It was a typical Escanaba vs Gladstone softball battle as the Minor Little League Softball District Tournament began Tuesday in Escanaba. The two teams battled to a 0-0 tie through the final inning before Gladstone scored an unearned run to win, 1-0. Click the above headline to see more photos.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) scored seven runs in the third inning and rolled past Kingsford, 13-2, Monday to win a district championship at Norway's Marion Park. Sean Bissell hit a grand-slam home run and threw out two base-stealers. Bryant Beam had three hits and four runs batted in. Click the above headline to read the story, listen to highlights and interviews, and see more pictures.
The long wait for high school baseball in Gladstone is over. The Gladstone School Board voted unanimously Monday night to add Braves Baseball to the school's varsity offerings. Gladstone will also sponsor high school girls swimming and bowling during the 2012-'13 school year. Click the above headline to read more.
The Norway Senior Girls (age 15-16) will represent the Upper Peninsula at the Senior Softball State Tournament in downstate Clinton next weekend. Norway earned the long trip downstate by beating Keweenaw twice in the sectionals on Saturday. Click the above headline for more information.
The All-Star season came to an end Sunday for the Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12), but not before the girls made a last stand against the tournament favorites. Escanaba scored three runs in the sixth inning, but fell to South Portage, 5-3, to end the state tournament with a 1-2 record. Click the above headline to read more details from the game, and to see all of the tournament scores and schedules.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised to a 10-3 win over the Norway All-Stars Sunday afternoon at Marion Park. Jake Peterson, nicknamed "Rizzo", threw his first-ever complete game, despite Little League Baseball's pitch count rules. Click the above headline to read the story, see more pictures, and listen to audio highlights. Pictured: Peterson throws a pitch on Sunday. (Jane Lamb photo)
The Gladstone Minor Boys (age 9-10) rallied from six runs down to force extra innings before losing to the Norway All-Stars, 8-7, in extra innings at Marion Park. Hunter McCarthy's walk-off base hit with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning won it for Norway. Zac Hanson had two hits and scored twice for Gladstone. Click the above headline to read the story, see photos, and videos from the seventh inning.
The Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12) held off Upper Peninsula rival Negaunee, 13-4, Saturday at the Little League Softball State Tournament in Gladstone. Darby Beckon pitched the whole way for Escanaba, and Hannah Edington drove in five runs. Click the above headline to read more about the game.
The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) started slow but scored eight runs in the third inning and mercied the Kingsford All-Stars, 13-2, Saturday at Norway's Marion Park. Hunter Garling's grand slam home run in the fifth inning ended the game. Click the above headline to read the game story, listen to Garling's home run, and see video highlights.
The Gladstone Indians met another of their team goals Saturday night by winning the Mid Pen League Southern Division Playoffs at Don Olsen Field. Gladstone beat Iron Mountain Gold, 7-0, and then trampled Channing, 14-0, to advance to Sunday's tournament championship game against the North Division champions. Click the above headline to read more details and to see pictures taken by Kym Frazer.
The Norway Senior Girls (age 15-16) won a sectional championship Saturday night at Marion Park. The girls beat Keweenaw, 15-4, in the first game, then took the second game, 6-5 in eight innings. 13-year-0ld Harley Kastor went the distance in the circle in the nightcap, and Bobbi Hulce had the game-winning hit in the eighth inning. Norway advances to the state tournament in downstate Clinton.
The Norway Major Boys (age 11-12) advanced to the district championship game on Friday, but it sure wasn't easy. Norway rushed to a 5-0 lead over Gladstone in the winner's bracket final, but watched as Gladstone tied the game entering the final inning. But Norway scored four runs in the sixth inning to post a 9-5 victory. Click the above headline to read the details, see pictures and videos, and listen to audio highlights.
The Cinderella story of the Tri-County Major Boys came to an end on Friday as Kingsford pounded out nine hits and posted an 11-1 win at the East Kingsford Field. Wes McClain had a pair of doubles and four Kingsford pitchers limited Tri-County to two base hits. Click the above headline to read more details and see photos.
The Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12) fell behind early and had a late comeback fall short as they dropped a 5-2 decision to Taylor East-West in the first round of the Little League Softball state tournament Friday in Gladstone. Click the above headline to read the game story, see photos, and see the scores from all of the tournament games.
The Gladstone Minor Boys (age 9-10) did what no team has done so far this summer against Iron Mountain North: score two runs in a game. Gladstone lost, 8-2, in the district finals in Norway late Friday night. Click the above headline to read more.
Hayden Hardwick hit a three-run homer and pitched a complete game on the mound as the Gladstone Indians beat the Kingsford Blues, 8-2, Thursday at Don Olsen Field. The win allowed the Indians to finish the Mid Pen League season with a 19-1 record, leading into this weekend's league tournament. Click the above headline to read the details, listen to audio highlights, and see more pictures.
The Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12) are making their final preparations for their appearance in the Michigan State Tournament in Gladstone. Escanaba will face Taylor Northwest Friday morning at 10:00. Opening ceremonies are at noon on Friday. Click the above headline to see all of the schedules.
The Gladstone Indians scored early and often against an inexperienced Negaunee Diamonds team Tuesday, sweeping a doubleheader, 16-0 and 12-4. The sweep mathematically clinched the Mid Peninsula Conference championship for the Indians, giving the Tribe the top seed in this weekend's league tournament. Click the above headline to read the story and see photos.
Duane Englund's two-run single as he was being intentionally walked in the fifth inning broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Tri-County Major Boys (age 11-12) a 5-2 win over the Escanaba All-Stars Monday night in Gladstone. Click the above headline to read the story, see photos from the game, and listen to audio.
The tournament run came to an end for the Escanaba 9-10 boys on Monday as Munising posted an 8-6 win at Karl Dickson Field. Anthony Matson went 3-for-3 while Dayne Murk and Skyler Andersen both had two hits for Munising. Click the above headline to see more details. Also, we have posted some photos from the Escanaba-Gladstone game, which ended late Sunday night.
In a game that featured a little bit of everything, the Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12) beat arch-rival Gladstone Sunday night to win a district championship and advance to the state tournament. But it certainly wasn't easy as Escanaba had to come from behind twice. Claire McInerney got the walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Escanaba the 9-8 win. Click the above headline to read details and to see photos.
The Gladstone Major Boys (age 11-12) beat Mother Nature and the Tri-County All-Stars, 8-0, Sunday night, to advance to next weekend's district finals. And Escanaba's Majors took a big early lead and then held on for a wild 14-11 win over Munising. Click the above headline to read the story, and to see a bunch of pictures and videos.
The Gladstone Indians passed another test on Sunday as they swept a doubleheader from Hancock, 6-2 and 8-3, at Don Olsen Field. It was a battle between the two top teams in the Mid Peninsula Conference, and the Indians took the early lead in both games and rode the pitching of Matt Weyers and Blake Ballard to the sweep. Click the above headline to see the story, pictures and videos.
The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) finished their relaxing trip through the district tournament on Sunday by beating the Kingsford All-Stars, 11-1, at Lemmerand Field. The win puts the girls in the state tournament at Pinery Park on July 21st. Click the above headline to see more photos from the game, and the celebration.
One of the smallest Little League's in the Upper Peninsula had a big day Saturday as the district tournaments continued in Delta County. The Tri-County Little League Major Boys (age 11-12) beat Escanaba, 6-0, in a tournament opener in Gladstone. And a few hours later, the Tri-County Minor Boys (age 9-10) held on to beat Schaffer, 8-7, to advance in the districts in Escanaba. Click the above headline to read more about the games, see pictures and a few videos.
Three Gladstone Little League All-Star teams were on the field Saturday, and all three came away with district tournament victories. The Gladstone Major Boys (age 11-12) overcame a strong Munising pitcher to win, 6-2. The Gladstone Minor Boys (age 9-10) had an easier time with Munising, winning, 10-1, in Escanaba. And the Gladstone Major Girls (age 11-12) rallied past Kingsford, 7-4. Click the above headline to see stories on all three Gladstone teams.
You win some, you lose some. That's what the Escanaba Cubs baseball team did this weekend at a tournament in Sault Ste. Marie.On Friday, the Cubs lost to the Eastern U.P. Travelers, 7-5, but then routed the Sault Ste. Marie Canada Black Sox, 17-0. Then on Saturday, the Cubs took out Petoskey, 9-3, only to lose to Alpena, 4-3. Click the above headline to read more details.
The Escanaba Junior Girls (age 13-14) rolled to a 17-0 win over the Iron Mountain North All-Stars in the district tournament Saturday at Lemmerand Park. Three pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter for Escanaba. Click the headline to read more details and to see more pictures.
The Escanaba Major Girls (age 11-12) made the most of Kingsford's mistakes to post an 8-1 win in the district finals Friday night in Gladstone. That win came after the Gladstone girls eliminated Iron Mountain North, 15-2, in a losers bracket game. Click the above headline to read the details and see pictures and videos from both games.
The District Ten 9-10 boys district tournament began on Friday and there were lots of runs put on the Karl Dickson Field scoreboard. Escanaba outlasted Schaffer, 16-6, before Munising scored eight runs in the fourth inning to top Tri-County, 13-3. Click the above headline to read the details, see a bunch of photos from both games, and a handful of video clips from the Munising-Tri County game.