Talent-heavy No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary's soars past Detroit Edison, 8-1
Orchard Lake St. Mary's might be the best high school baseball team in Michigan history.
That's not based only on Friday's game against Detroit Edison, hosted by the Detroit Police Athletic League at "The Corner Ballpark" (located in Corktown at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull). That was a 1-0 game after two innings before the Eaglets poured it on the rest of the way, winning 8-1.
It's the lineup, chock full of talent and athleticism.
OLSM won a national championship while going 43-1 in 2021 and winning the Division 2 state championship. The Eaglets moved up to Division 1 this year and are still ranked No. 1 nationally (according to Max Preps; they're slated No. 2 by Perfect Game) at an unblemished 28-0.
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Put it this way: Brock Porter, OLSM's top player and Clemson commit who is a projected first-round pick in July's MLB draft, didn't play Friday. Michigan commit Jack Crighton had the afternoon off, as well.
And still, coach Matt Petry's team had seven players in the lineup who are committed to Power Five schools.
"We've got a lot of good players who work extremely hard all year and in the offseason to fine-tune that craft," Petry said. "All the way from the top to the bottom. That's what makes it a fun group to coach: They're self-motivated, and they know what to do every day."
It started in the first. Michigan State commit Jake Dresselhouse singled up the middle to lead off, followed by a walk from Tennessee-bound Jake Grimmer.
Nolan Schubart, a power-hitting outfielder committed to Michigan, couldn't score the runners that advanced on a wild pitch, but catcher Ike Irish (Auburn) drove in Dresselhouse on a sacrifice fly to center.
OLSM then broke the game open in the third.
Dresselhouse and Grimmer started with a single and walk, as they did in the first; this time, however, Schubart sent a 300-foot double to right-center to plate both.
"I took a fastball outer-half and once it got in the gap, this field is pretty big so I knew I could get extra bases," Schubart said. "I was just trying to do my job and get those runs in."
After that, the non-seniors got in on the action.
Junior second baseman Ryan McKay — who eventually will join Dresselhouse at Michigan State — reached and stole second before junior shortstop Jasen Oliver — who committed to Michigan for 2023 — scored two with a triple to right-center.
Oliver scored before a walk and a hit batter led to a pitching change.
Edison left-hander Kole Waterman came in and slowed the Eaglets the rest of the way, giving up just two runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 4⅔ innings.
"He did a great job, kept us in the game and gave us a chance to get back in it," Edison coach Mark Brown said. "But like I told the guys, it's hard to win with zero or one run."
OLSM sophomore Aidan Donovan (6 feet 3, 195 pounds) held the Pioneers scoreless over five innings with just three hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
After Edison's Keith Smith was hit by a pitch from freshman Paul Toovalian in the sixth, the Pioneers scored their lone run on an infield single by Marwynn Matthews.
"We treated this like a championship-type game and in games like that, when you play really good competition, teams as good as you or better, you have to hit the baseball," Brown said. "They did that today and we didn't. That's what it comes down to."
Edison's Greg Pace shines
While dozens of scouts attend OLSM's games, several were in the stands Friday to see Edison outfielder Greg Pace, who's committed to Michigan and is projected to be drafted in the first five rounds this July.
While his opportunities were limited, he made the most of them. His first at-bat came in the first inning, when he launched a 325-foot liner over the centerfielder's head.
The 6-3, 190-pound senior, who has been timed at 6.35 seconds in the 60-yard dash, was rounding third with a shot at a potential inside-the-park home run. But Brown held him.
"I was thinking about (sending him)," Brown said. "When he rounded the base, for a second he shifted gears and looked like maybe he'd coast into third. If he'd kept going I would've sent him.
"But I know what he was doing, he did his job, getting to third, he's got good hitters behind him to drive him in. There was one out, but this time that didn't happen."
Pace was active in the field, too; In the top of the second, junior Vincent Cowdrey hit a sinking line drive to center. Pace immediately recognized it, ran in and made a diving catch to steal a hit.
Then, in the fourth, McKay hit a medium-depth fly ball with runners on second and third. Against most outfielders, Petry would've likely sent Schubart.
Not on Pace, an occasional pitcher who can hit the upper-90s from flat ground.
Back at the plate, Pace walked in his second time up before lining out softly in the sixth.
"He's a great player and a good guy to play against. His tools are outstanding as you saw with that triple," Schubart said of his fellow Michigan commit. "I'm surprised he didn't try to burn us for the inside-the-parker, but he's great, and a great competitor to play against."
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on twitter at @realtonygarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school baseball: OLSM soars past Detroit Edison, 8-1
