We haven't even made it to Saturday's district semi-finals yet and Oakland County is already burning up with upset fever. Congrats to the baseball teams at Walled Lake Northern and Troy Athens, who both pulled major upset specials in its pre-districts on Tuesday and probably each knocked off the prohibitive favorite in their respective districts draws. Northern, a big time sleeper all year in my book, defeated a stacked Lakeland squad 8-3 behind some masterful mound presence from starting hurler Danny Turcell and some pop from the bat of hot hitting Dane Saylor. Some people had Lakeland winning the whole thing behind dominating arm and swing of Michigan-bound Ricky Samuel. Turcell and fellow ace Andy Tinkey (2-3 with 2 RBI), who did his damage tuesday behind the plate, made certain that didn't happen and now live to fight another day.

A few hours after the Knights threw a wrench into everyone's tourney brackets, Troy Athens followed suit, taking down crosstown foe Troy - a team that made it all the way to the final four in Battle Creek last season - 8-4. Sophomore pitcher Alex Harrison weaved a beauty from the rubber, while classmate Jake Duzey, continued to make a name for himself from the batter's box at the Varsity level by going 2-3 with 3 RBI on the day. A lot of prep prognosticators, including myself, thought Troy, although struggling to find its footing in the regular season and finishing up just above the .500 mark at 18-14, was going to make some noise in the state tou rnament. Unfortunately for head coach, Frank De Vito, it just wasn't meant to be. 

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Who doesn't love the post-season?  Well, like, love it, or not, its here for the 09', getting started with pre-district games (aka district quarterfinals) on Tuesday in baseball and softball. I for one am jacked for the playoff fever that strikes the local prep scene this time every year.  Alright, here's a peek at what I think all u high school sports junkies should look for this week and beyond as the race for Battle Creek begins in less than 24 hours.

The Favorites:

In baseball, Brother Rice, Avondale, and Southfield Christian appear to have the easiest road to next week's regionals. After a blazing start to the year, the defending state champion Brother Rice Warriors have limped to the finish line, however, if they can avoid a slip up against up-start Birmingham Groves and Birmingham Seaholm (which in my opinion has the best shot of pulling the upset) squads, they should advance through the Southfield-Lathrup district. If a hot hitting Avondale team, led by the likes of seasoned veteran athletes like Steve Bohne, Adam Purcilly, Brian Portelli, and Donovam Rigel, brings i ts "A" game in the district its hostings, the Yellowjackets will almost certainly repeat as district champs. Small school sluggers Steve Thrasher and Aaron Ball and Southfield Christian, playing in a relatively soft Novi Franklin Road Christian district in Division IV, should be able to avenge last season's upset loss at the hands of Royal Oak Shrine and move on.

In softball, Lakeland and Troy, the thoroughbreds of the area's prep softball world, are both looking real good coming into the state tournament. Lakeland, regional champs the past four seasons and state finalists in '06 and '07, will need to get past a tough-as-nails Walled Lake Central team in hostile territory - since the Vikings are hosting the district - in the semi-final, but if they do it should be free-sailing from there until the regionals. Troy has to defeat crosstown rival and upset minded Troy Athens in Tuesday's pre-district, just to get into play on Saturday. I see the Colts and ace hurler Jordan Wheatley edging past the Red Hawks and then devouring the rest of the competition in the Utica district.

Toughest District:

Baseball - The Andover district is a hodgepodge of public and private school teams who are all competitive. Cranbrook, led by Stephen Peck and Adam Rosenberg, and Orchard Lk. St. Mary's, headlined by UofM recruit Korey Hall, have to be the favorites. But don't scoff at the host Barons and head coach and master-tactician Dan Smith or a so lid-Notre Dame Prep squad, who both have the opportunity to play spoiler.  The Walled Lake Central district isnt far behind with all the Walled Lake Schools, powerhouse Lakeland and a gritty Catholic Central team all fighting it out for the title.

Softball - The North Farmington district pits a number of schools who could all emerge victorious by the end of Saturday afternoon. Yet, if I was forced to chose one team, i would say the host Raiders will nudge past Mercy, Farmington, Harrison, Northville, and Novi to win its own district. 

Sleepers:

Baseball - Seaholm and ace Tyler Haggerson could end up catching Brother Rice on a bad day in Saturday's final and shocking the state. Clarkston, who has been down but has some talent, could give the competition some fits in the Hartland district. I love Clawson in Division III in the Bishop Foley district and beyond and I could see Walled Lake central getting hot on its own field and upsetting Lakeland in the semi-final.

Softball -  I think Troy Athens and Rochester Adams could both be a Cinderella story this week. Athens has the intra-city motivation going up against the juggernaut Colts and Adams matches up well with Oxford-district favorite Lake Orion. 

