GLADSTONE---There was nothing unlucky about Friday the 13th for the Gladstone High School baseball team as the Braves took two from Sault Ste. Marie, 4-0 and 5-3.
And youth was definitely served for the Braves as freshman pitcher Jared Crow tossed a complete game four-hitter and fellow freshman Daniel Martin made his varsity debut with the game-winning RBI single in the 4-0 win in the opener.
Martin's hit came in the second inning, bringing home Hunter Botruff, who was safe on an error to start the inning. It was a great way for Martin to get his feet wet, even though he struck out three times in the second game of the doubleheader.
"He takes a nice hack at it," Gladstone Assistant Coach Kurt Lauscher said. "He hit a lot of balls hard foul, too. He was right on them. I know he was a little nervous. I would expect that the first time out. But he's going to be good for us."
Lauscher says it's not easy to bring a kid up from the junior varsity team, but Martin earned it.
"We didn't want to do that at first," Lauscher said. "But we were struggling at the plate so bad, and he was hitting great down on JV. So we said we're going to make the move, and we're going to stick with him because he can hit, and he can help us.
Gladstone added three runs in the fourth inning as the Blue Devils made two errors and botched a rundown on a Gladstone delayed steal that saw Clay Cole come home.
A.J. Lundberg's sacrafice fly scored the team's final run. Crow allowed only two base hits and one walk in the first five innings before giving up two hits in the sixth and final inning. Crow struck out seven batters.
"I thought he threw real well," Lauscher said. "He struggled at times to get his curveball over, which happens. But he got ahead of a lot of guys, which, as a pitcher, that's what you want to do. It's always a lot easier to pitch when you 're ahead in the count. He mixed his pitches up well. Inside and outside, up and down."
Ben Schwalbach ripped a double to the fence in the third inning, but was stranded there.
In the fourth inning, he added another base hit, but Owen Hanson was thrown out at the plate on the play. Cole had two base hits, after having three hits the night before against Escanaba.
Cole also had a hit in his first at-bat in Friday evening's nightcap, giving him six base hits in the last three games. Lauscher likes what he sees.
"Clay is a player. He's a gamer," Lauscher said. "He very rarely strikes out. You've just got to put the ball in play, and make them makes some plays, make something happen."
In the second game, the Braves fell behind 1-0 when the Soo's Nick LaCross hit a solo home run in off pitcher Nick Trudeau in the first inning.
"All it takes is one missed pitch," Trudeau said. "He called outside, and I left it hanging for him. You can't really do that or else he's gonna take you yard. That was a nice shot."
"You just have to get back in the strike zone," Lauscher said of his message to Trudeau. "A lot of people say 'ya, he made a mistake'. But a lot of pitches you throw right down the middle and they don't hit it out. So, he just had to get back in there."
But Schwalbach kept up his hot hittimg when he ripped a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning as the Braves took a 3-1 lead.
"We've been telling Ben that when he hits the ball, he hits it hard," Lauscher said. "He's just got to keep his head up and he's got to keep fighting. Everybody goes through their ups and downs at the plate. The results speak for themselves."
Gladstone scored two more runs in the second inning on a base hit by Lundberg, backing up the pitching of Nick Trudeau. Other than LaCross's home run, Trudeau gave up two other hits, and just one walk, in five innings of work.
"It felt good," Trudeau said. "Yesterday, I was in the bullpen ready to go in against Esky, but didn't get around to it. I was throwing a lot of outside pitches. Occassional curveballs. I was missing them at the beginning, but then towards the end, I was getting it more."
Botruff came on to pitch the sixth inning and allowed two runs, but both of those runs were unearned as the Braves committed two errors.
For Sault Ste. Marie (6-14-1), Darren Langedorf threw all five innings in the opener, giving up four runs (one earned). In the second game, James Burton threw five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits. It could have been worse for Burton and the Devils, but the Braves stranded eleven baserunners in those five innings.
Gladstone improved to 10-10 with the sweep. Sault Ste. Marie stays in Delta County to face Escanaba Saturday afternoon at 12:30. (Live on AM-600, rrnsports.com)
BRAVES ON DECK---The Braves travel to Brussels, Wis., in Saturday for a noontime game against Southern Door High School. Then the team will head to Milwaukee to take in a Milwaukee Brewers game against the San Diego Padres.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Nate Bellville, and to hear interviews and highlights.
And youth was definitely served for the Braves as freshman pitcher Jared Crow tossed a complete game four-hitter and fellow freshman Daniel Martin made his varsity debut with the game-winning RBI single in the 4-0 win in the opener.
"He takes a nice hack at it," Gladstone Assistant Coach Kurt Lauscher said. "He hit a lot of balls hard foul, too. He was right on them. I know he was a little nervous. I would expect that the first time out. But he's going to be good for us."
Lauscher says it's not easy to bring a kid up from the junior varsity team, but Martin earned it.
"We didn't want to do that at first," Lauscher said. "But we were struggling at the plate so bad, and he was hitting great down on JV. So we said we're going to make the move, and we're going to stick with him because he can hit, and he can help us.
Gladstone added three runs in the fourth inning as the Blue Devils made two errors and botched a rundown on a Gladstone delayed steal that saw Clay Cole come home.
A.J. Lundberg's sacrafice fly scored the team's final run. Crow allowed only two base hits and one walk in the first five innings before giving up two hits in the sixth and final inning. Crow struck out seven batters.
Ben Schwalbach ripped a double to the fence in the third inning, but was stranded there.
In the fourth inning, he added another base hit, but Owen Hanson was thrown out at the plate on the play. Cole had two base hits, after having three hits the night before against Escanaba.
Cole also had a hit in his first at-bat in Friday evening's nightcap, giving him six base hits in the last three games. Lauscher likes what he sees.
"Clay is a player. He's a gamer," Lauscher said. "He very rarely strikes out. You've just got to put the ball in play, and make them makes some plays, make something happen."
In the second game, the Braves fell behind 1-0 when the Soo's Nick LaCross hit a solo home run in off pitcher Nick Trudeau in the first inning.
"You just have to get back in the strike zone," Lauscher said of his message to Trudeau. "A lot of people say 'ya, he made a mistake'. But a lot of pitches you throw right down the middle and they don't hit it out. So, he just had to get back in there."
But Schwalbach kept up his hot hittimg when he ripped a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning as the Braves took a 3-1 lead.
"We've been telling Ben that when he hits the ball, he hits it hard," Lauscher said. "He's just got to keep his head up and he's got to keep fighting. Everybody goes through their ups and downs at the plate. The results speak for themselves."
Gladstone scored two more runs in the second inning on a base hit by Lundberg, backing up the pitching of Nick Trudeau. Other than LaCross's home run, Trudeau gave up two other hits, and just one walk, in five innings of work.
Botruff came on to pitch the sixth inning and allowed two runs, but both of those runs were unearned as the Braves committed two errors.
For Sault Ste. Marie (6-14-1), Darren Langedorf threw all five innings in the opener, giving up four runs (one earned). In the second game, James Burton threw five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits. It could have been worse for Burton and the Devils, but the Braves stranded eleven baserunners in those five innings.
Gladstone improved to 10-10 with the sweep. Sault Ste. Marie stays in Delta County to face Escanaba Saturday afternoon at 12:30. (Live on AM-600, rrnsports.com)
BRAVES ON DECK---The Braves travel to Brussels, Wis., in Saturday for a noontime game against Southern Door High School. Then the team will head to Milwaukee to take in a Milwaukee Brewers game against the San Diego Padres.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Nate Bellville, and to hear interviews and highlights.
