Gladstone Baseball Holds 4th Breakfast Fundraiser

GLADSTONE---It was a cold and snowy day in Gladstone Sunday, but inside the Gladstone Middle School...the defending state semifinalist Gladstone Braves were thinking spring...and baseball.

The team hosted its fourth annual Meet the Players and Coaches kick-off breakfast .

A meal of scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, ham, and biscuits and gravy was served up to raise money for the upcoming season.

Items donated by local businesses...and the Minnesota Twins...were raffled off as well. The Gladstone baseball team is completely self-funded, getting no money from the school district.

So, how will the team be in 2016?

"I think we should be OK," Gladstone Manager Don Lauscher said. "It's gonna be a slow start getting going. The kids are really working hard. They're doing a good job early on. Those freshmen and sophomores have really made the next step. We'll be just fine."

"It's gonna be another strong team," Braves senior Elliot Danhoff said. "We're gonna compete. Hopefully, we're gonna make another big run at the end of the year."

"With all the seniors being gone, we're gonna need kids to step up," Braves junior Ben Schwalbach said. "I don't see that being a problem. I think we'll play fine."

The Braves were dealt a huge blow when two-time All-Stater, Hunter Garling, hurt his elbow at an off-season baseball camp at Michigan State University. Garling will miss the entire season, and will have "Tommy John" surgery on April 7th.

Lauscher says Garling will be tough to replace.

"I don't know that you do that (at all)," Lauscher said. "If you look at the end of the season last year, and in the state run, he just dominated. So, we expected him to do that again this year. Unfortunately, that happens in baseball."

"It's gonna effect us a little bit with his leadership being gone in the outfield and on the mound," Danhoff said. "But we've got players that can step up and fill that role."

The Braves have been practicing inside in preparation for the season, and with Sunday's snowstorm, will likely be doing that for quite a while.

"Now that we have the turf room in Escanaba, practices have actually been a lot easier," Schwalbach said. "But, it's still inside. So, there are restrictions on what we can do."

Gladstone is trying for its third straight trip to the Division Three state finals at Michigan State University. The Braves are scheduled to open the season on Friday at Traverse City Central and Saturday at Kingsley. Those games are in doubt due to weather.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/15	4:00 PM	Ladysmith, Wis.	5 - 6 (L)	0-1

4/16	2:00 PM	Goodhue, Minn.	13 - 11 (W)	1-1

4/16	5:00 PM	Prentice, Wis.	11 - 7 (W)	2-1

4/23	1:00 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	2 - 3 (L)	2-2

4/23	3:00 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	3 - 9 (L)	2-3

4/26	4:30 PM	Negaunee Miners	14 - 6 (W)	3-3

4/28	4:30 PM	Norway Knights	3 - 4 (L)	3-4

4/29	5:30 PM	at Green Bay Preble	0 - 3 (L)	3-5

4/30	12:00 PM	at Wausau West Warriors	0 - 4 (L)	3-6

4/30	3:00 PM	at D.C. Everest Evergreens	5 - 10 (L)	3-7

5/2	4:00 PM	at Superior Central Cougars	14 - 0 (W)	4-7

5/2	6:00 PM	at Superior Central Cougars	20 - 0 (W)	5-7

5/3	5:00 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	3 - 3 (T)	RAIN

5/5	4:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	1 - 0 (W)	6-7

5/5	6:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	5 - 2 (W)	7-7

5/6	4:30 PM	Peshtigo Bulldogs	0 - 2 (L)	7-8

5/9	4:00 PM	at Norway Knights	0 - 1 (L)	7-9

5/9	6:00 PM	at Norway Knights	0 - 2 (L)	7-10

5/12	4:30 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	2 - 1 (W)	8-10

5/13	4:30 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	4 - 0 (W)	9-10

5/13	6:45 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	5 - 3 (W)	10-10

5/14	12:00 PM	at Southern Door H.S., Wis.	6 - 4 (W)	11-10

5/18	4:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	5 - 0 (W)	12-10

5/18	6:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	4 - 2 (W)	13-10

5/20	5:00 PM	at Traverse City St. Francis	3 - 5 (L)	13-11

5/21	11:00 AM	at Beaverton	1 - 2 (L)	13-12

5/21	1:00 PM	Big Rapids	4 - 0 (W)	14-12

5/23	4:30 PM	Houghton Gremlins	4 - 0 (W)	15-12

5/23	6:30 PM	Houghton Gremlins	8 - 3 (W)	16-12

5/27	4:30 PM	Marquette Redmen	3 - 2 (W)	17-12

5/27	6:30 PM	Marquette Redmen	- (T)	RAIN

5/30	6:30 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	4 - 3 (W)	18-12

6/4	11:30 AM	Superior Central Cougars	15 - 0 (W)	19-12

6/4	2:45 PM	Negaunee Miners	13 - 1 (W)	20-12

6/11	12:00 PM	Kalkaska High School	5 - 3 (W)	21-12

6/11	2:00 PM	Boyne City	7 - 2 (W)	22-12