Gladstone 'Walks' Past Kingsley To End Road Trip

KINGSLEY, Mich.---The Gladstone Braves didn't get many hits, but had plenty of baserunners as they beat the Kingsley Stags, 12-0 and 6-3, Saturday in Lower Michigan.

The Braves took advantage of numerous walks, wild pitches, and stolen bases to sweep the doubleheader and to go 4-0 on the downstate trip.

"Two wins are two wins, and that's nice and all," Gladstone Manager Don Lauscher said. "But the way the bat today...or not swinging...I'm really peaved. I'm just being honest about that.

"The kids are gonna run 'poles' today, and they're gonna run a whole lot of them on Monday."

Gladstone won the first game 12-0 but had just four base hits. Eight of the Braves runs scored in the sixth inning on seven walks and two hit-battsmen as the Stags threw three pitchers who normally don't pitch.

In the second game, the Braves manufactured six runs on just three base hits, two of them in the final inning.

Lauscher was especially annoyed at the strikes outs: six in the first game, nine in the second game. And he was bothered by the called third strikes: six of them.

"I just kept telling them 'you've got to swing the bat, you've got to swing the bat'," Lauscher said. "But I kept getting strike one, strike two, strike three. Are you kidding me? Swing the bat! I mean, Kingsley, they didn't have a lot of good hitters. But if that ball was in the zone, they were swinging."

"That's where we need to get, and we have a long way to go."

In the first game, Gladstone took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Brandon Cooper walked and scored on a double by Justin Jurek. In the fourth inning, Breaden Lamberg walked, went to second on a throwing error, and scored on a Tyson Seymour hit.

Jake Peterson, recovering from shoulder and leg injuries, allowed just two base runners in the first three innings. But in the fourth, Caleb Wetherholt and Jake Corwin led off with singles. With runners on second and third, Landon Leach ripped one into the left field corner that would have tied the game. But, it was just foul.

Peterson struck out Leach, the Stags botched a bunt play, and Peterson struck out Juan Gonzales to end the threat, keeping the Braves ahead, 2-0.

Gladstone doubled its lead in the fifth inning on an A.J. Lundberg sacrafice fly and a two-out RBI single by Lamberg. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Cooper came on to relieve Peterson. He gave up a hit, but struck out two straight to end the inning,

Gladstone's 4-0 lead went to 12-0 in a very long sixth inning as the Braves drew seven walks, two batters got hit by pitches, and there were several wild pitches.

Two men reached base against Cooper in the bottom of the sixth, but he finished the game with a combined six-inning shutout with Peterson.

Peterson struck out seven batters and Cooper fanned four in the mercy-shortened six inning game.

In the second game, Hunter Garling walked and scored on a pop fly single by Jurek, giving Gladstone a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The Stags hit Cooper in the bottom half of the inning as Nick Jurguss and Austin Darga led off with hits. Jurguss scored on an error in left field, and Darga came home on a single by Jake Corwin.

Corwin was 3-for-3 at the plate in the first game for Kingsley.

The inning could have been bigger for the Stags, but Leach was called out on strikes and Jacob Frazier hit into a double play. Cooper allowed only two more base runners in the next three innings, and the Braves got him the lead, despite getting no base hits.

In the second inning, the Braves tied the game when Noah Olsen walked, stole second, went to third on two more walks, and scored on a wild pitch. In the top of the fifth, the Braves took a 3-2 lead as Garling walked, went to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a groundout by Jurek.

During his final two innings on the mound, Cooper had to do more than just pitch.

He had to make all six outs himself in those two innings: two on strikeouts, two on high pop-ups, and two ground balls to the mound. The best was the one to end the third inning when Corwin smoked one to the hill. Cooper snared it on a hop and threw to first.

"Every time! Pop ups, and, I mean, that one guy hit it up the middle and I snagged that one," Cooper said. "I threw it right on the corner and he pounded it right up the middle. I seen that thing coming and I just reacted perfectly. And somehow I got it. I almost fell backwards on it. Just threw it to first and got him out!"

"It just seemed like Coop was out there by himself," Lauscher said. "He was a one-man wrecking crew. He fielded a lot of really tough plays. Pitching very well. It was outstanding what Cooper did today, finishing off the first game and to start the second game and do what he did."

In six innings of work in the two games, Cooper allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits. He struck out eight batters and walked just one in his two appearances.

Lauscher was also pleased with the play of Lamberg.

