GLADSTONE---The Gladstone Indians lost to a pair of Wisconsin teams on Saturday, and ended up finishing 1-3 in the Gregg Johnson Memorial Tournament.
The Indians had a late rally fall short against the DePere (Wis.) Panthers, 5-4, and then lost to the Plover (Wis.) Black Sox, 8-3, to end their tournament run in pool play.
In Saturday's first game, DePere scored three runs in the first inning off Indians pitcher Christian Tackman. But in the bottom of the inning, Cody Frazer singled home Justin Jurek to put the Indians on the board. The Panthers led, 5-2, in the sixth inning when Jake Pearson singled home Frazer to make it a 5-3 game.
And the Indians closed to within 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, but Hunter Garling struck out to end the game. That made the game against Plover meaningless for the standings, because DePere and Plover had already advanced to the semifinal round.
Tackman and Jake Peterson shared the pitching duties in the game against DePere.
In the Plover game, it was tied at 1-1 after the first inning as Garling got the ball on the mound. But by the fourth inning, the Black Sox had a 5-1 lead and Indians Manager Jim Groleau decided to let some of the non-starters get some playing time.
Garling, Peterson, and Lucas LaCosse combined to pitch for the Indians.
All of the tournament scores are posted at the bottom of this page.
On Friday, the Indians played a couple of tense one-run baseball games, and had to settle for a split in the tournament. The Indians pulled out a 3-2 win over the Eastern U.P. Travelers in the opener before dropping a 1-0 decision to Petoskey.
The result means that the Indians will have to win at least one of their Saturday games, and possibly both, to advance to the semifinals of this ten-team tournament.
In the opening game, the Travelers from Sault Ste. Marie scored first as Indians pitcher Christian Groleau struggled.
He gave up a hit and walked the next two batters to load the bases with no outs.
Travelers clean-up hitter Devon Dear plated a run with a sacrafice fly.
Groleau was able to work out of the jam when Frank Bailey hit a fly ball to center field and the runner forgot how many outs there were and was doubled off of second base.
The Travelers added a run in the second inning when Dakota Zuhlke walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Groleau was able to get out of that jam as well when he got Michael James to hit a fly ball to center field with two runners on base.
Gladstone managed to get a run in the bottom of the second inning when Lucas LaCosse struck out, but the ball got away from the catcher and Hunter Garling scored from third base. Then in the third inning, Christian Tackman singled to start the inning and scored when Groleau walked with the bases loaded.
But the Indians could not get the big hit with men in scoring position, and they stranded nine baserunners in the first four innings, including the bases loaded twice.
Gladstone had trouble getting the bunt down throughout the game.
In the fifth inning, for example, Garling singled to lead off, but Tackman's bunt was popped up and it ended up being a double play. A walk and an error put two on base in the sixth inning but Hayden Hardwick flew out to end that threat.
The game stayed tied after the regulation seven innings, as the Soo's Andy Krupa matched Groleau pitch for pitch.
Under tournament rules, the game moved to an "international tiebreaker" in the eighth inning, with each team starting the inning with a runner on second base. The Sault had Tyler Kirkland on to start the inning, and he was bunted to third by Kolbe Peller.
But Louis Krupa tried to bunt Kirkland home and missed the ball. Kirkland was tagged out in the rundown by Tackman between third and home.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Groleau was on second and got bunted to third base by Jake Peterson.
James Capodilupo struck out and Justin Jurek grounded out to end the threat.
In the top of the ninth, Devon Dear was on second base and got bunted to third by Frank Bailey. After Zuhlke walked, Tackman, on in relief for Groleau on the mound, got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.
Gladstone had the "hammer" again.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jurek was on second base and got bunted to third by Tackman.
Then Coach Jim Groleau told Cody Frazer to squeeze Jurek home, and he did, with a bunt in front of the plate.
There was no throw home, and the Indians won the game in dramatic fashion.
Tackman earned the pitching win in relief, after Groleau threw eight innings and allowed just three hits. Groleau did walk six batters, and struck out only one EUP batter.
