Rochester

Adams baseball closes 2012 in regional semifinal, Hall boasts about team

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Donna Agusti Jeff Olmack tags third trying to get an Ike runner out earlier this season. Photo by Donna Agusti Jeff Olmack tags third trying to get an Ike runner out earlier this season.

There was a point where the towel could have been tossed, surrendering a season in the midst of a downward spiral.

But the guys on the Rochester Adams baseball team decided to regroup, shift their focus to a postseason run and turned a troubled year into one to remember.

“What these guys did was pretty special,” coach Jeff Hall said a day after his squad was ousted in the Division 1 regional semifinals in a 4-2 loss to Hartland High. “This was an awesome end to this season. These guys really did some cool things.”

Hall recalled back to the middle of the season, when his team was struggling to find its way and held just a 3-9 record in league play.

“They could have packed it in right there, but they weren’t about to go down without a fight,” he said. “The refocused their effort and commitment to what we wanted to do.”

The rest is history.

The Highlanders won nine of their next 11 games, putting together a streak of wins that rolled right into the postseason. They won their first district title since 2010, and had it not been for facing Hartland’s Division 1 pitching prospect, who knows what could have transpired.

“We only had two hits, and we made a couple mistakes defensively,” Hall said. “Other than that, it was a good game.”

Adams, which finished the year 19-15-1, now must replace nine seniors as it looks forward to 2013.

“A lot of younger guys are going to have to step up,” Hall said with a laugh. “We’ll see what happens.”

In other regional action
Lake Orion High reached the Hartland regional final, but fell to the host team 6-0.

The Dragons reached the final after beating Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 4-1 in the semifinal.

In softball, the season came to a close for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest.

Prep fell to St. Clair High 4-2 June 9 at home in a D-2 regional final. In the semis, the Fighting Irish beat Richmond High 7-5.

Northwest lost in its D-4 regional semifinal to Fowler High 13-3 in six innings. Fowler lost the next game to Dansville High 5-2.

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