Prep Baseball Report

Division 2 Team Of The Week: Week 6 - Orchard Lake St. Mary's


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Michigan Senior Writer

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Division 2 Team Of The Week: Week 6 - Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

ORCHARD LAKE VILLAGE - It was not a matter of if but when Orchard Lake St. Mary’s would be the Prep Baseball Report Division 2 Team of the Week.

A 6-5 victory over Brother Rice capped off another impressive week by the top-rated team in the state to help the Eaglets improve to 32-1 and with it earn accolades from PBR. St. Mary’s Prep also defeated Catholic Central 7-2 and Grosse Pointe North 9-6 last week, but it was the win over Brother Rice, the sixth this season over the Warriors, that stood out.

“Brother Rice played an outstanding game and had us on the ropes early,” related St. Mary’s head coach Matt Petry about a team his squad had already beaten 15-1, 15-0, 11-1, 11-0 and 12-1 this year. “But our guys kept their confidence and put together a comeback despite not playing our best baseball.”

The CHSL tournament title triumph came in walk-off fashion, with Ryan McKay hitting a run-scoring triple with two outs in the seventh inning to tie the game. Ike Irish then followed by hitting a single to bring in McKay with the game-winning run.

“The thing that has impressed me most about our team is getting contributions from our guys 1-9 in the lineup,” pointed out Petry, who has led the program to 52 wins in their last 53 games, the lone defeat coming 2-1 to Saline back on April 30. “We are not reliant on one or two guys in the lineup.”

The number of standouts for the Division 2 defending state champions is a long list starting with Alex Mooney and Jack Crighton. Mooney, the fifth-rated senior shortstop in the country and a Duke commit, is averaging .466 with nine doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 43 RBIs and 56 runs while Crighton, the top-ranked junior third baseman in the state and a Michigan commit, is batting .477 with seven doubles, one triple and one HR while driving in 34.

Jake Dresselhouse, the number one junior second baseman in the state and a Michigan State recruit, tops the Eaglets in home runs with 10 to go along with 47 RBIs, 54 runs and a .379 batting mark. Nolan Schubart, a Michigan commit rated fourth in the nation among 2022 outfielders, averages .400 with eight round-trippers and a team-best 48 RBIs with Irish, a junior catcher committed to Auburn, batting .424 with nine doubles and eight home runs while driving in 39.

Pitching has been perhaps the biggest surprise according to Petry.

“Coming into this year we did not have much experience on the mound outside of Brock Porter,” Petry pointed out. “But I have been very impressed with Tommy Allman, John Essig and Jake Keaser. They have all matured throughout the season.”

But it is Porter, the second-ranked junior right-handed pitcher in the nation, who is the leader with a 7-0 record and a 0.77 ERA. In 36.1 innings, the Clemson commit has struck out 81 and walked 11 while permitting four earned runs.

Allman, the 13th-rated senior right-handed pitcher in the state, is a Jacksonville commit, Essig is an Ashland signee ranked 15th in the 2021 class of left-handed pitchers, and Keaser is a Daytona State College commit ranked 16th among senior right-handed hurlers in Michigan.

“Our goals do not change year to year, we have three goals every year,” explained Petry. “We want to win the CHSL regular-season title, win the CHSL tournament title, and we want to win a State Championship. We have reached two of our goals and now our focus shifts to preparing for the State Championship.”

But before the tournament begins, St. Mary’s Prep has major tests ahead this week with games against Ann Arbor Pioneer today, Detroit Western and Liggett on Friday and Grosse Pointe South on Saturday.

“The key for us is continuing to play the way we have been and improving our team defense,” concluded Petry.

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