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Tri-County Little League Has Big Day In Districts
 GLADSTONE---They are one of the smallest Little Leagues around, but the Tri-County boys had their day on Saturday as both of their teams won district tournament games. The Tri-County Major Boys (age 11-12) blanked Escanaba, 6-0, in a tournament opener at Gladstone's Don Howes Field. And then a few hours later, the Tri-County Minor Boys (age 9-10) hung on to beat Schaffer, 8-7, to advance in that tournament at Dickson Field. In the Major's game, Duane Englund had a big day both on offense and on defense. 
Evan Hall caught for Tri-County's Majors.
And then at the plate, Englund had a two-run single to key a five-run first inning, then he topped it off with a towering home run over the center field fence in the third inning. Beau Rondeau also had a two-run double in the first inning for Tri-County, and James Bender added a run-scoring single. Outside of that first inning, Tri-County had just two base hits, but Escanaba simply couldn't hit Englund. Escanaba used five pitchers, all of them staying under 35 pitches. Dayne Fahrenbreuch got roughed up for five runs in the first inning, then Aaron Young, Dufour, Garrin Salo, and Cody Vandermissen all threw. Esky pitchers had a combined 14 strikeouts. Tri-County faces Gladstone Sunday afternoon at 3:00, while Escanaba meets Munising in the losers bracket game at 1:00. In the Minor's game, Tri-County jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on hits by Dennis Johns, Trevor Hanson and Makeyla Hall, plus a walk to Blake Krouth. In the second inning, Kennedy Englund walked and eventually scored on a hit by Krouth. 
Tri-County's Makeyla Hall chants in left field during the 9/10 game in Escanaba.
Tri-County scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 7-2 lead, and then had to hang on in the final inning as Schaffer rallied to close to within 8-7. Schaffer is eliminated, while Tri-County plays Munising Sunday evening. So, Saturday was a good day for Tri-County Little League. What will Sunday bring them? Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see pictures from the Tri-County/Escanaba Major Boys game and from the Tri-County/Schaffer 9-10 Boys game. You can also see video replays from the 9-10 boys game in that box. |
