Dakota’s Angelo Plouffe and Brother Rice’s Bob Riker love to see the other man on the opposing dugout.

Because they know that, when their East Lansing-hopeful team is going against the other man’s, they’re going to be better off for it – and they know that neither of them is going to back down from the fight, either.

“We play everybody that we play every year, you know, whether we’re old or young, and they do the same thing to us too,” Riker said. “They come in and, you know, I think he’s (Dakota’s) got 14 or 15 seniors, but next year, he’ll be young like I am this year, and he’ll still come out and play us. And that’s why I love playing Angelo and those guys.”

Plouffe’s Cougars, ranked No. 4 in Division 1 by the MHSBCA, took down Riker’s No. 9 Warriors, 8-4, on Friday, May 2 at Warrior Park in Troy.

“We try to schedule the best teams around, so when a tournament comes, (we’re) ready to play,” Plouffe said. “So that’s why we’re here. That’s why we play these guys. That’s why, every year, we come here. Coach Riker does a great job with this program. (We) love coming here, and there’s a reason why.”

Brother Rice got on the board first when Tristan Turner doubled in Maks Neshov, but Dakota starting pitcher James Nuechterlein – traditionally a reliever – didn’t allow another runner to reach scoring position until the fifth inning.

Plouffe didn’t have to go to his bullpen a single time in the Cougars’ midweek series in which they run-ruled 10th-ranked Stevenson thrice, allowing him to reward Nuechterlein, who has been one of his best relief arms, with a start.

“Hey, go out there and throw 70 pitches because you’re in the right to, because you’ve been great all year,” Plouffe said of Nuechterlein. “You get to see him throw, and you get to see (Jacob) Gjonaj and (Jadon) Ford and guys who don’t get to throw much at all for us. They’re great arms. But we have a bunch of great arms, so that’s fun.”

Dakota got the one run back immediately in the top of the second inning when Gjonaj singled in Ford, but their best inning was the third: with one out, Evan Morrison was hit by a pitch. Singles by Evan Kavalick and Luke DeMasse eventually brought him in, then a walk to Ford loaded the bases for Gjonaj (1-run single) and Peyton Leon (2-run double) to clear them. Luke Kavalick’s RBI single capped the six-run frame.

And though they only added one more insurance run, it didn’t mean they were making good contact – Brother Rice’s defense made plays.

It continued a trend that the Cougars started in their first win over Stevenson and poured over into Friday: the bats are hot, with run totals of 10, 14, 14 and eight this week in their four top-10 victories in a five-day span.

“We swung it all week,” Plouffe said. “We even swung it today, I thought. It was right at people. It’s fun when you’re swinging it. It helps your arms, helps your pitching staff, helps your defense. Everybody can calm down for a second, but we were swinging it really well.”

Most Cougars saw a different pitcher each time up – Brother Rice deployed six arms, starting with Manny Simms into Grady Preston, then Ben Junga, Gavin McClelland, Freddie Beyer and finally Michael Stanton.

Stanton punched out all three batters he saw and McClelland had two scoreless frames.

Riker said that he had to be careful with how he used his pitchers on Friday due to a looming Saturday Catholic League doubleheader against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

The Warriors return just seven players from last year’s team that lost by one run in the state championship game. It’s why games like Friday’s against Dakota are so valuable.

“I just want our guys to compete, and they’ve done that,” Riker said. “They have a chemistry with the older guys, and the team’s kind of really coming together. I know the record doesn’t necessarily indicate that, but I’m very happy with where we’re at right now.

“The unique thing about our sport is everybody makes the playoffs, so it’s getting hot at the right time. It’s gelling at the right time, having health at the right time.”

Dakota’s Gjonaj threw 1.2 scoreless innings with four hits allowed. Ford allowed two runs in the seventh inning, including a two-run double by Neshov, but finished the win.

Photos from No. 4 Dakota’s 8-4 win over No. 9 Brother Rice on Friday

Neshov, a freshman, went 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Dakota’s Gjonaj went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three stolen bases. Evan Kavalick had three hits and drove in one.

Dakota will be busy in the coming weeks as they continue to prepare for a potential East Lansing trip – they’ll play 18 games between May 3 and May 27.

