GLADSTONE---The Gladstone Major Boys (age 11-12) keep on pushing the shovel into the ground, trying to dig out of a hole they got into when they lost the first game of the district tournament last week.
The boys advanced to the district finals on Tuesday, beating Tri-County, 10-0, to win their third straight game after the heartbreaking nine-inning loss to Munising.
"We kind of got buried and lost two of our top pitchers for the week with the Little League pitch count," Gladstone Manager Mike Martin said of that July 5 loss. "So we've been playing a chess game with our pitchers and the pitch count."
Ben Kelly threw 3 1/3 innings of two-hit ball, striking out eight batters along the way.
He was removed after throwing his 50th pitch, keeping him eligible to pitch this weekend. Ian Schwalbach struck out the two batters that he faced in relief during the fourth inning.
Gladstone's first four runs were unearned runs as Tri-County made several errors in the first three innings.
Ethan Nelson's RBI single scored one run in the first inning, and a second run scored when the center fielder over-ran the ball for an error.
In the second inning, Jacob Viau got a hit, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an infield error.
Then in the third inning, Kelly had an infield hit, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on an error. That gave Gladstone a 4-0 lead.
Tri-County pitcher Evan Hall did his best to overcome the errors behind him, but his pitch count started to rise in the fourth inning.
Gladstone scored six runs in that inning off of Hall and reliever Cameron Johnson. Daniel Martin had an RBI triple, Kelly drove in a run with a single, and then Cooper Cavadeas hit a two-run homer to make it 9-0.
"I hit it late," Cavadeas said in his first-ever radio interview. "That's why it went to right (field). And I was thinking to myself that it's not going over, it's just gonna hit the fence.
"But then it goes over! I didn't see it go over, and then all I see is my family in the back just screaming as loud as they could. And I was like, 'oh, it's over!"
The game ended on the mercy rule when Schwalbach singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a base hit by Christian Creten.
Tri-County ended up with two hits in the game, both by infielder Beau Rondeau.
Besides pitching a two-hitter, Kelly led the Gladstone hitting attack with a 3-for-3 day, with two runs scored and one run batted in. Nelson also had two base hits for the Gladstone All-Stars.
Gladstone advances to the district finals against tournament favorite Norway, although the Norway boys also lost a heartbreaker in the early rounds of this tournament (3-2 to Iron Mountain North).
"They're going to be a challenge," Coach Martin said of the Norway team. "We've lost to them the past couple of years going over there. But it's at home this time. We're playing well, we have deep pitching, and we're hitting the ball well.
"They're a tough team, but I think we're ready to put up a pretty good fight against them."
The Gladstone-Norway game will be played at 4:00 ET/3:00 CT Friday at Gladstone's Don Howes Field. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The other district semifinal game pits Munising and Iron Mountain North on Friday at 6:00 ET/5:00 CT
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from the game, and listen to audio highlights and interviews. Pictured at top: Cooper Cavadeas is mobbed by his teammates after hitting his home run.
The boys advanced to the district finals on Tuesday, beating Tri-County, 10-0, to win their third straight game after the heartbreaking nine-inning loss to Munising.
Gladstone pitcher Ben Kelly on Tuesday.
Ben Kelly threw 3 1/3 innings of two-hit ball, striking out eight batters along the way.
He was removed after throwing his 50th pitch, keeping him eligible to pitch this weekend. Ian Schwalbach struck out the two batters that he faced in relief during the fourth inning.
Gladstone's first four runs were unearned runs as Tri-County made several errors in the first three innings.
Ethan Nelson's RBI single scored one run in the first inning, and a second run scored when the center fielder over-ran the ball for an error.
Cooper Cavadeas interview.
Then in the third inning, Kelly had an infield hit, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on an error. That gave Gladstone a 4-0 lead.
Cooper Cavadeas smiles after his homer.
Gladstone scored six runs in that inning off of Hall and reliever Cameron Johnson. Daniel Martin had an RBI triple, Kelly drove in a run with a single, and then Cooper Cavadeas hit a two-run homer to make it 9-0.
"I hit it late," Cavadeas said in his first-ever radio interview. "That's why it went to right (field). And I was thinking to myself that it's not going over, it's just gonna hit the fence.
"But then it goes over! I didn't see it go over, and then all I see is my family in the back just screaming as loud as they could. And I was like, 'oh, it's over!"
The game ended on the mercy rule when Schwalbach singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a base hit by Christian Creten.
Cooper Cavadeas home run.
Besides pitching a two-hitter, Kelly led the Gladstone hitting attack with a 3-for-3 day, with two runs scored and one run batted in. Nelson also had two base hits for the Gladstone All-Stars.
Tri-County pitcher Evan Hall on Tuesday.
"They're going to be a challenge," Coach Martin said of the Norway team. "We've lost to them the past couple of years going over there. But it's at home this time. We're playing well, we have deep pitching, and we're hitting the ball well.
"They're a tough team, but I think we're ready to put up a pretty good fight against them."
The Gladstone-Norway game will be played at 4:00 ET/3:00 CT Friday at Gladstone's Don Howes Field. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The other district semifinal game pits Munising and Iron Mountain North on Friday at 6:00 ET/5:00 CT
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from the game, and listen to audio highlights and interviews. Pictured at top: Cooper Cavadeas is mobbed by his teammates after hitting his home run.
The Tri-County Major Boys get their pins from District Ten Administrator Don Howes Tuesday night.