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SHAMROCKS' BAD LUCK STREAK CONTINUES 

Catholic Central's Late Rally Falls Short in 5-2 Loss To Number One-Ranked Warren De La Salle in the CHSL Baseball Tournament Semi-Finals

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

Special to The Oakland Press

WARREN

While most of the student body at Novi Detroit Catholic Central resides at the school's campus off Wixom Road, its baseball team has been spending the spring as full time-residents of heartbreak hotel. With ten of their 14 losses resulting from relinquishing leads in the fifth inning or later, the Shamrocks have experienced their share of despair this season. 

The team's bad luck continued on Thursday afternoon as Catholic Central took a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Warren De La Salle in the Catholic League Baseball Tournament semi-finals. Rallying late to pull even at 2-2 in the sixth inning and then having runners on second and third with the meat of their order coming to the plate down three in the seventh, ultimately, the Shamrocks ran out of gas. Once again, however, a gruesome twist of fate crept its way into the story-line of the team's loss. As Catholic Central's hard hitting-clean up batter, Keenan Hart, sat on deck, De La Salle, ranked number one in Division I, ended the game on junior outfielder Steve Laudicina's diving catch in deep left-center field that robbed the Shamorcks' Steve Harding of a two-run RBI. 

"I told the guys after the game, this De La Salle team is probably the best team in the state, so don't hang your heads," said Shamrock's head coach, Kevin Walters, whose squad drops to 14-16 on the year. "But at the same time its hard for everybody because we keep on dropping these close ones that we know we should be winning for ourselves. I know the catch on the last play hurt, but if we would have taken advantage of loading the bases in the fourth, maybe we wouldn't have been in that spot for the kid to make that play. Its really a matter of finishing, and we've struggled with that this season. 

Despite the disappointing loss, Walters is still proud of his team's effort. "This league is just so tough. There are no days off and from top to bottom every team can hurt you. The team played super hard. They always do. We just need some things to fall in our direction and lately, it seems like they haven't been. But we'll be alright. This team is made up of a bunch of fighters. You're upset about the loss, yet at the sa me time, you're proud of the way they scrap. I truly tip my hat to all of them because it hasn't been the easiest season to endure."

De La Salle jumped ahead quick, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning lead on a run scoring-triple by senior Jim Martinez and a throwing error by Catholic Central. Tim Dezelski's RBI single in the top of the sixth tied the game for the Shamrocks at two runs apiece. But De La Salle came back strong in the bottom of the inning and plated three runs to take a 5-2 advantage heading into the seventh. The Pilots' Mike Schwpanski delivered the game-winning RBI with a single that made it 3-2.

Senior Alex Pierse went six innings of work to get the win on the mound for De La Salle, which improves to 23-5 overall on the season. Contributing a solid outing, Pierse scattered five hits, while only allowing one earned run and striking out eight. Cameron Walker pitched the final inning for the Pilots, surrendering a lead-off hit, but closing the game out and picking up the save. This is De La Salle's first trip to the Catholic League Baseball Tournament championship game since 1997.

"This team is real deep and has a lot of talent," said De La Salle head coach, Brian Kelly, in his 25th year in the dugout for the Pilots. "All my seniors are genuine leaders on the field and everyone has an excellent attitude and gets along in the dug out. The baseball instincts the se guys have is very high for the level they're playing at. Its a fun group to coach and an exciting group of players to watch. Confidence is abundant on this team. And in turn, that gives me confidence in them and in myself as a coach."

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The city of Walled Lake is having a banner year in the prep baseball department in 2009. All three high schools - Western, Central, and Northern -  are having very good seasons and with the state tournament fast approaching each squad seems to be rounding into peak form at the exact right time. Western is probably the best of the bunch, sporting a 22-5 overall record. Led by hot hitting batsmen like David Menoian, Zach Ganton, Randy Young, and Justin Harris, the Warriors are very dangerous. Northern (17-8), in only its sixth year as a varsity program, is doing some serious damage on the diamond this spring as well. Twin-aces Andy Tinke and Danny Tursell have been giving opposing batters fits all year long and offensive production from guys like Dane Saylor (game winning 3 run homer against Central a few weeks back) and Joey Ventigmilia have gone a long way for the Knights in their pulling out a series of close league games over the recent weeks. Central, although sporting a more than commendable 16-9 record, could be a major sleeper in the Districts. Unlike Northern, these guys have lost a few close games of late, yet having seen them play I'm pretty confidant the experience will serve this veteran group well in terms of character building. Gritty, determined, and not to mention highly-talented seniors like Cody Husak, Eric Glanz, and Blake Peterson will be resolute on taking the Vikings out on a high note. I would not want to run into these guys in June, thats for certain. Anyway, Walled Lake is smoking on the base paths this year and if anyone gets a chance to check this trifecta of talent-laden teams out in the next few weeks I suggest u do s

