Gladstone Splits Two Baseball Games In Wisconsin

WAUSAU, Wis.---The Gladstone High School baseball team salvaged the final game of a three-game road trip to Wisconsin on Saturday, beating the Wausau West Warriors, 9-5, in Wausau. Earlier Saturday, the Braves fell behind early and lost to D.C. Everest, 6-4.

Saturday's results followed Friday night's 7-6 loss in Peshtigo.

Gladstone's first game was played at the fancy Simon Field in the Wausau suburb of Rothschild, with a 385-foot center field fence, huge electronic scoreboard, large indoor fieldhouse facility down the left field line, and an all-clay mound and home plate.

The D.C. Everest Evergreens jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Braves starter Hunter Garling. Michael Plaza had an RBI groundout (and was safe on an error), and Brady Uekert and Tanner Richardson both had RBI groundouts to score Jordan Steinagel and Logan Langbohn, who both singled to start the bottom of the first inning.

The 3-0 lead grew to 5-0 in the second inning as Braeden Lamberg made two errors on ground balls to short, after Alex Rinsinski and Steinagel both walked with two outs.

Gladstone rallied in the fourth inning as Jake Peterson singled, Justin Jurek walked, and Garling singled to bring Peterson home with the first run.

It looked like the Braves would get just that one run when, after Tyson Seymour walked, Lamberg and Lucas Weinert both struck out. But Braves Coach Don Lauscher rolled the dice, telling Jurek, who had just stolen third base, to steal home.

Jurek easily stole the plate, as the Evergreens pitcher had a slow delivery and the pitch was way high. Then, moments later, an error on Hunter Botruff's grounder to third base scored two Gladstone runs.

So, the Braves entered the final innings down by just one.

D.C. Everest (5-7) got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, and then held off the Braves in the final two innings.

In the sixth inning, Seymour and Lamberg led off with walks. Lucas Weinert put down a nice bunt, but with runners at second and third, Botruff struck out and Clay Cole ripped one that hit Lamberg's foot between the bases. In the seventh inning, Ben Schwalbach came through with a pinch hit single, but the next three guys made outs.

"We had the bases loaded twice and one time, we had runners on second and third for Gus and Garling, but it didn't happen," Lauscher said. "That was the tale of the game, pretty much. We started out real slow. It just seemed like we picked it up a little bit, but we just didn't get those timely hits."

The Evergreens used four pitchers, who combined to allow just three Gladstone base hits. Garling threw five innings and took the loss, allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits. Lamberg pitched the bottom of the sixth inning in relief.

After enjoying a lunch of ham and turkey sandwiches, and left-over pizza from the night before, the Braves got into their cars and drove the ten miles to Wausau West High School. And this time, Gladstone got the jump, scoring five runs in the first inning.

Garling had a two-run single and Schwalbach added an RBI hit as part of that early Braves rally. Two Warrior errors helped that Gladstone uprising.

"Then they play loose and they're not so tight where they're worried about every little thing," Lauscher said about playing with the lead.

Wausau West scored single runs in each of the first four innings against Peterson, who pitched a complete game for the Braves. Peterson allowed ten hits, but the defense behind him was solid, with no errors in that game.

Gladstone was able to add runs to the five it scored in the first inning. Schwalbach and Lamberg each had RBI hits with two out in the fourth inning, and Garling had an RBI double in the fifth inning.

Brandon Cooper smacked a double to start the seventh inning, and scored an insurance run when Jurek singled him home. "He got every bit of that," Lauscher said about Cooper, the Braves' #9 hitter. "And good for him."

Gladstone had 13 hits and Wausau West had 10 hits in that game. Garling and Schwalbach both had three hits, while Jurek and Peterson both had two hits.

Peterson tossed the Braves' first seven-inning complete game of the season to earn the win. He allowed ten hits, but he threw strikes, allowing only one walk.

"I wasn't as sharp as I wanted to be, but we got 'er done," Peterson said. "It was nice to come out of the weekend with a solid win.

"They'd just scratch a hit on there, and they'd do a nice job of advancing them, and then use sacrafices getting them around. They were a sold hitting team, so I'm not disappointed. We came out with the win."

Gladstone (13-6) hosts Norway in a doubleheader on Monday. Game time is 4:30. The games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Ron Jurek, Lori Jurek, and Laura Lamberg. And listen to radio interviews with Braves players and Coach Don Lauscher!

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/11	1:00 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	1 - 9 (L)	0-1

4/11	3:30 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	0 - 16 (L)	0-2

4/17	4:00 PM	at Cadillac Vikings	7 - 4 (W)	1-2

4/17	6:00 PM	at Cadillac Vikings	6 - 3 (W)	2-2

4/18	11:00 AM	at Kingsley Stags	12 - 0 (W)	3-2

4/18	1:30 PM	at Kingsley Stags	6 - 3 (W)	4-2

4/20	4:30 PM	North Central Jets	ppd - rain (L)	ppd

4/21	4:30 PM	Negaunee Miners	7 - 5 (W)	5-2

4/23	4:00 PM	at Norway Knights	3 - 6 (L)	5-3

4/24	4:00 PM	at Grayling Vikings	2 - 0 (W)	6-3

4/24	6:30 PM	at Grayling Vikings	9 - 4 (W)	7-3

4/25	1:00 PM	at Charlevoix Rayders	2 - 7 (L)	7-4

4/25	3:00 PM	at Charlevoix Rayders	7 - 4 (W)	8-4

4/27	4:30 PM	Superior Central Cougars	19 - 4 (W)	9-4

4/27	6:30 PM	Superior Central Cougars	15 - 0 (W)	10-4

4/28	4:30 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	5 - 4 (W)	11-4

4/30	4:30 PM	Marquette Redmen	10 - 4 (W)	12-4

5/1	5:30 PM	at Peshtigo Bulldogs	6 - 7 (L)	12-5

5/2	12:00 PM	at D.C. Everest Evergreens	4 - 6 (L)	12-6

5/2	3:00 PM	at Wausau West Warriors	9 - 5 (W)	13-6

5/4	4:30 PM	Norway Knights	3 - 0 (W)	14-6

5/4	6:45 PM	Norway Knights	10 - 0 (W)	15-6

5/7	4:30 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	4 - 5 (L)	15-7

5/9	10:00 AM	Hancock Bulldogs	10 - 2 (W)	16-7

5/9	12:30 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	19 - 0 (W)	17-7

5/11	5:30 PM	at Green Bay Preble	3 - 4 (L)	17-8

5/13	4:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	10 - 0 (W)	18-8

5/13	6:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	3 - 1 (W)	19-8

5/16	12:00 PM	at Green Bay Notre Dame	5 - 4 (W)	20-8

5/18	6:00 PM	at Crivitz, Wis.	4 - 3 (W)	21-8

5/19	4:30 PM	at Marinette Marines	7 - 1 (W)	22-8

5/22	5:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	1 - 5 (L)	22-9

5/26	6:00 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	14 - 1 (W)	23-9

5/30	12:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	8 - 3 (W)	24-9

5/30	5:00 PM	Houghton Gremlins	7 - 2 (W)	25-9

6/6	10:00 AM	at Tawas	3 - 2 (W)	26-9

6/6	4:00 PM	at Traverse City St. Francis	4 - 2 (W)	27-9

6/9	12:00 PM	Muskegon Oakridge	6 - 5 (W)	28-9

6/12	11:30 AM	at Buchanan Bucks	4 - 6 (L)	28-10