ADRIAN---For a good part of the 2013 American Legion Baseball season, you had to wonder when the Escanaba Cubs and Gladstone Indians would put it all together and play the kind of baseball that they're capable of playing.
At times, there were games where there were more walks and errors than base hits. There were also games were it looked like many of the boys would rather be anywhere else but at the baseball field.
But that started to change in the Upper Peninsula Zone Five tournament in Menominee last week, and it certainly changed as the state tournament got going this Thursday at Nicolay Field on the campus of Adrian College.
The Cubs and Indians saved the best for last on an emotional Saturday that saw Hudson win the state championship, but not before Delta County's teams made their impression.
Escanaba beat Gladstone, 1-0, in what amounted to a semifinal game.
And then in the final game, Hudson edged Escanaba, 4-3, that had everyone on the edge of their seats.
"I'm just tickled pink with the way they performed, and they way they came out of the (under .500) season," Escanaba Manager Tom Ohman. "We're such a young team. This is perfect. The kids got to experience something that is just perfect with American Legion Baseball. I think we can build on that for the future."
ESCANABA 1, GLADSTONE 0---This was a pitcher's duel between Gladstone's Christian Tackman and Escanaba's Devin Olsen. It was intense right from the start, with the fans from both teams cheering on nearly every pitch.
Escanaba had a chance to score in the second inning when Brandon Punzel struck out but was safe when the ball got away from catcher Cody Frazer. Tim Lueneburg followed with a base hit, but Tackman struck out Dane Messersmith to end the inning.
Escanaba had a chance to score again in the third inning when Ben Kleiman singled and stole second, but Bailey Lamb bounced out to end the threat.
Gladstone's only scoring chance came in the fifth inning. Hunter Garling put down a nice bunt that Olsen fielded, but threw high to first for an error. Tackman bunted Garling to second, and he went to third on a wild pitch. With two out and two strikes on Lucas LaCosse, Indians Manager Jim Groleau told Garling to steal home.
As Garling came to the plate, LaCosse reached out and smacked the ball to right field. Punzel raced in and caught the sinking fly ball just above the turf to end the inning.
The only run came in the top of the seventh inning. Tackman struck out both Lueneburg and Messersmith, so it looked like a routine inning. Falish got a two-out single, and Ohman decided to have him steal second.
The Michigan Tech University football recruit easily stole second, and Gladstone's veteran catcher, Cody Frazer, threw anyway.
Because of Falish's speed, Frazer hurried the throw and it went into center field. Falish got up and took off for third base. Gladstone center fielder Christian Groleau was backing up the play, but he tried to get Falish at third base. His throw sailed out of the stadium, and Falish was awarded home plate for a Cubs 1-0 lead.
"He gave me the steal sign on the second pitch," Falish said. "I got there, and then there was a bad throw. And I just kept going and it all kind of worked out."
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with one out, Gladstone shortstop Jake Pearson made a bid to end the no-hitter and shutout with one swing of the bat.
He launched one to deep left-center field. It would have likely been a home run in both Escanaba and Gladstone, but this field in Adrian is huge. Falish raced back and caught it.
"Big field here," Falish said. "I thought it was in the gap for sure. But it just kind of floated up there a little longer than anyone thought, I guess."
Then, with two out, Olsen got Garling to bounce out, and the celebration was on.
"I think this is my first one ever," Olsen said. "I got the error for us on the throw over (first base) and then I walked two people (actually, he walked one), so it was close to a perfect! But I didn't have that in my mind at all."
After the game, Jim Groleau told his team that they have nothing to be ashamed of, and they left it all on the field. "But we didn't have any hits," he said, shaking his head.
For Tackman, it was a stinging loss.
Relegated to the #4 spot in the pitching rotation, he threw his best game in an Indians uniform Saturday, and on the big stage. He allowed just three base hits and four walks. Tackman struck out nine Cubs batters.
But this game belonged to Olsen, who also threw the game of his career, in what will could be the last game he throws due to medical issues.
Not only did he throw a no-hitter, he limited Gladstone's potent lineup to just two baserunners. So, did Olsen even know that he had a no-hitter going?
"No, not until Ben (Kleiman) threw the can of corn at me," Olsen laughed.
The Cubs brought a can of corn to the game and had it in the dugout, a symbol of the old baseball saying of "can of corn" for an easy catch in the outfield.
"It was a lot of fun," Falish said. "One of the most exciting games I've ever played in."
