A program worth paying attention to

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

Photo by Matt Mollan Freshman Trevor Potter brings in a fly ball during regional play at Ladywood. Potter is one of a handful of guys set to return to Country Day’s lineup next season.

Country Day re-establishes baseball thanks to magical 2009 playoff run

NOVI — As far as meaningless hits are considered, this was one of them. Down by seven runs and with just five outs remaining in a Division 2 quarterfinal, it was a looping single that landed softly in front of the right fielder.

Maybe “meaningless” is too harsh a word, but this was one of those games where a comeback wasn’t going to happen, not this late and not on this day.

The game just had that feel.

But you would have never guessed it by looking at and listening to the crowd.

As soon as the ball hit the grass, a roar emerged from behind the plate and from the third-base line. Those who were lucky enough to have a bleacher seat rose to applaud and cheer; those already standing had a head start.

As one — a somewhat unofficial record attendance — they cheered and cheered.

“And that’s for a Country Day baseball game,” Yellowjackets coach Frank Orlando said, beaming and still stunned at the outpouring of support following the game. “It’s almost hard to believe all those people were here to see us. … This is pretty cool.”

Those same fans would applaud once more in 2009.

Five straight outs after that single, Country Day was officially eliminated from the state playoffs, ending their somewhat historical run with this 10-3 loss to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s June 9 from Novi High.

As players and coaches — some with tears in their eyes, others with smiles on their faces — made their way to the dugout, the cheering grew louder.

It was a boisterous “thank you” to this collection of 12 players who may not have necessarily resurrected the Yellowjackets’ program, but who certainly made it relevant again.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Orlando continued. “To get to this point in the tournament is an incredible feat. You wish it could go on and we could just keep playing, but we can’t help but be happy about this.”

“A lot of pride right now,” senior pitcher Mike Theodore said when asked about his feelings following the game. “This is the same team that was mercied four times in a row this year. Not too many people saw us getting to this point.”

A very modest 9-7 when the playoffs began, Country Day kicked it into another gear at the most opportune time.

The Yellowjackets began their march to the quarters with an 11-1 victory against Warren Fitzgerald in the district opener and followed that with a 9-7 upset of Madison Heights Lamphere. Once in the regional, they cruised past Melvindale High 10-1, setting the stage for what many predicted would be their swan song, a matchup against the defending state champs from Dearborn Divine Child.

“We were supposed to lose to Lamphere, and nobody gave us a chance against Divine Child,” said Theodore, who pitched seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 defeat of the same Divine Child team that had beaten Country Day 16-1 the year before. “This was such a mentally tough bunch of guys. We believed in ourselves, and our play proved it.”

The regional title was the first for the Yellowjackets since 1995.

While the end of the season came against a St. Mary’s team loaded with playoff experience, this is anything but the end for Country Day. Orlando said he expects a season and playoff run like this to inspire some of the younger kids in the community to consider playing baseball. He also knows for the guys coming back next season that just getting a taste of this will fuel their commitment leading into next spring.

Needless to say, he doesn’t think it will be 14 more years until Country Day is playing for a trip to the semifinals.

“It better not be,” Orlando said laughing. “I’m getting too old for this. They’d have to wheel me out to the field.”

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