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The city of Walled Lake is having a banner year in the prep baseball department in 2009. All three high schools - Western, Central, and Northern -  are having very good seasons and with the state tournament fast approaching each squad seems to be rounding into peak form at the exact right time. Western is probably the best of the bunch, sporting a 22-5 overall record. Led by hot hitting batsmen like David Menoian, Zach Ganton, Randy Young, and Justin Harris, the Warriors are very dangerous. Northern (17-8), in only its sixth year as a varsity program, is doing some serious damage on the diamond this spring as well. Twin-aces Andy Tinke and Danny Tursell have been giving opposing batters fits all year long and offensive production from guys like Dane Saylor (game winning 3 run homer against Central a few weeks back) and Joey Ventigmilia have gone a long way for the Knights in their pulling out a series of close league games over the recent weeks. Central, although sporting a more than commendable 16-9 record, could be a major sleeper in the Districts. Unlike Northern, these guys have lost a few close games of late, yet having seen them play I'm pretty confidant the experience will serve this veteran group well in terms of character building. Gritty, determined, and not to mention highly-talented seniors like Cody Husak, Eric Glanz, and Blake Peterson will be resolute on taking the Vikings out on a high note. I would not want to run into these guys in June, thats for certain. Anyway, Walled Lake is smoking on the base paths this year and if anyone gets a chance to check this trifecta of talent-laden teams out in the next few weeks I suggest u do so.   

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The amount of softball talent in the area these days is as good as its ever been. For example, just look at our local prep hurlers. Oakland County might have the two best junior pitchers in the state in Lakeland's Carlee Meek and Troy's Jordan Wheatley. Both these young ladies are cold-hearted menaces from the circle, taking down opposing batters with overwhelming power, skill, and precision. The experience each acquired last season as sophomores when their respective teams made long runs in the state tournament- Meek's Eagles lost in the state title game to Howell and Wheatley's Colts bowed to Anchor Bay in the quarterfinals - has proved invaluable, paying out huge dividends with ace-worthy dominance every time they hit the rubber this spring. Meek's performance merits additional recognition since her immaculate 23-0 record is tops in the state in Division I. Oh, yeah, by the way, they both excel from the plate as well! On Sunday afternoon, Meek smacked a game-winning two-RBI double that plated three runs, helping Lakeland claim first place in the 31st annual Fred Pieper Tournament with a 6-5 win over Sterling Heights Stevenson. 

Speaking of Lakeland, I'm predicting this is the year that head coach Joe Alsup and his band of merry, not to mention merciless lady Eagles, take home that ever elusive state championship trophy. Its not like they haven't been knocking at the door  - i.e. four straight regional titles and two recent trips to the state finals. In 2009 they're going to blast right through it. Ranked third in the state in Division I and sporting a flawless 25-0 record, these female diamond dazzlers have been playing at a scary level. The Eagles' relentless attack can get you from every angle. The fearless pitching duo of Meek and Michelle Stiltner compliment a offensive line-up stacked to the brim with sweet swinging sluggers like Andi Dawson (who also plays a mean centerfield), Kelsey Cleary, Kelsey Johnson, Erica Rizzo, Anna Armstrong, Devan Olah, and Rachel Hammer. Lakeland served notice last Friday when they swept a doubleheader from longtime nemesis Howell, the squad they lost to in last year's state championship game, that they mean business. If the Eagles keep playing the way they are, its only a matter of time be fore the blue and white are hoisting a championship banner back on Bogey Lake Rd.

Halfway through the season, my sleeper baseball teams are Troy and Clawson. A state semi-finalist last season, Troy has been struggling with its identity after losing Joe Berti, Nick Gallina, and Steve Barrett to graduation. The Colts stumbled out of the gate and right now are sitting just under the .500 mark. That all said, I'm really not that worried about head coach Frank De Vito and his troops and wouldn't at all be surprised to see them playing deep into June. De Vito is a master tactician and seniors James Anderzjewski and Chris Gebara have the leadership ability to engineer a major league turnaround as we head towards the stretch run. Clawson, on the other hand, has been playing real well all season. Rob Feeman, Shawn Giroux, Howard Crippen and the rest of the Trojans are showing some serious prowess on the baseball diamond, making up for sub-par showings in the fall and winter in football and hoops. Playing in Division II, I think Clawson has a good chance to make some noise in Districts andRegional's. And after that anything can happen. I wish the Colts and the Trojans both the best of luck      

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What an exhausting spring its must be for Lakeland's Kelsey Johnson and Kelsey Cleary, who are both pulling double duty as standouts on both the Eagles softball and track teams. These young ladies are fabulous athletes and their desire to compete on as many fields of play as possible is a commendable trait younger kids starting their journey in organized sports should look emulate. Take it from a former prep athlete who longs for his days on the high school prep scene, your time playing high school sports goes by fast and its a once in a life time experience, so take full advantage of every second. Johnson, a sophomore is the softball team's catcher, and Cleary, a senior, the team's centerfielder. In track, the girls both compete in a variety of events. The Eagles softball program led by the great Joe Alsup,  are coming off a four year span where they have claimed stake to four straight regional titles and two appearances in the state championship game. So far this season, no t much has changed and White Lake''s favorite female diamond cutters, led in part by the standout plate performances by Johnson and Cleary, are off to a blazing 15-0 start. Who knows Lakeland's "K-Connection" might just be able to corral two separate state titles for themselves this year. What a feat that would be!  

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