Gladstone finished with a 3-2 record in the tournament, good for third in the state. The Indians' final record was 27-16-1 (25-9-1 when you subtract the nine games that the team played with mostly middle-schoolers while the high school season was on).
HUDSON 4, ESCANABA 3---That result set up a rematch between Escanaba and the host Hudson Post 180 team, which beat the Cubs 4-0 in a game Friday night.
And things didn't look too good for Escanaba in this one as Hudson scored three runs in the top of the first inning off Cubs starter Tyler Skufca.
Skufca got the first out on a line drive to shortstop Hunter LaMarch, then he struck out Logan Milligan.
But the ball got away from catcher Sean Bissell, and Milligan reached base. Griffin Wollett then drew a walk, and Elliott Rains got a pop fly single to load the bases.
Matt Rodgers smacked an RBI single to give Hudson the lead, with bases still loaded.
Hunter Borton hit one up the middle that LaMarch made a nice play on. He shoveled to second baseman Nick Vandermissen for an out, but the relay throw to first base was late. While this was going on, two runs scored, and it was a 3-0 game.
Cody Nelson followed with another Hudson hit, and then Mitchell Dempsey got another base hit.
Borton tried to score, but Brandon Punzel's throw to Bissell was on target, and the Cubs got out of the inning trailing by just three runs.
Escanaba was handcuffed offensively Friday night, but the Cubs bats woke up in this game. David Falish drew a lead-off walk, and then Nick Vandermissen got a base hit.
They both scored on a long drive by Ben Kleiman that got by the center fielder, all the way to the Nicolay Field fence.
Kleiman raced around for a triple. It was 3-2.
Bailey Lamb then launched one to left field that nearly got out of the park. Lamb settled for a double off of the top of the fence, scoring Lamb with the tying run.
And Hunter LaMarch got a base hit, with Lamb holding on at third base with no outs.
But the Cubs squandered their chance at a big inning. Brandon Punzel and Bissell both grounded out, and Tim Lueneburg flew out, so it stayed a tie game at 3-3.
In the third inning, things heated up as the Cubs became frustrated with the officiating.
First, Kleiman was rung up on a third strike that Cubs manager Tom Ohman thought was wide. After Lamb got his second base hit of the game, LaMarch hit a ground ball to third base. The throw to second was in time, but it appeared that LaMarch beat the relay throw.
LaMarch was called out, and Ohman was livid.
He had a conversation with the first base umpire, and the ump ejected Ohman from the game. He watched the final four dramatic innings from on top of a grassy hill behind the center field fence.
"It was stupid, I guess," Ohman said. "I didn't do any swearing, but I just thought it was a very bad call by that guy. He made some calls last night that were very questionable too, so that's kind of what put me over the top."
Hudson regained the lead with an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning.
Wollett hit a grounder to Lueneburg at third, and Lueneburg bobbled it. Skufca got the next two batters out, but a passed ball helped to get Wollett to third base. With two out, Barton hit a tap up the third base line that could not be played. The go-ahead run scored on that play for Hudson.
Andrew Sedlar came on to pitch in relief, and he retired seven of the eight batters he faced, allowing only one base hit in the sixth inning. That gave the Cubs a chance for a walk-off rally in the bottom of the seventh, and it almost happened.
After Lueneburg struck out to begin the inning, Devin Olsen came off the bench for a sharply-hit single up the middle. Then Falish out down a perfect bunt up the third base line that almost rolled foul on this artifical turf, but stayed fair by about an inch.
With two on, acting manager Jon Bintner decided to have Vandermissen bunt them over, and it worked. Bintner gave up a precious out, but he had the winning run in scoring position.
The decision, however, took the bat out of Kleiman's hands, as Hudson elected to intentionally walk him to set up a force at any base.
Escanaba was still in good shape, as Lamb was at the plate with two hits already under his belt in the game. The stadium was rocking as Lamb worked the count, and the loud cheers echoed off of the grandstand as the count went to 3-1.
But those cheers turned to sighs when Lamb thought he had his pitch but popped it up to the second baseman. Hudson won the state title. Escanaba settled for second.
"We should have won that game right there," Olsen said. "We needed to hit more balls. Everything we hit, it was right to them. Or, we just didn't hit at all."
It was a great run for the Cubs, however, who had to win three games in one day at the Zone Five Tournament last week just to make it to Adrian. The Cubs finished with an overall season record of 15-18, but left with their heads held high.
"Baseball is such a mentally-tough game," Ohman said. "You can't criticize our club for anything right now. They played hard the whole day, the whole tournament."
And there was icing on the cake. Falish was named the state tournament's MVP.
