ROCHESTER HILLS >> Between the first and second game of Thursday’s doubleheader, Lake Orion head coach Joe Woityra insisted his team’s defense has to keep getting more consistent, but singled out Addy Dukas for her efforts this spring.

Dukas displayed some jack-of-all-trades ability on the final play of the night, diving to rob Stoney Creek’s Molly Neel of a hit and deny the Cougars a comeback in a 7-6 victory that secured the Dragons yet another OAA Red title.

“She’s a gamer,” Woityra said. “I’d take 10 of them like (her) any day. She’ll do anything you ask, she hustles. The ball was not gonna get dropped, put it that way.”

After allowing a walk to lead off the top of the seventh, Rylie Limberger, on in relief for Jadalyn Lopez, got the next two outs, but the visitors would not slam the door so easily. Sienna Nicol was struck by a pitch, then Allie Tackman laid down a bunt, forcing a throw that went past first base and scored Ray, cutting Lake Orion’s lead to one.

Tackman took the open base at second, representing the go-ahead run, and that’s when Dukas was called into action.

“I was so scared,” Dukas admitted. “We got two outs, and I was just like, ‘go get the ball, go get the ball.’ And it ended up working out.”

A first-team All-State outfielder for last year’s team that reached the Division 1 state final, Dukas has earned her coach’s praise by being repurposed as a shortstop out of need. The Dragons graduated both of their starting middle infielders from the previous spring in Sydney Bell and Ellie Britt.

“For school ball, I have played a lot of outfield, but for travel I’ve definitely played some infield, so that experience there has been helpful trying to transition (for Lake Orion),” Dukas said.

For all the unknowns, the play she made Thursday helped Lake Orion’s seniors rekindle the familiar feeling of winning the OAA Red.

“It’s our fourth league (title) for the seniors,” Dukas said. “We’ve just been working hard and it’s awesome to see the outcome.”

A 3-1 lead by the Dragons in Game 2 that included a solo shot by Limberger was countered by Stoney’s four-run fifth inning that contained a pair of RBI singles by Addison Culver and Kate Stephens. But Lake Orion scratched back a run in the bottom of the inning, then snatched the lead away in the sixth, going ahead for good when Lala Hill made contact and an error allowed both Riley Koivula and Meghan Ducharme to cross home.

Hill and Lilly Martin combined for a handful of hits at the top of the lineup in the win for Lake Orion.

The importance of the second game was amplified after Stoney Creek took Game 1, 6-4, handing the Dragons’ their first league loss of the season.

Macie Freeman and Ducharme drove in had run-scoring hits when the Dragons (22-8, 10-1) pushed three runs across in the sixth inning of that first game, but the Cougars (13-11, 5-3) had just done the same in the fifth inning and also scored three back in the third, which proved to be enough offense thanks to a solid start by Sarah Kruczek (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER) and a scoreless inning of relief by Ray.

Stephens and Culver each had a pair of hits in the Game 1 victory and Cougars first baseman Rachel Korson drove in a pair of runs that helped pad the lead in the fifth.

“Our left side of the defense with Kate Stephens and a freshman playing third base, Allie Ray, shut down a very powerful Lake Orion offense early in the game,” Cougars head coach Rick Troy said. “That really gave us the opportunity to get some runs across the board. Our sophomore pitcher, Sarah, she showed her stuff and kept them at bay. We’re a very young pitching staff with two sophomores and a freshman. To come away with a ‘W’ like that against a powerhouse is a great win.”

Those pitchers are having to fill the big graduated shoes of Erin Flynn, who has thrived this spring as a freshman at Detroit Mercy. The Cougars also had to replace All-State Honorable Mention catcher Christa Munn.

“For leadership, No. 1 is Kate Stephens,” Troy said. “Without her leadership, we wouldn’t be half as good as we are. Our pitching is Jekyll and Hyde. But we’ve got to give it up to our outfielders, too, who make some outstanding plays. Young pitching is going to give up big hits in the outfield, we’ve got a big outfield here, and Ryleigh Musser, Danielle Bryant, them chasing everything down gives our pitchers some confidence to throw. It’s a true team effort.”

Both teams are back in action Saturday morning. Stoney remains at home for a doubleheader against Regina, while the Lake Orion Invite will see the Dragons playing a few games against a field that includes Clio, Laingsburg, Utica, Chelsea and Algonac.