Warren

One of those days

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Sports Writer

Madison Heights Lamphere baseball tops Warren Woods Tower

WARREN — April 29 was one of those days for Warren Woods Tower’s baseball team.

It was a day where seemingly everything the Madison Heights Lamphere team did worked, while the host Titans just couldn’t make the key plays at key times in their 16-4 Macomb Area Conference Gold Division loss.

After an injury-plagued start to the season, Lamphere has settled in and improved to 5-6 overall and 3-1 in the Gold — highlighted by the win against Tower and a 12-1 league win against Eastpointe East Detroit April 27.

“Every aspect of the game, I was real pleased,” Lamphere coach Adam Wooley said.

“We’re getting healthy, and that’s a good thing. I’m very cautious right now because I’d like to see a level of consistency, but it’s a good feeling to come out and put two strong games together.”

Lamphere jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a three-run home run from sophomore catcher Greg Fettes.

Tower responded with a long ball of its own in the bottom of the first when senior shortstop James Horgan connected on a two-run blast with two outs to make it a 3-2 Lamphere lead after one.

The Rams added one run in the top of the second when junior second baseman Dan Mason plated senior right fielder Jon Kleinert.

After Tower was held scoreless in the bottom of the second, Lamphere blew the game open.

Lamphere junior first baseman Logan Ryan led off the third with a single but was caught stealing second.

Fettes followed Ryan with a walk, which was followed by sophomore left fielder Jake Baldwin’s walk. A wild pitch advanced Fettes to third and Baldwin to second before Kleinert scored Fettes on a sacrifice bunt.

It was then, with two outs, that the Rams broke loose with nine runs on seven hits, highlighted by Baldwin’s two-run home run off the left-field foul pole.

“We just need to concentrate,” Tower senior designated hitter Wade Howard said. “Errors are killing us. We’ve got to learn to get that third out and get out of innings — just keep focusing in the game.”

Tower came back to score one in the bottom of the third when senior pitcher Kevin Fardell singled in junior catcher Andrew Kawam to make it 14-3.

After the squads were scoreless in the fourth, Lamphere added two more runs in the top of the fifth, one of which was a solo home run off the bat of junior Nick Hilliard to take a 16-4 lead.

Tower added a run of its own in the bottom of fifth, but could not escape the fifth-inning, 10-run mercy rule.

Tower fell to 3-8 overall and 1-3 in the Gold.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.