2014 STATE TOURNAMENT IN ESCANABA?---It takes a lot of money, and a lot of organization, and a lot of work, but the American Legion Baseball Class A State Tournament may come to Escanaba next summer.
The tournament rotates between the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula every other year. The 2010 tournament was in Sault Ste. Marie, Adrian hosted in 2011, Marquette hosted in 2012, and Adrian was again the host this year.
""We just have to fill out the paperwork and put a bid in," Ohman said. "We're gonna do that, so hopefully, we'll get it. The Hudson people all said they're looking forward to coming up. We've run state tournaments before, so we're used to it."
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from Saturday's action, courtesy of Kym Frazer and Sheila Olsen. Also, click the AUDIO buttons to hear replays and interviews.
At times, there were games where there were more walks and errors than base hits. There were also games were it looked like many of the boys would rather be anywhere else but at the baseball field.
David Falish (left) and Cody Frazer (right).
The Cubs and Indians saved the best for last on an emotional Saturday that saw Hudson win the state championship, but not before Delta County's teams made their impression.
Escanaba beat Gladstone, 1-0, in what amounted to a semifinal game.
And then in the final game, Hudson edged Escanaba, 4-3, that had everyone on the edge of their seats.
"I'm just tickled pink with the way they performed, and they way they came out of the (under .500) season," Escanaba Manager Tom Ohman. "We're such a young team. This is perfect. The kids got to experience something that is just perfect with American Legion Baseball. I think we can build on that for the future."
ESCANABA 1, GLADSTONE 0---This was a pitcher's duel between Gladstone's Christian Tackman and Escanaba's Devin Olsen. It was intense right from the start, with the fans from both teams cheering on nearly every pitch.
Indians pitcher Christian Tackman.
Escanaba had a chance to score again in the third inning when Ben Kleiman singled and stole second, but Bailey Lamb bounced out to end the threat.
Gladstone's only scoring chance came in the fifth inning. Hunter Garling put down a nice bunt that Olsen fielded, but threw high to first for an error. Tackman bunted Garling to second, and he went to third on a wild pitch. With two out and two strikes on Lucas LaCosse, Indians Manager Jim Groleau told Garling to steal home.
As Garling came to the plate, LaCosse reached out and smacked the ball to right field. Punzel raced in and caught the sinking fly ball just above the turf to end the inning.
Cubs run scores on two errors in 7th Inn
The Michigan Tech University football recruit easily stole second, and Gladstone's veteran catcher, Cody Frazer, threw anyway.
Gladstone's Lucas LaCosse (left) runs after hitting the ball. Hunter Garling tries to steal home on catcher Sean Bissell.
"He gave me the steal sign on the second pitch," Falish said. "I got there, and then there was a bad throw. And I just kept going and it all kind of worked out."
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with one out, Gladstone shortstop Jake Pearson made a bid to end the no-hitter and shutout with one swing of the bat.
He launched one to deep left-center field. It would have likely been a home run in both Escanaba and Gladstone, but this field in Adrian is huge. Falish raced back and caught it.
David Falish robs Jake Pearson of extra bases
Then, with two out, Olsen got Garling to bounce out, and the celebration was on.
"I think this is my first one ever," Olsen said. "I got the error for us on the throw over (first base) and then I walked two people (actually, he walked one), so it was close to a perfect! But I didn't have that in my mind at all."
Devin Olsen threw a no-hitter Saturday.
For Tackman, it was a stinging loss.
Relegated to the #4 spot in the pitching rotation, he threw his best game in an Indians uniform Saturday, and on the big stage. He allowed just three base hits and four walks. Tackman struck out nine Cubs batters.
But this game belonged to Olsen, who also threw the game of his career, in what will could be the last game he throws due to medical issues.
Not only did he throw a no-hitter, he limited Gladstone's potent lineup to just two baserunners. So, did Olsen even know that he had a no-hitter going?
Final out of Devin Olsen's no-hitter.
The Cubs brought a can of corn to the game and had it in the dugout, a symbol of the old baseball saying of "can of corn" for an easy catch in the outfield.
"It was a lot of fun," Falish said. "One of the most exciting games I've ever played in."
Gladstone finished with a 3-2 record in the tournament, good for third in the state. The Indians' final record was 27-16-1 (25-9-1 when you subtract the nine games that the team played with mostly middle-schoolers while the high school season was on).
HUDSON 4, ESCANABA 3---That result set up a rematch between Escanaba and the host Hudson Post 180 team, which beat the Cubs 4-0 in a game Friday night.
