The Gladstone Minor Girls (age 9-10) stayed unbeaten at the state tournament on Monday by beating Rogers City, 8-5, in the quarterfinals at Pinery Park. Brittany Schwartz picked up another win in the circle, striking out eleven batters. Taylor Trudeau added three hits and two runs batted in. Click the above headline to read more details about the game.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) advanced to the state championship game on Sunday with an impressive 13-3 win over North Saginaw Township at the state tournament in Montague. The boys pounded out 14 hits, with Sean Bissell collecting four of them and Brandon Punzel getting three. Click the above headline to read the story and see pictures, videos, and audio clips.
In what could be a preview of this Wednesday's state championship game, the Gladstone Minor Girls (age 9-10) beat Tecumseh, 1-0, in seven innings as the state tournament continued Sunday night at Pinery Park. Click the above headline to read the story and to see pictures and a video of the only run.
The Escanaba Cubs may have only a .500 record, but the team seems to be peaking at the right time of the year. The Cubs carried a winning streak into this weekend's U.P. Finals in the Soo, and won the trophy, beating the Gladstone Indians, 7-6, and then topping the Kingsford Blues, 17-3. Click the above headline to see more pictures.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) were their own worst enemy on Saturday, as they played two games at the state tournament in downstate Montague. But they overcame a slew of stranded baserunners and several untimely errors to advance to the state semifinals on Sunday. Delta County lost to Taylor North Central, 4-2, but hung on to beat Western Grand Rapids, 8-7, to advance out of pool play. Click the above headline to read the details, see pictures and videos, and listen to highlights and interviews.
The Gladstone 9-10 girls got off to a good start this weekend at the state tournament at Pinery Park in suburban Grand Rapids. Gladstone sat through a long rain delay and then beat St. Clair, 4-0, Friday as darkness fell. Then the girls whipped Ypsilanti Lincoln, 22-1, on Saturday, to improve to 2-0. Click the above headline to read more details and to see photos and pictures from Friday's game.
They weren't pretty victories, but the Gladstone Indians picked up two of them on Friday to adavance to the U.P. Zone Tournament's Final Four, and a spot in next week's state tournament. Gladstone had a late rally to beat Kingsford, 9-7, and then subdued Channing, 14-4, in the afternoon game to go 3-0. Click the above headline to read more details.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) scored seven runs in the third inning Friday to beat Kalamazoo Parchment, 9-4, in the state tournament opener in Montague. Six different pitchers combined to throw a four-hitter for Delta County. Click the above headline to read more details, see pictures and videos, and listen to audio soundbytes from the game. Pictured: Jake Peterson throws as second baseman Brandon Punzel gets ready.
The Gladstone Indians jumped to a quick 4-0 lead, but then had to hang on at the end to beat Hancock, 9-6, in the first game of the U.P. Zone Five American Legion Baseball Tournament Thursday in Sault Ste. Marie. Click the above headline to read more details and to see more pictures, taken by Kym Frazer. Pictured: Peyton Jurek runs to first after hitting the ball during Thursday's game in the Soo. He had a two-run single in the seventh inning.
The Escanaba Cubs scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back as they beat the Marquette Blues, 13-3, at the U.P. Zone Five Tournament Thursday in Sault Ste. Marie. But the Cubs later lost to Menominee, 5-2. Click the above headline to read more details, and to see pictures taken by Kym Frazer.
The Kingsford Senior Boys (age 15-16) beat Parchment, 13-5, but lost to Taylor South, 9-8, at the Senior State Tournament in Petoskey on Thursday. The tournament was delayed by a day because of heavy rains on Wednesday. Click the above headline for more details and to see the full schedule.
In the end, there just wasn't a team strong enough to compete with the Escanaba Junior Little League All-Stars (age 13-14) at the state tournament in Grand Rapids this week. Escanaba rolled past Croswell-Lexington, 9-0, in Wednesday's semifinal, and then bested the host Hudsonville team, 7-3, to earn a trip to Regionals in Ohio. Click the above headline to read all of the details, and to see pictures and videos taken by Morgan Szukalowski.
The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) continue to dominate their opponents at the Junior Softball State Tournament in suburban Grand Rapids. Escanaba shut out South Portage, 13-0, as Callie Heller and Katie Ross combined to throw a no-hitter. Escanaba advances to the state semifinals against defending Junior World Series champion Croswell-Lexington. Click the above headline to read the details.
The Escanaba Cubs have closed their regular season on a three-game winning streak, and will now get ready for the Upper Peninsula Zone Five Tournament in Sault Ste. Marie. The Cubs beat Menominee, 16-3, Tuesday night to finish with a 10-12 record. Click the above headline to read more details.
