Norway, Iron Mountain Advance To 'Yooper' Finals

ESCANABA----It was Dickinson County 2, Delta County 0 at the Little League Baseball's "Yooper" 9-10 boys baseball tournament on Sunday in Escanaba.

Norway rallied to beat Gladstone, 16-9, and then Iron Mountain topped Escanaba, 15-0. That sets up an all-Dickinson County championship game in the final Tuesday at 5:30 CT/6:30 ET at Escanaba's Karl Dickson Field.

Gladstone pitcher Ian Schwalbach.

In Sunday's opener, Norway got off to a good start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jesse Julian, Caleb Burklund, and Payton Thompson all got hits and scored runs in that inning as Norway took a 4-0 lead. But Gladstone sent eleven batters to the plate in the second inning and scored six times to take a 6-4 lead.

In that inning, Ian Schwalbach, Ethan Nelson and Peyton Fedell all got base hits and scored runs. Justin Halmstead, Caden Alworden, and Riley Baldovski all walked and scored runs and the Gladstone boys had a two-run lead.

Norway responded in the bottom of the third inning as Evan Anderson walked and came home on Thompson's second triple of the game. Thompson later scored on an error (that play is the main picture above).

Hunter McCarthy walked and eventually scored the go-ahead run for Norway.

Norway led, 7-6, in the fourth inning when four walks allowed Gladstone to tie the game at 7-7. But in the bottom of the fourth, six runs crossed the plate for Norway, with several walks, a hit-batsmen, and two errors contributed to make it a 13-7 game.

Norway's Evan Anderson rounds third.

Gladstone got two runs back in the top of the fifth on four more walks and a couple of passed balls, cutting the gap to 13-9. But Noah Gorzinski and Ian Gorzinski both got hits and scored runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and Thompson got his third triple of the game and scored another run as Norway pulled away for the 16-9 win.

It was all Iron Mountain in the second game, as the Escanaba boys managed only two base hits: a single by Ayden Hanson and a double by Kolby Stanfors in the fourth inning. Hanson was out at the plate as he tried to score on Stanfors' base hit.

Iron Mountain scored six runs in the first inning as CJ Bolo got a single, Marcus Johnson got a double, and Foster Wonders got a triple.

Blake Julian and Jake Dumas also got base hits in that bat-around inning for I.M.

IM's Luke Theison drives home two runs.

Iron Mountain added two runs in the third inning as Caleb Johnson and Jake Dumas both walked, and they both scored on a double by #9 hitter Luke Theisson.

Kolby Stenfors pitches for Escanaba.

The Iron Mountain boys put the game away in the fourth inning by scoring seven more runs. Bolo, Johnson, and Wonders all had hits and scored runs during that inning...Bolo had three hits in the game altogether, while Johnson and Wonders both had two hits.

Julian and Gio Basanearsy also got base hits during that long inning for Iron Mountain, making it a 15-0 final score.

Click the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box at the top of this page to see more pictures from both games, and to watch more videos.

Friday, June 22, 2012
Gladstone 15, Schaffer 14
Iron Mountain 13, Munising 0

Saturday, June 23, 2012
Norway 11, Tri-County 1
Escanaba 18. Kingsford 6

Sunday, June 24, 2012
Semifinal #1: Norway 16, Gladstone 9
Semifinal #2: Iron Mountain 15, Escanaba 0

Tuesday, June 26, 2012
6:30 ET--Championship: Norway vs Iron Mountain