressive. I hadn’t been hitting very well lately, I really had nothing to lose,? said Bryan.
Over the course of two games, Bryan went 4/7 with four RBI’s, four runs scored and one home run.
Clarkston mercied Pontiac Central 16-6 on May 31 in the opening round of districts.
The next rung of the state tournament will be regionals on June 11, where the Wolves drew host team, Birmingham Groves.
How many Clarkston players participating is up in the air though, as the tournament’s start time of 10 a.m. coincides with ACT testing times from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Six Clarkston players are signed up for the testing.
‘How do you tell a kid that the ACT or where they go to college is not important?? said Price. ‘I understand that you can’t work around everything, but there is no reason that we can’t play the games at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.?
According to Price, the decision whether or not to move the regional tournament’s start times is completely up to the Groves? athletic department.