Escanaba High School junior David Falish has been named to the Division Two Academic All-State Team by the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association. Falish has a 4.0 grade point average for his first three years in high school. Click the above headline to read more details.
The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) posted their third straight shutout on Monday, beating Boyne City, 13-0, at the Junior Softball State Tournament at Pinery Park. Sam Connor, Michelle LaFave, and Callie Heller all had three hits for Escanaba. Click the above headline to read the story, see pictures and videos, and listen to some of the audio highlights.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) took advantage of numerous walks early on, and then swung the big sticks later as they rolled past Ishpeming, 20-2, in the sectional championship game Sunday in Wells. The result sends the boys into next weekend's state tournament in Montague and Whitehall. Click the above headline to read the details, see pictures, and listen to audio highlights.
The L'Anse/Baraga Junior Girls (age 13-14) fell behind by eight runs Sunday but rallied to make it interesting at the end. The girls scored six runs in the fifth inning and had the tying run on base in the seventh, but lost to Ypsilanti Lincoln, 8-6, at the Junior Softball State Tournament at Pinery Park. Click the above headline to read more details, see more pictures, and watch videos from the team's six-run rally.
The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) used good pitching and defense to shut down another opponent Sunday as the state tournament continued in suburban Grand Rapids. Sam Connor, Callie Heller, and Katie Ross combined on a no-hitter as Escanaba beat Lac St. Clair, 23-0. Click the above headline to read the story, see photos, watch videos, and listen to audio highlights.
The Norway Major Boys (age 11-12) fell to 0-2 in the state tournament on Sunday, losing to White Lake, 9-7, in Vicksburg. Conor Ortman hit a home run in a losing effort for Norway. Click the above headline to read more details.
Hayden Hardwick's walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Gladstone Indians to a 6-5 win over the Eastern U.P. Travelers Saturday in Gladstone. The Indians then used a lot of their younger players in the second game and dropped a 16-0 decision. Gladstone finishes the regular season with a 35-9 record. Click the above headline to see more photos and to read previous articles
The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) scored eight runs in the first inning and cruised to a 17-0 win over Holton in the first round of the state tournament Saturday at Pinery Park. Ten different girls got at least one hit, and three pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter. Click the above headline to see pictures and videos from the game, and listen to audio highlights.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) will have to work overtime to punch their ticket to next week's state tournament. The boys lost for the first time in the All-Star tournaments on Saturday, falling to Ishpeming, 5-3, in the sectional opener in Wells. The DC boys managed to pull out the nightcap 10-5. That sets up a winner-take-all game on Sunday. Click the above headline to read details and listen to replays of Brandon Punzel's home runs.
The Norway 10-and-11 year-old Little Leaguers won a district championship earlier this week and will represent the area in the state tournament next weekend in West Branch. The boys' first game will be on Friday, July 27, in the 14-team event.
He may be just 15 years old, but Justin Jurek continues to make his mark on the Gladstone Indians baseball team in clutch situations. Jurek retired two veteran players with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the Indians beat the Escanaba Cubs, 3-0, Thursday night at Al Ness Field. Click the above headline to read more details, see photos and video, and listen to highlights and interviews.
The Escanaba Junior Cubs completed a season-sweep of the Gladstone Junior Indians, posting a 17-7 win Thursday night at Al Ness Field. Alex Ruatti, Devin Olsen, and Dan LaPalm all had run-scoing doubles for the Junior Cubs in a game that was slowed down by 19 walks. Click the above headline to read more details, and to see photos.
The Gladstone Minor Girls (age 9-10) scored early and often and beat the Escanaba All-Stars, 15-5, Wednesday, to win the District Ten championship at Lemmerand Park. The Gladstone girls advance to the state tournament next week in Grand Rapids. Click the above headline to read more details.
The Norway Major Little League All-Stars (age 11-12) will make the long trip to southwestern Lower Michigan this weekend to compete in the Michigan State Tournament. Norway opens tournament play Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. CT against Midland Northeast. Click the above headline to read about the tournament schedule.
The 24 best American Legion Baseball players in the Mid Peninsula League met for the annual All-Star game Tuesday night in Channing. The North team, made up of Marquette, Hancock, Ishpeming and Negaunee took a 6-0 lead in the nine-inning game. But the South team, made up of Gladstone, Channing, Kingsford and Iron Mountain scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out an 8-7 win. Click the above headline to read more.
The Escanaba Cubs scored seven runs in the final three innings to beat the Escanaba Junior Cubs, 7-1, in an exhibition American Legion Baseball game Tuesday at Al Ness Field. Alex DeHaan pitched the whole way for the victory. Andrew Sedlar threw five innings for the J-Cubs, with Jeff Lyle finishing up. Click the above headline to see more pictures.