Rochester Hills — It went from devastation to elation rather quickly for Rochester Adams senior Andrew Wozniak in a Division 1 district final against Rochester on Friday.
Adams was down 6-2 and three outs away from elimination going into the top of the seventh inning, but closed to within 6-5 after a solo home run by Luke Borowski and a two-run single with the bases loaded by sophomore Flip Watters.
Later in the inning, Wozniak came up with runners on second and third and one out when Adams head coach Andy Lamkin called for a squeeze play.
The call backfired, as Wozniak couldn’t get the bunt down on a high pitch and the Adams baserunner was a dead duck in front of home plate. There were now two outs and a runner on second, and Wozniak had to compose himself.
“A lot of pressure and I was kind of mad,” Wozniak said. “But you have got to do what you’ve got to do, and I had to deliver for the boys.”
Wozniak did, lacing a two-out double to the wall in left to tie the game at 6-6. Adams eventually went on to win in eight innings, 7-6, scoring the eventual game-winning run in the eighth on a two-out double by Evan Newingham.
Adams senior lefty Rino Watters, the quarterback of the football team who has signed to play football for Central Michigan, closed the game out with over five innings of pressure relief to help Adams survive after being so close to elimination.
Understandably, it was quite an exhale of relief from Adams players and its supporters in the celebration afterward.
Lamkin, who is in his second stint as head coach after leading Adams to Class A state championship game appearances in 1995 and 1996 in his first stint, said it was a type of game he had never been through before.
“Not in a district championship game like that when we were just fumbling through some innings,” Lamkin said.
There were a lot of expectations at the start of the season for Adams, which spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the state coaches association poll.
Adams was recently further buoyed by the return of senior Matt Toeppner, a Michigan State signee who missed a good portion of the season recovering from wrist surgery.
As good as it felt to advance, the next round certainly won’t get easier.
On Wednesday in a regional semifinal, Adams will host Romeo, Macomb County’s best team this year and No. 2 team in the coaches poll to end the year (Adams was No. 4).
Adams is hosting because it was pre-determined by the state as the site of the game before the playoffs began.
Many championship teams in the past have pointed to a game or two in the state tournament where they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat en route to a deep run.
Adams hopes it can ultimately advance far enough where it can look back on the Rochester game as that type of victory.
“You’ve got to have a little bit of luck, no question about it,” Lamkin said. “It’s nice to be able to give the ball to Rino and say, ‘Go be a senior, go be a leader, go be a warrior.’ That’s what he did.”
Catholic League teams flex their muscle
Many around the state were anticipating a titanic Division 2 district final showdown on Saturday between Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep — who each entered with more than 30 wins and might have been the two hottest teams in the state regardless of Division — but the matchup never happened.
Macomb Lutheran North played a great game against Notre Dame Prep in a district semifinal and recorded a 6-5 upset to advance to the district final against St. Mary’s.
Lutheran North couldn’t summon the same upset magic against St. Mary’s, which earned a 17-1 win in what was a great Saturday for the powerful Catholic League Central Division.
Detroit Catholic Central earned a 6-2 win over Novi in a district final matchup between two state-ranked teams, Birmingham Brother Rice — ranked No. 1 in Division 1 — recorded a pair of blowout wins to advance, and Warren De La Salle advanced with a 7-2 win over Fraser in a district final.
In addition, the Catholic League’s Cardinal Division champion, Dearborn Divine Child, earned a 1-0 win in nine innings over Garden City in a Division 2 district final showdown between two ranked teams.
Woodhaven gets best of Allen Park in Downriver playoff showdown
As expected, two ranked Division 1 teams and rivals Downriver, Woodhaven and Allen Park, squared off in a district final contest that served as the rubber match between the squads after they split two regular-season meetings.
Woodhaven triumphed in the game that mattered most, earning a 3-0 win and advancing to a regional semifinal on Wednesday against Dearborn Edsel Ford.
Barring upsets, it looks like Woodhaven and Brother Rice (playing Wednesday against Warren Cousino) will be hooking up in a regional final on Saturday at Woodhaven, the pre-determined site of the regional.
Best five regional semifinals matchups for Wednesday
Wednesday will be the regional semifinal round of the state tournament, with winners advancing to regional final games on Saturday morning. The winners of those games will then play in Super Regional games (equivalent to quarterfinal games) on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the best five regional semifinal games involving Detroit area teams:
Romeo (30-6) at Rochester Adams (25-8) — This is a matchup worthy of taking place at the state’s final four in East Lansing, given both are stacked with pitching and powerful bats. Romeo senior ace Nick Kaminski didn’t pitch in the two district wins on Saturday — Romeo has two other aces in Anthony Gergely and Mason Pilotto — so he figures to be plenty fresh if called upon as expected. Adams won its district on Friday, so its pitchers such as junior Brady Lindstrom and senior Rino Watters have an extra day to get ready. The winner will have a favorable path to get to East Lansing. As a reminder, Romeo could still be the home team for the game depending on the pre-game coin flip. Adams was simply chosen as the pre-determined host site by the state.
Northville (18-10) vs. Novi Detroit Catholic Central (24-12) at Novi — These teams usually have great playoff battles each year, and this year should be no exception. Catholic Central has more talent on paper, but Northville is never an easy out and is tough as nails.
St. Clair Shores Lakeview (26-7) vs. Warren De La Salle (17-13) at Grosse Pointe South — De La Salle’s record is deceiving because it played a brutal schedule as a member of the Catholic League Central. It has lots of talent. On the other side, Lakeview is a well-balanced team that can pitch with anyone. Noah Nixon and Colin MacFarland each threw shutouts in the district round.
Richmond (23-2) vs. Goodrich (17-9-1) at Yale — These schools usually play important playoff games in softball, but this year it will be in baseball. Richmond has been on a tear, only losing once combined in April and May.
Detroit Edison (20-9) at Onsted (23-10-1) — Edison is back in the Division 3 regional round, and as always is a threat to be in East Lansing. The next big step is beating a solid Onsted team on its home field.
Keith Dunlap is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Metro Detroit high school baseball: Rochester Adams survives elimination game
Reporting by Keith Dunlap, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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