Andy Krupa got a no-decision for the Travelers, allowing four hits and five walks in eight innings of work. He struck out four. Bailey took the loss, giving up the final run.
PETOSKEY vs GLADSTONE: After a quick break, the Indians faced the Petoskey Royals, who had lost to DePere (Wis.), 10-2, earlier in the day.
And this one turned out to be another nailbiter, with good pitching and defense.
Petoskey pitcher Scott Morse was in complete control, alloing just two Gladstone base runners all night long.
Tackman had a one-out single in the first inning and went to second on a bad pick-off throw. But Frazer flew out and Hardwick grounded out.
In the fifth inning, Jake Pearson got a lead-off single, but was out at second when Garling's bunt was not a good one. The next two boys bounced out. And that was it for the Indians. Just those two base runners. No walks, no Petoskey errors.
Pearson was able to keep pace with Morse, even though he walked eight batters and gave up three hits.
That's because he had good defense behind him, including an over-the-shoulder fly ball catch by Groleau in the sixth inning with the bases loaded.
The game's only run came in the fourth inning when Morse led off with a single and eventually scored on a safety squeeze by Jared Beyer.
Morse pitched a complete game for Petoskey, allowing two hits, no walks, and striking out two. Pearson pitched six innings for Gladstone, allowing just three hits, but walking eight batters.
LaCosse threw the seventh inning in relief for the Indians, turning a 1-6-3 double play to help give the team a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the games, taken by Kym Frazer.
The Indians had a late rally fall short against the DePere (Wis.) Panthers, 5-4, and then lost to the Plover (Wis.) Black Sox, 8-3, to end their tournament run in pool play.
In Saturday's first game, DePere scored three runs in the first inning off Indians pitcher Christian Tackman. But in the bottom of the inning, Cody Frazer singled home Justin Jurek to put the Indians on the board. The Panthers led, 5-2, in the sixth inning when Jake Pearson singled home Frazer to make it a 5-3 game.
And the Indians closed to within 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, but Hunter Garling struck out to end the game. That made the game against Plover meaningless for the standings, because DePere and Plover had already advanced to the semifinal round.
Tackman and Jake Peterson shared the pitching duties in the game against DePere.
In the Plover game, it was tied at 1-1 after the first inning as Garling got the ball on the mound. But by the fourth inning, the Black Sox had a 5-1 lead and Indians Manager Jim Groleau decided to let some of the non-starters get some playing time.
Garling, Peterson, and Lucas LaCosse combined to pitch for the Indians.
All of the tournament scores are posted at the bottom of this page.
On Friday, the Indians played a couple of tense one-run baseball games, and had to settle for a split in the tournament. The Indians pulled out a 3-2 win over the Eastern U.P. Travelers in the opener before dropping a 1-0 decision to Petoskey.
In the opening game, the Travelers from Sault Ste. Marie scored first as Indians pitcher Christian Groleau struggled.
He gave up a hit and walked the next two batters to load the bases with no outs.
Travelers clean-up hitter Devon Dear plated a run with a sacrafice fly.
Groleau was able to work out of the jam when Frank Bailey hit a fly ball to center field and the runner forgot how many outs there were and was doubled off of second base.
The Travelers added a run in the second inning when Dakota Zuhlke walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Groleau was able to get out of that jam as well when he got Michael James to hit a fly ball to center field with two runners on base.
Gladstone managed to get a run in the bottom of the second inning when Lucas LaCosse struck out, but the ball got away from the catcher and Hunter Garling scored from third base. Then in the third inning, Christian Tackman singled to start the inning and scored when Groleau walked with the bases loaded.
Gladstone had trouble getting the bunt down throughout the game.
In the fifth inning, for example, Garling singled to lead off, but Tackman's bunt was popped up and it ended up being a double play. A walk and an error put two on base in the sixth inning but Hayden Hardwick flew out to end that threat.
The game stayed tied after the regulation seven innings, as the Soo's Andy Krupa matched Groleau pitch for pitch.
