Not quite wave a wand, but Oak Harbor's LaLonde makes ball disappear from bats
Mike LaLonde's perspective on failure makes him increasingly less likely to beat himself up for a poor swing or errant pitch.
It's not because the Oak Harbor freshman fails often.
"In baseball, you're going to fail a lot," LaLonde said. "You mess up one time, you're going to get it [next time]."
LaLonde (3-3) struck out 40 and walked seven in 35 innings, with a 2.20 ERA. He plays shortstop when he isn't pitching.
"Go get it," he said. "Risk it for the biscuit. I'm leaving everything out there and trying to get everyone to leave it out there and do what it takes to win. I try to take control and I want us to be up there competing every game.
"Whatever it takes."
LaLonde no-hit Northwood over five innings to start his varsity career. He played travel for Toledo Demand Command.
"I've played baseball for a long time," he said. "I knew there were good athletes in spots above me. I worked as hard as I could. I've been playing ball for a while. It's my first time with [this group]. I'm playing the same game since I was 3, but it helps to have good communication and be friends off the field.
"My teammates help me feel comfortable. If I make an error, I'll get it next play. My teammates are always there."
His dad, Mike LaLonde Jr., is always on call.
"From a young age, we go hit," he said. "He wants me to be better, he's on me and pointing me in the right direction to hopefully play ball farther than high school."
LaLonde also shares a connection with cohort Brayden Butzin at catcher.
"The freshman duo," LaLonde said. "We've always played together since coach pitch. The main positions in baseball are in the middle and we clog up two of those spots. He's a go-getter who just wants to play.
"We're the same that way."
Butzin has 10 RBIs and 11 runs, with a .281 average. He's 1-1 in limited innings on the mound.
Karson Lajti (2-2) struck out 34 in 24⅓ innings.
"He's always throwing strikes," LaLonde said.
Mason Wagner has a hot bat in May for Oak Harbor (8-13, 3-5).
Tim Marquette and Hayden Craig combined on the mound to beat Margaretta 4-3 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. Butzin had a two-run single, LaLonde scored two runs and TJ Shadoan added an RBI.
"Right now we're out of the Bay conversation," LaLonde said. "We went in [against the Polar Bears] with the mentality to lay everything out. We played good defense. We finally put all the pieces together. We're going to try to get hot and get rolling, catch fire and make a little run in the tournament."
It wasn't long ago that LaLonde had dreams of one day playing shortstop for Oak Harbor varsity and pitching on his days off.
"I remember when I was in Little League, 10-U," he said. "We came up to watch varsity as a team. My friends were playing catch and messing around and I was just watching the game. That's all I wanted to do, play ball and do something great with Oak Harbor."
mhorn@gannett.com
419-307-4892
Twitter: @MatthewHornNH
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Karson Lajti piles up strikeouts for Oak Harbor
