Livonia

A surprise champ

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

Photo by Matt Mollan Country Day coach Frank Orlando congratulates senior Jordan Pascasio after a scoreless inning in the regional semifinals. The Yellowjackets claimed their first regional title since 1995 by beating Divine Child 4-0 in the final.

Country Day baseball team upends defending D-2 champ, wins regional title

LIVONIA — There were tears, hugs, and of course, plenty of smiles.

Not much was said, though. Finally, among all the chaos, the silence was broken with a half-hearted joke.

While hugging Frank Orlando, a proud parent of one of his players took a step back and yelled, “We knew it all along.”

The joke, or comment, was followed by an uproar of laughter.

There were plenty of doubts and questions entering this game.

The Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day baseball team was in the regional final of the Division 2 playoffs June 6 at Madonna University seeking its first regional title since 1995.

The only thing standing in the Yellowjackets’ way was a Dearborn Divine Child team that was the defending state champ, which eliminated Country Day a year ago in this same game by a daunting 16-1 score.

“To be honest, we came into the game without talking about winning or losing,” an emotionally spent Orlando said after his team won the regional in a 4-0 victory. “We just wanted to keep things positive. We talked to the guys about playing our game, doing what we do. We knew if we did that, we would at least have a chance.”

Apparently, a chance was all they needed.

Country Day scored once in the fourth and three times in the fifth. Pitcher Mike Theodore was simply lights out on the mound. The senior went the entire game, allowing just four hits while earning the shutout.

“This is awesome,” said Theodore, who was also on the mound last season in the loss to DC. “Our focus today was so awesome. This was a game we wanted. After how last year ended, we felt like we had to win this game. To go out and do it was just incredible.”

Country Day, which did in fact earn its first regional title since 1995, improved to 13-7 and played at the Novi High quarterfinal June 9, after press time.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys than I am right now,” Orlando said, pausing for pictures with players and hugs from parent after parent. “It’s like we’ve taken another step to prove Country Day baseball is for real. This is just great.”

Softball struggles

Things didn’t end as well for the Country Day softball team. After disposing of Melvindale High 8-0 in the regional semifinal, the Yellowjackets were ousted in the Division 2 regional final following a 10-0 loss to host Livonia Ladywood.

“We lost to a great team today, a team that made the most of some of its opportunities,” coach John Meyers said. “The kids played hard, and they played together. It’s tough to lose a game like this, but they played hard the whole time.”

Country Day ended its season with a 25-11 overall record.

“We really came together this season, and that’s what we’re going to take from all this,” senior catcher Mary Kate DiVirgilio said. “We lost a lot of talent after last season, and I don’t think too many people expected too much from us. To get to this point was pretty special.”

“It’s tough to express how proud I am of these girls,” Meyers said. “This really was a great year. To get to this game and play as well as we did was something we can certainly build on.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.