“I told our guys (to) be ready to go, because when it’s nice out, we’re playing usually,” Plouffe said. “You have 38 games … we’re going to try to play them all here so we can be ready for the tournament.”

The De La Salle Pilots baseball team is having fun.

And why wouldn’t they? After a pair of 15-0 run-rule wins over Avondale on Saturday, the Pilots are 12-2 with 10 of their wins coming against Catholic League rivals Brother Rice, U of D Jesuit, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Catholic Central.

It’s been a striking difference from last season, when the Pilots finished 17-19.

So what’s changed?

“I think we all bought in this year,” said senior Mason Pilarski. “I mean, we kind of all came together as a group.”

The buy-in has circulated around new head coach Dan Cimini, who took the DLS head coaching job after winning the Division 1 state title last season as the skipper for Northville.

“‘Everything counts’ is his motto,’ Pilarski said.

“He’s instilled what he’s about – winning and everything like that. And he’s really put it there, and we’ve all bought in.”

Cimini is familiar with both De La Salle and the Catholic League – he won five state championships as the head coach at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, where he dominated the Catholic League and battled against De La Salle annually. He’s also an eastsider with friends who are Pilot grads.

It helps that there’s plenty of talent on the roster.

Pilarski, a Western Michigan commit, is the team’s top pitcher and is a fixture at the top of the lineup. His 17 RBIs are a team-high and he’s yet to allow an earned run in 18.1 innings pitched.

JJ Jurczyk leads off and is a rangy outfielder who is a soccer state champion with DLS.

Vito Zito is an anchor behind the plate, catching most of the team’s games. He’s hit four home runs and nine of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases, good for a 1.166 on-base plus slugging.

“I keep telling these guys, you know, care about the guy next to you,” Cimini said. “Maybe it’s not your day, someone else will pick you up, and that’s what we’re doing, passing the baton to whoever that day is going to be helping us.”

It’s not just the top of the lineup that opponents have to sweat, either. In their second win over Avondale on Saturday, their 7-8-9 hitters – Mason Stempin, Mark Gerardi and Pashk Daka – went 5-for-5 with two doubles, both by Girardi, and a no-doubter home run by Daka.

On the mound, Dylan Leupke’s ERA is a minuscule .545 in 25.2 innings of work with 38 strikeouts. Jurczyk’s is 2.58 with a team-high 45 punchouts in just 21.2 innings.

All of those guys are returners. Clearly, the talent has been there – Cimini is unlocking it. And it starts with belief.

“He (Cimini) instilled confidence on us,” Zito said. “Last year was hard for us, losing a lot of games. We came in here, he kind of set the standard for us, and we’ve just been playing to it now and having fun.

“It’s a great feeling. I mean, since day one he was saying this is a spot we’re going to be in. And I mean, he spoke into existence, great guy. He’s always picking us up.”

The state is taking notice. In the recent MHSBCA statewide poll, the Pilots were ranked as the best of the best, the cream of the crop – the No. 1 team in Division 1 – just a few weeks into the season.

“(I expected it) Maybe not this early, but I mean, we all knew that we had something special here, especially with them coming in,” Pilarski said. “I wasn’t really expecting it this early, but it’s pretty cool.”

De La Salle, Romeo ride strong starts to rise in new Macomb County baseball rankings

An emphasis on “doing the little things” has made waves for the team. It’s not just about hitting the ball hard and throwing strikes – they work counts, go first to third on hits, field the ball cleanly and hammer the details that other teams don’t.

For Cimini, who is one of the most accomplished baseball coaches in Michigan across the last two decades, it’s something he knows sets the good teams apart from the great ones.

Photos from De La Salle baseball’s 15-0 win over Avondale on Saturday

“I just really wanted them to understand that, you know, with hard work and preparation and do the little things that we talk about – the little things are, what win championships and what win games,” Cimini said. “And I don’t know if they did a lot of that stuff last year. I mean, they did some of it, but now they’re doing it all.

“Our goals are (to) win a Catholic League championship, and then, you know, see what we can do in the playoffs and hopefully be at Michigan State again. That’s my goal every single year as a coach, and I think these guys now believe that they can do that same thing, so that’s cool.”

The Pilots last won a state championship in 2016.