PINCONNING, MI – The surprise factor has vanished.
But it has been replaced by something far more potent for the Pinconning baseball team.
One year after an unexpected run to the regional championship, the Spartans are on the verge of a repeat performance. Pinconning rolled to a 9-0 victory over Roscommon in the semifinal round, playing like a confident bunch.
“The seniors have taken the reins for this team and they showed we belong,” Pinconning coach Casey Pashak said. “There’s a little less pressure, but there’s a lot of excitement in the wind. We definitely feel like we belong and should be winning, and that’s a good feeling to have for your team.”
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Pinconning (26-12) ventures to Traverse City Central to take on Evart in the regional final at noon Saturday. No. 13 Negaunee faces No. 14 Traverse City St. Francis on the adjoining field at noon, with the winners meeting in the 3 p.m. state quarterfinal.
Pinconning made all the right moves in the regional semifinal, beginning with the maintenance crew and the all-hands-on-deck workers who got the field ready after the rains.
Pitching ace Zach Laures delivered the precise kind of performance the Spartans needed. He worked six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and zero walks while striking out 10. Using just 69 pitches, Laures is eligible to pitch on Saturday.
“With the pitch count, we were trying to prepare for Saturday while also making sure we got the job done today,” Pashak said. “Getting six innings on 69 pitches is huge.
“Zach was really efficient, he worked ahead in the count all day.”
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The offense also came through on cue, putting three runs on the board in the first inning to remove some of the playoff pressure.
Landen Enciso opened the game with a single, Laures walked, Calvin Holland singled and all three eventually crossed the plate on pitches that went to the backstop for the 3-0 advantage. The Spartans added two runs in the second inning and tacked on one run in the fourth through seventh frames as the lead steadily grew.
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“We had some really good at-bats, got a couple walks, got those first couple runs in and it opened things up for us,” Pashak said. “We scored in every inning but the third and kept constant pressure on them.”
Laures and Holland each finished with two hits to lead the offense. Laures scored four runs and Holland drove in two. Isaiah Hoffman pitched a scoreless seventh to seal the deal.
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