After a throwing error by Luke DeMasse allowed the Romeo Bulldogs to score an unearned run and lengthened the fifth inning for Nick Kaminski to hit a go-ahead home run, the Dakota Cougars’ starting pitcher knew he had to get it back.

So, in the bottom of the sixth, when his spot in the lineup came up, he didn’t miss: DeMasse, who had already thrown five innings and struck out seven Bulldogs, hit a 2-run home run off Romeo’s Will Scally, putting his Cougars ahead 5-4.

They added on a few more before Braylon Ryan pitched a scoreless seventh, earned the Cougars an 8-4 victory and Macomb Area Conference Red series win over the Bulldogs on Thursday, April 17 in Macomb.

“That error, I was just thinking about that really,” DeMasse, a Ball State baseball commit, said. “I think that’s what really affected me. I was thinking about that a lot when I was pitching up there, I was like, I was like, (dang), if I didn’t make that error, then where can I be at right now? And every time I hit, especially when I pitch, I just want to be able to help myself and my team.”

Leading 3-1 at the time, DeMasse handled a bunt off Brody Meier’s bat and threw the ball away from first baseman Evan Morrison, allowing Troy Smith to score. Then, with two outs, Nick Kaminski ripped a 2-run home run of his own, giving Romeo a 4-3 lead in the fifth.

Flash back to game one of the three game set: When Dakota faced adversity, head coach Angelo Plouffe thinks that, instead of rising to it, they shut down, resulting in a 12-2 defeat.

On Thursday, when adversity struck, they stood up to it.

“They stayed the course,” Plouffe said. “They didn’t flinch this time. … That’s what good teams do.”

Evan Morrison tripled to lead off the sixth inning with DeMasse’s home run coming right after. Luke Kavalick extended the lead with a two-run single, then Braylon Ryan doubled him home before taking the mound and getting the last three outs.

Dakota scored the first runs of the game when a wild pitch by Scally bounced around the Cougars’ ample foul ground behind home plate, allowing both Kavalick and Ryan to score.

Romeo got a run back in the third on an error, which Dakota’s Evan Kavalick immediately answered by hitting a solo home run, setting the stage at 3-2.

Though the final score may not show it, both starting pitchers were dealing.

For DeMasse, he went five innings, walking nobody with five hits allowed. All four of his runs were unearned.

“He’s special,” Plouffe said of his ace pitcher. “It’s why he was (MAC Red) Player of the Year last year. I’ve been watching him for the last four years, (he’s) special. So happy he’s on our team.

“They have the most confidence in him. He didn’t even have his best stuff today. That’s the second start of the year. So we’re looking forward to a lot better days ahead.”

Scally threw 5.2 innings for Romeo, striking out nine batters. He allowed six hits and walked four. And before things fell apart in the sixth inning, two of his three runs allowed were on the first inning wild pitch.

“I thought he pitched great,” said Romeo head coach T.J. Delamielleure. “You know, the first inning we had, he lost his curveball for like three pitches and buried a couple that they scored two runs on a wild pitch. But aside from that, you know, he threw really well.

“I thought, you know, the last inning, hats off to them. They found a couple barrels. We missed a couple spots. And, you know, a good team like Dakota, if you miss a spot or two, and they can make you pay. But aside from that, I thought he pitched his butt off.”

After one MAC Red series, Dakota sits in second place at 2-1 (7-2 overall). They’ll face Ford (5-2, 1-2 Red) next week with a weekend doubleheader against Howell scheduled.

“We learned a lot about ourselves, about our team — who can play, who we can trust at certain times,” Plouffe said. “Gave a lot of opportunities this week. And you know, we’re just trying to get better every day. That’s the rest of the way through here. We got six weeks until the tournament.”

Romeo slides to 1-2 in the MAC Red. They’re 8-2 overall with a series against Eisenhower (4-7, 0-3 Red) on the docket. They’ll use a Saturday doubleheader against the MAC Blue’s Port Huron Northern as a tuneup.

“I think we’re a really good team,” Delamielleure said. “I think we can compete with anybody in the division, and I think that we’re going to keep grinding it out in this division. It’s only the first series, and it’s a tough division, and people are going to beat each other up, and we just got to keep and stay at the course and work on, you know, trying to be there at the end.”