Rochester Adams' bats overwhelm in MHSAA baseball D-1 semifinal
· Yahoo Sports
EAST LANSING — It took an inning to settle in, but Rochester Adams baseball's potent offense erupted against Brownstown Woodhaven in the MHSAA baseball Division 1 semifinal on Friday, June 12, to reach its first state title game in 30 years.
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Adams (29-8) buried Woodhaven, 10-4, with a five-run second inning serving as the catalyst at McLane Stadium. The Highlanders will face Novi Detroit Catholic Central in the D-1 final Saturday (5 p.m.) with the chance to win the program's first baseball title.
"After the first inning, they just settled down," Adams coach Andrew Lamkin said. "The bats have been hot. I think they got pitches they could handle and just drove them.
After a strike 'em out/throw 'em out double play ended the first inning, Adams' bats came alive in the second. The Highlanders sent 11 hitters to the plate, scoring five runs on six hits and two drawn walks. They chased Woodhaven starter Tristan Spencer, a lefty sophomore, with just one out in the second. He finished with six hits and one walk allowed.
The rally started with a double from catcher McAllister Doelle, who scored on a Rino Watters single. Adams loaded the bases and senior right fielder Dominic Dumitrescu cleared them with a line-drive double into the left-center gap.
"I was looking for a fastball middle away and got what I was looking for," Dumitrescu said.
Dumitrescu drove in another run with a hard-hit single in the third inning, pushing the Highlanders' lead to 7-0 early. He and left fielder Johnny Safadi combined for seven hits.
Matt Toeppner, a Michigan State commit, drove in two runs. Safadi went 4-for-4 and scored three runs. Doelle went 2-for-2 with a walk. Adams finished with 15 hits and five drawn walks.
"He's a quintessential player, he's just awesome," Lamkin said of Dumitrescu. "Safadi was phenomenal today. They kind of got it all going and we turned it over and let Flip [Watters] and those guys do their thing. It was just a good team win."
Adams added insurance runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to maintain a healthy cushion despite three Woodhaven runs in the middle innings.
The Warriors pushed one run across in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth, but could not produce the two-out hits required for a comeback.
Adams junior pitcher Brady Lindstrom was efficient and effective across six innings. He only struck out three batters, but produced plenty of groundouts with a rock-solid infield behind him. Sophomore third baseman Evan Newingham was especially slick with his glove.
Adams had a comfortable semifinal after having to pull out three one-run wins earlier in the playoffs, including a seventh-inning rally against Rochester and a 10-inning marathon against Romeo in regionals.
The Highlanders' offense has come alive in the quarterfinals and now semifinals. Adams has 27 runs over the last two games against Oxford and Woodhaven.
"We are so loud in the dugout," Dumitrescu said. "Everyone is so hype. It is a great environment to play in."
Adams now advances to the Division 1 state championship game on Saturday (5 p.m.) against Novi Detroit Catholic Central. It is the Highlanders' first appearance in the title game since losing the final in consecutive years in 1995-96. This group has the chance to win Adams' first baseball title.
Lamkin, who previously coached Adams from 1994-2003 before stepping away and returning in 2024, will be calling the shots just as he did for those first two appearances.
"It's a different perspective this time for me," Lamkin said. "It's good other people have an opportunity to share and feel what I did 30 years ago. To me, that's what I'm reflecting on. The everybody else and the parens and the kids that have worked really hard to have this opportunity."
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA baseball: Rochester Adams bats too much in D-1 state semifinal