The freshman was especially good at third base in the second game, leaping high into the air to save a throwing error and get a force-play at a key moment.

Later, in the fifth inning in the second game, Lamberg snared the grounder by Leach with the bases loaded, touching third to end the threat.

"He's pretty exceptional for a freshman," Lauscher said. "Some of the plays that he made today were pretty incredible. He's just so athletic. That kid is going to be the real deal here in a couple of years."

Gladstone scored an insurance run in the sixth inning as Lamberg walked, stole second, went to third on a bunt by Nick Trudeau, and scored on a Noah Olsen grounder.

And in the seventh inning, the Braves took a 6-2 lead as Jurek singled, stole second, and came home on a hit by A.J. Lundberg. Later in the inning, on the first-and-third situation, the Braves scored on the delayed double steal.

Defensively, the Braves made five errors, leading to two of Kingsley's three runs in the nightcap. Clay Cole pitched the final three innings to get the save, as Cooper earned the win. Cole walked four batters but allowed just one hit and one unearned run.

For the Braves, Jurek had four RBI in the doubleheader, in various ways. Garling walked five times in the twinbill, and he scored four times. Lamberg walked four times.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS above to see photos taken by Lori Jurek, and to hear post-game interviews.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/11	1:00 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	1 - 9 (L)	0-1

4/11	3:30 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	0 - 16 (L)	0-2

4/17	4:00 PM	at Cadillac Vikings	7 - 4 (W)	1-2

4/17	6:00 PM	at Cadillac Vikings	6 - 3 (W)	2-2

4/18	11:00 AM	at Kingsley Stags	12 - 0 (W)	3-2

4/18	1:30 PM	at Kingsley Stags	6 - 3 (W)	4-2

4/20	4:30 PM	North Central Jets	ppd - rain (L)	ppd

4/21	4:30 PM	Negaunee Miners	7 - 5 (W)	5-2

4/23	4:00 PM	at Norway Knights	3 - 6 (L)	5-3

4/24	4:00 PM	at Grayling Vikings	2 - 0 (W)	6-3

4/24	6:30 PM	at Grayling Vikings	9 - 4 (W)	7-3

4/25	1:00 PM	at Charlevoix Rayders	2 - 7 (L)	7-4

4/25	3:00 PM	at Charlevoix Rayders	7 - 4 (W)	8-4

4/27	4:30 PM	Superior Central Cougars	19 - 4 (W)	9-4

4/27	6:30 PM	Superior Central Cougars	15 - 0 (W)	10-4

4/28	4:30 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	5 - 4 (W)	11-4

4/30	4:30 PM	Marquette Redmen	10 - 4 (W)	12-4

5/1	5:30 PM	at Peshtigo Bulldogs	6 - 7 (L)	12-5

5/2	12:00 PM	at D.C. Everest Evergreens	4 - 6 (L)	12-6

5/2	3:00 PM	at Wausau West Warriors	9 - 5 (W)	13-6

5/4	4:30 PM	Norway Knights	3 - 0 (W)	14-6

5/4	6:45 PM	Norway Knights	10 - 0 (W)	15-6

5/7	4:30 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	4 - 5 (L)	15-7

5/9	10:00 AM	Hancock Bulldogs	10 - 2 (W)	16-7

5/9	12:30 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	19 - 0 (W)	17-7

5/11	5:30 PM	at Green Bay Preble	3 - 4 (L)	17-8

5/13	4:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	10 - 0 (W)	18-8

5/13	6:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	3 - 1 (W)	19-8

5/16	12:00 PM	at Green Bay Notre Dame	5 - 4 (W)	20-8

5/18	6:00 PM	at Crivitz, Wis.	4 - 3 (W)	21-8

5/19	4:30 PM	at Marinette Marines	7 - 1 (W)	22-8

5/22	5:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	1 - 5 (L)	22-9

5/26	6:00 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	14 - 1 (W)	23-9

5/30	12:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	8 - 3 (W)	24-9

5/30	5:00 PM	Houghton Gremlins	7 - 2 (W)	25-9

6/6	10:00 AM	at Tawas	3 - 2 (W)	26-9

6/6	4:00 PM	at Traverse City St. Francis	4 - 2 (W)	27-9

6/9	12:00 PM	Muskegon Oakridge	6 - 5 (W)	28-9

6/12	11:30 AM	at Buchanan Bucks	4 - 6 (L)	28-10