GREAT START; ROUGH FINISH: Braves Fall, 6-4
EAST LANSING---Don Lauscher has been saying all season long that "little things" can make the difference between winning and losing an important baseball game. And the Gladstone Braves manager was spot-on with that comment as the MHSAA Division Three state semifinals were played Friday at Michigan State University. "Too many mistakes," Lauscher said. "And they capitalized on every single one of them. That's what good teams do. That's what it takes, and unfortunately for us, it didn't happen." " They're a good-hitting team. Their 3-4-5 hitters could really hit the ball." And even though the Braves built a 3-0 lead in the second inning, Lauscher bemoaned the fact that the his team did not score in the first inning. That's because the Braves had the bases loaded with nobody out on hits by Jake Peterson and a walk to Hunter Garling. Ben Schwalbach and Hunter Botruff each took called third strikes, and Tyson Seymour hit a slow roller back to the mound. "Again, a few mistakes killed us. That's baseball." Still, Gladstone did jump out to an early lead as Buchanan pitcher Jarrett Thomas struggled to throw strikes. He walked five batters in the first two innings, and the Braves finally made him pay when Peterson ripped an opposite field double to score two runs in the second inning. Lauscher called for a delayed steal moments later, and it worked, as Peterson scored from third as Jurek stole second base. On the mound, Peterson threw well early, but gave up two hits and a walk to load the bases in the bottom of the third. Buchanan's Chad Adkerson hit one to the right side that Seymour speared. But Peterson didn't cover first base. Second baseman Braeden Lamberg did, but he couldn't get there in time, so a run scored for Buchanan. And then, a wild pitch allowed the Bucks to close to within 3-2. After a wild pitch and a stolen base, Garling's sacrafice fly made it 4-2. Peterson worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth inning, and in the top of the fifth, Botruff led off with a beautiful bunt single. Seymour bunted Botruff to second base, but the next two batters popped up, stranding yet another runner in scoring position. And then came the bottom of the fifth inningm when the "little things" went against the Braves. With one out and no one on, Bryce Vineyard hit a ground ball to Schwalbach at short. Schwalbach, playing with a bum shoulder, missplayed the ball for an error. Sure enough, Christian Hall followed with a single, and with two men on, Thomas smoked a double to the outfield fence, scoring both runners to tie the game at 4-4. Next, Peterson was called for a balk, moving Thomas to third base. That was huge because Adkerson followed with a fly ball to score Thomas from third. Had the balk not happened, the fly ball would not have scored a run for Buchanan. The Bucks barely made the play as the second baseman's foot stayed on the bag as he reached for the wide throw. Garling, though, followed with his second hit of the game, bringing up Jurek with runners at first and second. Unfortunately for Jurek, he hit a ground ball to third: one of the worst places to hit it. It was a 5-3 double play, ending the inning. Buchanan added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Gavin Morris led off with a double, got bunted to third by Austin Hall, and scored on a sacrafice fly by Josiah Smith. Leazenby retired the Braves 1-2-3 in the seventh, ending the game. Lauscher says that for his team, it was a game of missed opportunities. " That's where we really have to grow as a team," Lauscher said. "We got better with it toward the end, but the thing that came back to bite us was those backwards K's (called third strikes)." "I mean, with guys in scoring position, there's called strike two, called strike three. You just can't have that. Put the ball in play!" CLICK HERE to see the statistics, couresty of the MHSAA. Even so, Lauscher was proud of his team's effort on this long playoff run. Lauscher also saluted his two seniors, Jurek and Peterson. "They are second to none," he said. "They're quality kids. I just feel bad for them. And in about a month or so, we'll get the younger kids into fall ball and start over again." Gladstone finished with a 28-10 record, just one win shy of last season's 29-5 mark. The Bucks (24-7) advance to Saturday's state final against Jackson Lumen Christi. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos taken by Lori Jurek and videos shot by Laura Lamberg. Thanks ladies!! |
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
|