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ON TOP AGAIN!! Indians Win State Championship
 GLADWIN---They couldn't do it the easy way, but they did it. The Gladstone Indians blew a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning, and fell behind twice in extra innings, but rallied to win their third straight state championship on Saturday.  But this one was the most dramatic, and was a marathon that took three hours to play. Carson Shea's two-out, bases-loaded single broke the 5-5 tie and led to a wild celebration on the Gladwin High School's Wilmot Field. It's the third time the Indians have gone dancing on this field, and is the team's fourth state title overall since the 2014 season. "It was definitely a crazy game, both ways, good teams," said Shea, who will play baseball this fall at Bay College. "Luckily, we pulled through. "I just wanted to stay relaxed. I've been in that position so many times, and I was happy to come through for us yet again. It's been one hell of a ride." "It was pretty exciting," Gladstone manager Justin Jurek said. "Having it come right down to the wire, it kind of adds a little excitement to it and adds a better feeling than if it was a blowout ballgame. That's kind of been the story of our team. They've been resiliant. When we get down, towards the end, we really come back.  Frappier was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Gladstone led, 3-0, with a run in the third inning and two more in the fifth. Jared Crow, who will pitch at Bay College this fall, was cruising along, allowing just one hit and two walks through five innings. But in the sixth, two Gladstone errors helped to plate a run, with Trenton's Matthew Woolsey getting a big hit. The Indians still led, 3-1, in the seventh inning, when Crow gave up a hit to Anthony Voss, walked Dylan Lyons, and yielded an RBI double to John Tuttle. Then Jack Miller came off the bench and squeezed home the tying run, sending the game to extra innings. That's when the roller coaster of emotions happened with Trenton seeming to have the game won twice. The Tribe scored a run in the top of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead, but the Indians didn't give up. Crow was safe on an error, Ian Schwalbach was hit by a pitch, and with two out, Dayton Bernson came through to retie the game at 4-4. Crow was pinch-run for in the eighth inning, so Cooper Cavadeas came in to pitch the ninth inning. Cavadeas, who will also play for Bay this fall, struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Parker Frappier got his fourth hit of the game for the Indians in the bottom of the ninth, but was stranded there, and the game continued.  But Gladstone rallied again in the bottom of the tenth. Blake Krouth led off with a walk, then Schwalbach bunted him to second base. Cody Frappier hit a fly ball to right field, but it was ruled that there was catcher's interference, so Frappier was safe. Bernson was safe on an error to load the bases, then Ben Kelly hit a swinging bunt to third base with the bases loaded. The throw to the plate for the force play was high, and Krouth was able to score the tying run. Caden Alworden tried to squeeze home the winning run with two strikes on him, but fouled it off for strike three. That brought up Shea, and his dramatic hit ended it. Gladstone will have a victory parade through the streets of the city on Sunday at 4 p.m., and then there will be a community celebration at Don Olsen Field at 5:00. It is the second such parade and celebration in less than two weeks for the community, after the Gladstone Little League softball team also won a state championship. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos, video highlights, and post-game interviews.  |
