BASEBALL: State tournament district preview

By KEITH DUNLAP
Of The Oakland Press

For some it's been a miserable spring having to deal with constant cancellations. For others, it's been a miserable spring having to play games in cold and rainy weather.

All in all, it's been a pretty miserable spring in general for high school baseball teams around the county and state.

But all is not doom and gloom.

While it was a bleak past couple of months, the next three weeks have the ability to make up for it.

The time of year all teams have been building up towards since last June has finally arrived, as the state high school baseball tournament begins on Tuesday.

While teams can't control the past and the lousy weather that affected so many things this season, they all can make the future bright by playing well in the coming three weeks and advancing to the state's final four in Battle Creek.

The state semifinals and finals on June 18-19 are not far off, but first teams have to get by this week's district round of the state tournament.

Here's a breakdown of what to look for throughout the area this week.

Best district — There are a lot of districts with two or three good teams in it, but the one that looks to be the best from top to bottom is the Division 1 district at Utica. Three schools from the OAA Red reside in this district, Troy Athens, Rochester and Troy, as well as one of the best teams in Macomb County, Utica Eisenhower. Barring an upset of Athens by Utica on Tuesday, Saturday's semifinals will see Athens face Eisenhower and Troy battle Rochester. The Troy schools were in the upper half of the OAA Red standings, while Rochester has one of the state's top pitchers in senior Nick Bradley. Another competitive district top to bottom should take place at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, where host Notre Dame Prep, Bloomfield Hills Lahser, Bloomfield Hills Andover and Orchard Lake St. Mary's will likely vie for a spot in regionals. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood hopes to spring an upset or two.

Best first-round district matchup — Rochester Adams at Lake Orion, 4:30 p.m. These two rivals are obviously very familiar with each other, and this should be a terrific game despite the fact Adams had a terrible regular season. The reason is that all it takes is one good pitcher, and Adams has that in senior lefty Matt Nestor, who has signed with Western Michigan and who will most likely get the ball against the Dragons. The winner will have another battle on its hands on Saturday against what might be the state's best-kept secret, Stoney Creek, in a district semifinal at Romeo. Walled Lake Western will probably pitch junior ace Jason Gamble against rival Walled Lake Central, so that will be another first round game on Tuesday to watch, as will Bloomfield Hills Lahser at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. Seeing Notre Dame Prep ace Tom Constand go up against Lahser's best hitter, Luke Dauch, should be fun for those in attendance.

Team with the best draw — Birmingham Groves. The Falcons will host a district that also includes Birmingham Brother Rice, Birmingham Seaholm, West Bloomfield and Southfield-Lathrup, and they'll benefit from more than just home-field advantage. Groves drew a bye into a Saturday semifinal against Lathrup, which is a much-improved program. However, that's still a good draw for Groves since Brother Rice, Seaholm and West Bloomfield are on the other side of the bracket. The Falcons should have good pitching available for the district final.

Teams with the worst draws — Birmingham Brother Rice and Lake Orion. The county's two most consistent programs over the last decade (which should actually schedule to play each other in the regular season one of these years, but I digress) have the talent to reach Battle Creek, but each will have to bring their ‘A' game in districts. Lake Orion has to navigate through Adams and most likely ace Matt Nestor, a red-hot Stoney Creek team and either Oxford or Romeo to get out of districts. Brother Rice also drew a pre-district game and will have to outlast West Bloomfield on Tuesday and then Birmingham Seaholm and Birmingham Groves on Saturday.

Most likely to reach Battle Creek — Madison Heights Bishop Foley. In a sport that tops all high school sports in terms of unpredictability, Bishop Foley in Division 3 looks like the best. The only problem could be a quarterfinal meeting with nemesis and fellow state power Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard. If that game happens, it might be the best game of the entire state tournament regardless of division.

Team to watch out for — Birmingham Detroit Country Day. Most everyone will be picking Madison Heights Lamphere to get out of a Division 2 district at Lamphere, but the talented Rams know they'll have to be wary of Country Day. The Yellowjackets have exceeded expectations this season behind two stellar offensive players in senior Kevin Conway and sophomore Mike Azzopardi, and the Wake Forest-bound Conway can also shut down opponents on the mound if on. The two most likely will meet in the district final barring an upset.

Prep Baseball

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