Winning right-arm
Strong outing by Shane Winter helps Bloomfield Hills to big win over Clarkston
BLOOMFIELD HILLS » The Bloomfield Hills bats were alive and well, but it was the right-arm of starting pitcher Shane Winter that gave the Black Hawks their biggest advantage Wednesday.
Facing Clarkston in an early-season Oakland Activities Association crossover game, Winter mowed his way through the Wolves’ lineup to post four scoreless innings as part of a 12-0 win for Bloomfield Hills.
“Shane Winter is a beast on the mound. He pounded the zone and had quick innings,” Black Hawks first-year head coach Justin Robinson said. “He was working ahead and getting in good counts. He has good stuff. It’s easy when you have good stuff and you’re in good counts to be successful.”
After permitting two of the first three batters he faced to reach base in the first inning, Winter settled in to record back-to-back strikeouts to end the early threat. He struck out the side in a clean second inning to keep things rolling before his team began to back him up with run support.
In the bottom of the second, a leadoff hit and stolen base by Ethan Henry got the Black Hawks started offensively. An error by Clarkston allowed Henry to score the game’s first run, which soon gave way to a big inning. With two outs,
consecutive RBI singles by James Swanson and Jack Boike extended the lead and were followed by a two-run double by Winter himself.
Leading 6-0 through two, Winter worked around a bloop single and an error to post another clean frame that was aided by a successful pickoff throw to nail the lead runner at second base.
Bloomfield Hills tacked on three more runs apiece in the third and fourth innings thanks to patience at the plate to draw walks and speed on the base paths to put pressure on the Wolves with frequent stolen base attempts.
“Baserunning is a big part of what we try to do. We like to run and we’ve got a lot of fast guys who try to make things happen. We’ve been successful with that for the most part,” Robinson said.
Winter finished with eight strikeouts and surrendered just three hits in four innings of work before turning the mound over to teammate Griffin Novak, who recorded the final three outs to end the game early.
“Our guys swung the bats and we executed when we needed to,” Robinson said. “We got a pickoff at second (base) in a big situation. We turned two when we needed to. Rusty Oddo behind the dish was magnificent catching. It was a team effort and everybody contributed today.”
Bloomfield Hills improved its record to 4-2 on the young season.
For Clarkston (2-2), its five hits were recorded by Ryan Witt, Zachary Cicero, Brady Krcziok, Jackson Valentino, and Joey Vandeputte.
The Wolves will face Stoney Creek for an OAA Red Division doubleheader on Monday. The Black Hawks will host Grosse Pointe North on Thursday.