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Indians Drop 1-0 Nailbiter; Rebound With Victory
 GLADSTONE---It was one week ago that Hunter Garling and Connor Myers both played on the big stage at Michigan State University. Garling led his Gladstone Braves to a Division Three state semifinal berth, while Myers did the game for his Rudyard Bulldogs in Division Four. Both the guys were back on the field Friday in their American Legion Baseball uniforms as the Gregg Johnson/Al Erickson Memorial Tournament began in Gladstone. Garling was on the mound for the Indians and Myers was on the hill for the Eastern U.P. Travelers. The battle between two high school All-Staters went down to the wire before Myers and EUP posted a 1-0 win over the defending Legion state champion Indians. Garling allowed just four hits and yielded only two walks, striking out seven batters in a six-inning pitching effort. The only run of the game came in the third inning on an RBI single by the Travelers' 19-year-old Kolbe Peller. A.J. Lundberg pitched the seventh inning for Gladstone, and an error and two walks got him into a bases-loaded jam. Lundberg got out of that jam with an infield pop up. Meanwhile, Myers was in complete control of the Indians, allowing only one hit (by Garling). One other infield grounder by Jake Peterson was ruled a hit, but the first baseman pulled his foot, so it could have also been ruled an error. Regardless, the Indians couldn't get anything going. Myers struck out eleven batters, including the first two in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two out and nobody on, the Travelers coaching staff decided to pull Myers because he had reached 100 pitches, one out away from a complete game. Brady VanSloten, another Rudyard boy, came in to pitch, and he struggled to get that final out. He walked the first two men he faced, and then Lucas Weinert hit a flare to right field for a base hit. Indians Manager Jim Groleau tried to stop Noah Olsen at third base, but Olsen kept running, and he was tagged out at home plate to end the game. Groleau, who resigned Wednesday night to spend more time with his family, agreed to continue coaching the Indians through this weekend's tournament. Groleau also is serving as the site director for the ten-team event, with the other half in Escanaba. Gladstone bounced back later in the day to post a 6-3 win over the Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox as Braeden Lamberg hit his first home run, a two-run shot. The Indians will continue tournament play on Saturday with two more games. Gladstone will face Kingsford at 5:15, and then battle Blissfield from southern Michigan at about 7:30. Both games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and www.rrnsports.com. |