Under tournament rules, the game moved to an "international tiebreaker" in the eighth inning, with each team starting the inning with a runner on second base. The Sault had Tyler Kirkland on to start the inning, and he was bunted to third by Kolbe Peller.
Cody Frazer wins the game with a squeeze bunt.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Groleau was on second and got bunted to third base by Jake Peterson.
James Capodilupo struck out and Justin Jurek grounded out to end the threat.
Gladstone had the "hammer" again.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jurek was on second base and got bunted to third by Tackman.
Then Coach Jim Groleau told Cody Frazer to squeeze Jurek home, and he did, with a bunt in front of the plate.
There was no throw home, and the Indians won the game in dramatic fashion.
Tackman earned the pitching win in relief, after Groleau threw eight innings and allowed just three hits. Groleau did walk six batters, and struck out only one EUP batter.
Andy Krupa got a no-decision for the Travelers, allowing four hits and five walks in eight innings of work. He struck out four. Bailey took the loss, giving up the final run.
PETOSKEY vs GLADSTONE: After a quick break, the Indians faced the Petoskey Royals, who had lost to DePere (Wis.), 10-2, earlier in the day.
And this one turned out to be another nailbiter, with good pitching and defense.
Tackman had a one-out single in the first inning and went to second on a bad pick-off throw. But Frazer flew out and Hardwick grounded out.
In the fifth inning, Jake Pearson got a lead-off single, but was out at second when Garling's bunt was not a good one. The next two boys bounced out. And that was it for the Indians. Just those two base runners. No walks, no Petoskey errors.
Pearson was able to keep pace with Morse, even though he walked eight batters and gave up three hits.
That's because he had good defense behind him, including an over-the-shoulder fly ball catch by Groleau in the sixth inning with the bases loaded.
The game's only run came in the fourth inning when Morse led off with a single and eventually scored on a safety squeeze by Jared Beyer.
LaCosse threw the seventh inning in relief for the Indians, turning a 1-6-3 double play to help give the team a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the games, taken by Kym Frazer.
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Friday 10:00 12:30 3:00 5:30 8:00 |
Games At Escanaba's Al Ness Field Midland Berryhill 6, Marquette Blues 1 Midland Berryhill 5, Chief Pontiac 2 Marquette Blues 10, Soo Canada Black Sox 0 Chief Pontiac 5, Escanaba Cubs 1 Escanaba Cubs 10, Soo Canada Black Sox 2 |
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Friday 10:00 12:30 3:00 5:30 8:00 |
Games At Gladstone's Don Olsen Field Plover, Wis. Black Sox 6, DePere, Wis. Panthers 5 Plover, Wis. Black Sox 6, Eastern U.P. Travelers 1 DePere, Wis. Panthers 10, Petoskey Royals 2 Gladstone Indians 3, Eastern U.P. Travelers 2 Petoskey Royals 1, Gladstone Indians 0 |
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Saturday 10:00 12:15 2:30 4:45 7:00 |
Games at Escanaba's Al Ness Field Eastern U.P. Travelers 3, Petoskey Royals 2 DePere, Wis. Panthers 14, Eastern U.P. Travelers 0 Plover, Wis. Black Sox 8, Petoskey Royals 1 Escanaba Cubs 5, Marquette Blues 0 Midland Berryhill 9, Escanaba Cubs 0 |
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Saturday 10:00 12:15 2:30 4:45 7:00 |
Games at Gladstone's Don Olsen Field Chief Pontiac 10, Soo Canada Black Sox 3 Marquette Blues 9, Chief Pontiac 8 Midland Berryhill 7, Soo Canada Black Sox 0 DePere, Wis. Panthers 5, Gladstone Indians 4 Plover, Wis. Black Sox 8, Gladstone Indians 3 |
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Sunday's Tournament Championship Round 10:00 Semifinal at Gladstone: Midland Berryhill 4, DePere, Wis. Panthers 1 10:00 Semifinal at Escanaba: Plover, Wis. Black Sox 2, Escanaba Cubs 1 1:00 Championship: Plover, Wis. Black Sox 4, Midland Berryhill 3 |