Cubs third baseman Tim Lueneburg
Skufca got the first out on a line drive to shortstop Hunter LaMarch, then he struck out Logan Milligan.
But the ball got away from catcher Sean Bissell, and Milligan reached base. Griffin Wollett then drew a walk, and Elliott Rains got a pop fly single to load the bases.
Matt Rodgers smacked an RBI single to give Hudson the lead, with bases still loaded.
Hunter Borton hit one up the middle that LaMarch made a nice play on. He shoveled to second baseman Nick Vandermissen for an out, but the relay throw to first base was late. While this was going on, two runs scored, and it was a 3-0 game.
Skufca/Bissell get out at plate
Borton tried to score, but Brandon Punzel's throw to Bissell was on target, and the Cubs got out of the inning trailing by just three runs.
They both scored on a long drive by Ben Kleiman that got by the center fielder, all the way to the Nicolay Field fence.
Kleiman raced around for a triple. It was 3-2.
Bailey Lamb then launched one to left field that nearly got out of the park. Lamb settled for a double off of the top of the fence, scoring Lamb with the tying run.
And Hunter LaMarch got a base hit, with Lamb holding on at third base with no outs.
But the Cubs squandered their chance at a big inning. Brandon Punzel and Bissell both grounded out, and Tim Lueneburg flew out, so it stayed a tie game at 3-3.
Ben Kleiman two-run triple vs Hudson
First, Kleiman was rung up on a third strike that Cubs manager Tom Ohman thought was wide. After Lamb got his second base hit of the game, LaMarch hit a ground ball to third base. The throw to second was in time, but it appeared that LaMarch beat the relay throw.
Tom Ohman has a new view of the game.
He had a conversation with the first base umpire, and the ump ejected Ohman from the game. He watched the final four dramatic innings from on top of a grassy hill behind the center field fence.
"It was stupid, I guess," Ohman said. "I didn't do any swearing, but I just thought it was a very bad call by that guy. He made some calls last night that were very questionable too, so that's kind of what put me over the top."
Hudson regained the lead with an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning.
Wollett hit a grounder to Lueneburg at third, and Lueneburg bobbled it. Skufca got the next two batters out, but a passed ball helped to get Wollett to third base. With two out, Barton hit a tap up the third base line that could not be played. The go-ahead run scored on that play for Hudson.
Andrew Sedlar came on to pitch in relief, and he retired seven of the eight batters he faced, allowing only one base hit in the sixth inning. That gave the Cubs a chance for a walk-off rally in the bottom of the seventh, and it almost happened.
Ben Kleiman with Sheila Olsen in dugout.
With two on, acting manager Jon Bintner decided to have Vandermissen bunt them over, and it worked. Bintner gave up a precious out, but he had the winning run in scoring position.
The decision, however, took the bat out of Kleiman's hands, as Hudson elected to intentionally walk him to set up a force at any base.
Escanaba was still in good shape, as Lamb was at the plate with two hits already under his belt in the game. The stadium was rocking as Lamb worked the count, and the loud cheers echoed off of the grandstand as the count went to 3-1.
David Falish bunt single vs Hudson
"We should have won that game right there," Olsen said. "We needed to hit more balls. Everything we hit, it was right to them. Or, we just didn't hit at all."
It was a great run for the Cubs, however, who had to win three games in one day at the Zone Five Tournament last week just to make it to Adrian. The Cubs finished with an overall season record of 15-18, but left with their heads held high.
"Baseball is such a mentally-tough game," Ohman said. "You can't criticize our club for anything right now. They played hard the whole day, the whole tournament."
And there was icing on the cake. Falish was named the state tournament's MVP.
2014 STATE TOURNAMENT IN ESCANABA?---It takes a lot of money, and a lot of organization, and a lot of work, but the American Legion Baseball Class A State Tournament may come to Escanaba next summer.
The tournament rotates between the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula every other year. The 2010 tournament was in Sault Ste. Marie, Adrian hosted in 2011, Marquette hosted in 2012, and Adrian was again the host this year.
""We just have to fill out the paperwork and put a bid in," Ohman said. "We're gonna do that, so hopefully, we'll get it. The Hudson people all said they're looking forward to coming up. We've run state tournaments before, so we're used to it."
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from Saturday's action, courtesy of Kym Frazer and Sheila Olsen. Also, click the AUDIO buttons to hear replays and interviews.
The 2013 Escanaba Cubs finished second in the U.P., and second in the State of Michigan.
