Wisconsin Teams Rule On First Day Of Firecracker

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos from the four games

MARINETTE, Wis.---The four Upper Peninsula American Legion teams taking part in the Marinette Firecracker Tournament took losses to their Wisconsin counterparts on Friday as the eight-team tournament got started.

Green Bay Preble beat the shorthanded Marquette Blues, 10-2, taking advantage of seven walks, four hit battsmen, and five Blues errors.

Negaunee's Keith Judici took the loss on the mound, using 86 pitches in just over three innings of work. Munising's Blake Walther tossed the final three innings in relief. Marquette's runs came in on a bases loaded walk to Parker Maki in the second inning, and on a groundout by Dallas Cobe in the fourth inning.

Judici had two hits in a losing effort for the Blues.

The second game saw Manitowoc beat Menominee, 8-1. The only Red Wave run was driven in by Stephenson's Spencer Coldren. Kenison Boivin pitched six innings and took the loss. North Central's Jesse Sampson tossed the final inning in relief for the Red Wave.

WATERTOWN 5, GLADSTONE 3---By far the best game of the day was between the Indians and the Storm. Gladstone took a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Aedan Creten drove in two runs with a base hit to right field, after Travis Mack walked with the bases loaded to bring in the first run. But the Indians could not take advantage of walks issued by Watertown pitcher Brady Martin, and Storm catcher Taylor Walter threw out two Indians stealing second base.

Tyler Darmogray threw well for the Indians, keeping his pitch count down and walking no batters in the first five innings. Nathan Walter smoked a double in the third inning for Watertown and he scored on an error. In the fifth inning, #9 hitter Ethan Johnson smacked a double and scored on a two-out double by Martin to make it a 3-2 game.

Then in the sixth, Darmogray walked two batters, and Watertown scored three runs to take the lead. They pulled off a double steal in a first and third situation to score the tying run, and then with two out, Johnson slapped a two-run single to left field to give Watertown a 5-3 lead.

Reliver Brady Schauer threw an easy 1-2-3 inning to get the save for the Storm.

MARINETTE 10, ESCANABA 0---In the final game of the night, the Cubs were victimized by the pitching of Marinette's Austin Burnside, who pitched at Bay College in Escanaba this spring. Burnside allowed only one infield hit to Chase Cloutier. He struck out ten Cubs batters, and the only other Cub to reach base was Nick Kolich, who was hit by a pitch and drew a walk.

Marinette got a two-run double from Preston Rehwinkel and a two-run single down the left field line during a four-run second inning. Bon LaChance took the loss for the Cubs, using 94 pitches in three innings of work, walking seven batters and hitting one. Nick Chiu threw two innings of relief, allowing one run, and Eli Gardner finished up for the Cubs (3-3).