Rough week for Cards on diamond

By Lisa Paine
VIEW Sports Editor

FLINT — In the rain-delayed Greater Flint Tournament that was to move forward last Friday but had to reschedule Tuesday afternoon, Grand Blanc shut out Big Nine rival, Davison, 10-0.
Davison was held to just four hits in the mercy-ruled five-inning shutout. Grand Blanc’s Greg Marks stepped up his game and threw a four-hitter at the Cards, and they just didn’t have any answers to the riddle.
Davison went through three pitchers looking for answers, while the battery just couldn’t get any steam going. Nick Creason, Tad Dipzinksi and Kevin Yoesting each had one hit, but the Cards struck out seven times with Marks on the mound.
“We didn’t commit any errors, and neither did they,” said Davison coach Timm Rye. “They were just able to hit off us, and their pitcher did a really nice job for them. That’s how the games go sometimes, and you have to move on.”
With four big games between now and next Thursday, the Cardinals have plenty to think about as they travel to Carman-Ainsworth today for another key Big Nine game. Saturday is a road trip to face Traverse City West, then Monday features a rematch with Flint Powers Catholic at Powers before a clash with Big Nine foe Flushing next Thursday.
Sitting with a two-game lead in the Big Nine, Rye has a definite plan and explained that although you want to win every game, sometimes you have to go with the flow and keep your plan in place despite the possibility of not coming out on top. The Big Nine race is always on his mind, and with lots of ball to be played over the next week, staying the course and keeping the boys focused is priority number one.
Last Monday, Flint Kearsly gave the Cards (12-8 overall, 7-1 Big Nine) a wakeup call after Davison won the opener, 12-2, but narrowly escaped with the 3-2 win in the nightcap.
Dolloff got the win in six innings on six hits, six runs a walk and seven strikeouts.
Creason was 4-4 with an RBI and three doubles, Jared Cowan was 3-4 with several RBI, Trevor Cousineau was 2-3 with four RBI, including an inside-the-park home run. Mike Dolloff had two hits and two RBI, Tad Dipzinski had two hits, Chad Hoover singled, and Yoesting drove in two runs.
Hoover got the win in the second game on seven hits, four walks and four strikeouts.
Davison thought it had this game in the bag after scoring two runs in the first, but both sides fell flat until the fifth inning when the Hornets scored two in the top to knot the score. Davison got the clincher in the bottom of the fifth after bringing in Cousineau to finish out the game. He fanned four and walked one in two innings of work.
Kaleb Forr was 4-4 with one RBI, Creason doubled, and Cowan, Dolloff and Dipzinski each singled. Yoesting chipped in with one RBI.
“Kearsley can play against anyone,” said Rye. “They played very, very well. If you take a team for granted because you’ve had a winning record against them, that’s a wakeup call for us.”
In last Thursday’s Big Nine showdown against Flint Powers Catholic, Davison was swept, 17-7 and 4-3.
Uncharacteristic errors that amounted to seven unraveled the Cards’ game plan.
“Seven runs should be enough to keep us in any game, but five walks and errors gave them the advantage, and they took it,” said Rye. “We paid dearly for our mistakes.”
Forr was 2-3 with five RBI and one home run, Dolloff was 2-3 with an RBI, and Creason and Cowan doubled. Cousineau, Yoesting, Bobby Sanchez and Dipzinski all chipped in with single hits.
Errors continued to plague the Cards in the finale, which was called after 4-1/2 innings. Tyler Kostelic walked three, while Casey Clark led with a single and an RBI. Cowan and Dolloff also hit singles.
“It was just one of those days for us,” Rye noted. “You just have to work through those, but we paid for our mistakes.”