TROY >> The newly opened complex with turf fielding at Troy allowed the Colts and Dakota to get in a nine-inning contest Saturday afternoon that the Cougars took, 13-3.

Dakota improved to 3-0 on the early season thanks a quartet that produced quality innings and two big frames of offense.

“We had a plan going in about who we were gonna throw and play, and got it worked out where everybody a little playing time, got some swings and some pitching,” Cougars head coach Angelo Plouffe said when asked about how the plan changed when the teams opted for a longer game over the originally scheduled doubleheader due to a delay with rainfall. “We’ve got a lot of good arms and we’ve got to get them throwing, and it waws fun to watch them throw today.”

The Cougars deployed Josh Geill, Chase Thornton, Landon Leidlein and James Neucterlien, who all tossed at least two complete innings and combined for 17 strikeouts.

“I thought our pitchers competed,” Troy head coach Joe D’Orazio said. “A lot of young guys, first time throwing today for varsity experience. Some of them did compete, we’ve just got to learn that against really, really good teams, one pitch can make the difference. And I think overall, too, a lot of it was guys not being aggressive enough up there hitting-wise. I thought we didn’t swing the bat that well today at all, so that’s probably where most of the frustration comes in. Because some of these guys are getting some opportunities to kind of showcase if they want to be in that lineup in (league play), and some of them kind of didn’t swing the bat much.”

Dakota’s bats got off beginning with Andrew Borowicz’s RBI single into left with runners at the corners to open the scoring in the top of the second, and Evan Morrison drove one in as well in the third inning to make it 2-0. But the Cougars began to break it open in the fourth as Jacob Gjonaj and Borowicz walked, then Luke Kavalick was hit by a pitch before Braylon Ryan stepped up and drove a 1-0 offering over the fence in right field for a grand slam that made it 6-0.

“Honestly, I was just looking for the ball up in the zone,” Ryan said. “He was throwing a lot of off-speeds, changeups, curveballs. I got a fastball that I could drive, and that was it. It was gone. It was actually my first home run on varsity. Very exciting.”

Colts junior Jack Sobotka pulled it back to 7-2 with a two-out, two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth that helped give the home side a chance, but Troy remained behind by five going into a ninth inning that Dakota’s bats made another long one. Leidlein, Dylan Beitelshees and Michael Ross all drove in runs in the final frame to help the Cougars seal the deal.

Morrison ended the day with a team-high three hits for the Cougars, who had a dozen on the afternoon.

Coleton Steward, Carlos Aguierre and Noah Ordway had the other hits for Troy, who came into the day 4-0. Their 5-4 win over Utica to open the season back on March 19 also served as the Colts’ first game in their new digs.

“We had a bond pass about two years ago, and this is all brand new and the first year on turf, so that’s kind of why we had to push back (the start) a little bit,” D’Orazio said.

“This morning, we weren’t really sure how it would handle all that rain, but it’s done a pretty nice job.

“We’re pretty blessed to have this.”

Despite some frustration with the bats Saturday, D’Orazio still welcomed the challenge that the Cougars, a regional finalist last year and a Final Four team the season before, brought to the program.

“They’re a very good team, probably one of the better ones in the state, and it’s what we’re about here, trying to play the best competition,” he said.

“It’s a great task for us, especially going into next week against a tough West Bloomfield team.

“That’s why we had it on the schedule.

“Kids battled today, but we came up short.”

A stellar staff that includes arms like Luke DeMasse and Ryan Petrovich believing that the Cougars can get back to East Lansing at spring’s end.

If they do, Dakota will also be tested by seeing some of the state’s best.

After already beating West Bloomfield, some more top arms should be on deck when the Cougars face Brother Rice and Novi in the coming days.

“You want to see the best pitchers,” Plouffe said.

“Last year, we lost (in regionals) to one of the better pitchers in the state, Brennan Hill from Grosse Pointe North, and he’s going to Michigan for a reason.

“The more kids we see that are plus arms, it’s going to make us better.

“Win, lose or draw, we see those guys, and at the end, we have to learn how to beat them when the tournament comes.”