Baseball: Chargers take second in invitational

by Tommy Lemoine

The Dow High varsity baseball team finished runner-up in the Snowflake Tournament Saturday, defeating Flint Powers 1-0 before getting bounced by Lake Orion High in the Championship game, 18-9.

Dow starter Sean Hartman was dominant in the team’s first game against Powers, giving up just four hits, walking none, and striking out nine batters in the complete game shutout.

“It’s the best outing he’s had here at Dow,” said Dow coach Kip Harris. “He’s always been a slow starter, but today we got him going a little sooner; right away he was able to locate.”

The Dow High offense was led by right fielder Zach Stidham, who went 2-for-2 with a double and a stolen base.

The only run of the game came off an RBI groundout by Dow High catcher Matt Skirving in the bottom of the third. Once Hartman got a lead, he never gave the opposition a chance to come back, mixing a hard fastball with well timed off-speed pitches to leave the Powers’ offense confused. The junior struck out two batters per frame for three straight innings in the middle of the game, and at one point retired 13 of 14 batters.

Powers starter Mike Aurino had an impressive performance in his own right, going the distance and giving up just five hits and one walk while surrendering one unearned run in the loss.

While Dow High’s first game was a pitcher’s duel, the tournament championship game was the complete opposite.

Starting pitcher Nick Bruns gave up five runs in just 2/3 of an inning for the Chargers in what would turn out to be a tough day all around for the pitching staff. Lake Orion came into the game as the second ranked team in the state.

“Any time you play a talented team, you can’t give up walks and you can’t give them good pitches to hit,” Harris said. “You need to get ahead in counts.”

Dow High was unable to do this throughout the game, as the Dragons put 18 runs on the board, nine of which came in the first two innings of the contest.

The Chargers did respond to Lake Orion’s big first inning by scoring three in the same frame, but were just outlasted offensively by the loaded Dragon lineup.

Josh Deeg highlighted Lake Orion’s offense, going 4-for-6 with two RBIs, while Matt Barnes added to the effort, going 2-for-2 with four walks.

Dragons starter Matt Thomas got the victory, going three strong innings and giving up four runs, three of which were earned.

Dow High’s offense was able to put some runs on the board, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with what the struggling pitchers were giving up. Leadoff hitter Andrew Seer went 4-for-5, while Matt Skirving, Nathan Richard, and Connor Hanlon were able to drive in a combined five runs for the Chargers.

Harris feels his team needs to and can improve as the season progresses, stressing that they need production earlier on in games.

“We’re a much better team than what we’ve shown,” Harris said. “Consistency is a big thing, not waiting until someone else gets it going to do something.”

The Chargers play again Monday when they travel to Flint Southwestern Academy for a 3:30 contest.