Weekend Preview.

Written Thursday June 9th at 8:00 PM

Here is this weekend's upcoming action surrounding the OAA with Baseball, Soccer, and Softball regional and Girls Lacrosse Finals.


Region 7 at Bloomfield Hills.

Baseball

Groves vs Adams- 10 AM

Rochester vs Troy- 30 minutes after 1^st game

Regional Final- 30 minutes after 2^nd game

This is an all OAA Regional here at Bloomfield Hills. The Falcons are riding high with their shocking upset of Birmingham Brother Rice in the district final last week. The Highlanders won at Oxford, overcoming a tough Clarkston squad. The Falcons had to beat Utica Eisenhower in extra innings at Stoney Creek. The Colts took out their arch rival Troy Athens out of the playoffs to give them their first district crown since 2008.

I think this regional will be interesting but seeing the battle of the Falcons probably could be the best bet here but it wouldn’t surprise me if Adams win over Groves. Whomever wins this regional will have a tough shot when they could deal with Hartland in the Quarterfinals.

PROJECTED REGIONAL FINAL: Groves vs Rochester

PROJECTED CHAMPION: Groves

Softball

Groves vs Orion- 10 AM

Troy Athens vs Romeo- 30 minutes after 1^st game

Regional Final- 30 minutes after 2^nd game

When looking at this regional, the Dragons have played a much brutal district (Clarkston, Oxford) than the rest of these teams here. Orion ranked sixth in the State has a balance of pitching and hitting that got them here. Their opponent Groves is playing with house money. The Falcons a few weeks ago named an interim coach four weeks ago and won their district over Seaholm. In the other game you have Romeo whom is young but still very talented. The Bulldogs have two very good hitters and will be a tough out. Romeo better be careful of Troy Athens. The Red Hawks have played a tough schedule despite being in the White, Troy Athens though is a dangerous team.

I look at this regional being a Dragon/Bulldog rematch from 2013 in which Romeo won over Orion at Hartland but end of the day, the Dragons have a little too much balance. The winner will likely deal with Farmington Hills Mercy in the Quarterfinals. I believe there is one team here that can match up very well with the Marlins here.

PROJECTED REGIONAL FINAL: Orion vs Romeo

PROJECTED CHAMPION: Orion

Girls Soccer

Stoney Creek at Troy Athens: 7 PM Friday.

When looking at this regional final, it is clear that the Cougars have had the toughest road of the two OAA teams in the State Tournament. With Grand Blanc out of the tournament thanks to Novi and the Wildcats await the winner of this one, the path to the State crown is wide open with the winner going to the Final Four. The Red Hawks have had a nice path to the regional final having a not so bad district and had to beat Grosse Pointe North in a Court Ordered game 1-0 in the regional semifinal. Stoney Creek meanwhile has had to play three state ranked teams in the state tournament in Utica Ford (8^th), unbeaten Utica Eisenhower (2^nd), and Macomb Dakota (6^th.) When I look at this matchup, these two teams are no stranger to each other, both teams have experience but in the end, got to go with the road team here and that is the Cougars.

PROJECTED REGIONAL CHAMPION: Stoney Creek

Girls Lacrosse

Birmingham vs Rockford: 2 PM Saturday at Brighton.

The Rams are a dynasty in Girls Lacrosse while the Bulldogs are no slouches either. Rockford with their fair share of talent and experience. Birmingham got here by beating Ann Arbor Pioneer in the semifinals. The Rams destroyed Hartland to get here. I don’t know how the Bulldogs can pull this off but it would be a monster upset if Birmingham can upset Rockford.

PROJECTED STATE CHAMPION: Rockford