Braves Sweep Doubleheader Over Sault Ste. Marie

GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School baseball team cruised to an easy 11-0 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils in the first game of a doubleheader Friday evening, then had to sweat it out to pull out the nightcap, 3-1, at Don Olsen Field.

The two wins on Senior Night raised the Braves' record to 20-4 on the season.

The second game was a tight one as Braves Manager Don Lauscher started all eight seniors after they were recognized before the game.

Sault pitcher Logan Bailey and Gladstone pitcher AJ Lundberg matched each other pitch-for-pitch for five innings.

With the game tied, 1-1, Gladstone got a rally started as Lundberg led off the sixth inning with a single and Braeden Lamberg beat out a bunt single for the second time on the afternoon, and for the fourth consecutive game.

Bailey got Tyson Seymour to bounce into a fielder's choice and Jack Stephenson hit one right back to the mound.

That brought Ben Schwalbach to the plate, and Bailey got ahead in the count, 1-2. But Bailey was removed from the mound because he was near the 75 pitch count that he needed to stay under to be able to pitch again on Monday for the Blue Devils.

Avery TenEyck came on to pitch, and uncorked a wild pitch to score Lamberg with the go-ahead run. Schwalbach followed with an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game.

The Blue Devils didn't give up, however.

Alex Morehouse and Bailey led off the seventh inning with base hits, prompting Lauscher to replace Lundberg with Nick Trudeau.

Trudeau was greeted by a Drew Larsen bunt that was perfectly placed, loading the bases with no outs. But Trudeau got TenEyeck and Ben Skinner on strikes, and that brought Hunter Coneset to the plate. Coneset lofted one into left field that would have tied the game, but Stephenson raced in and made a shoestring catch to end the game.

Lundberg earned the victory, allowing one run on five hits, in six innings of work. He walked five batters, including the first two men he faced, and hit a batter. But he made the big pitches at big times. Trudeau earned the save, allowing just that bunt single and fanning two batters. Bailey took the loss for the Sault.

In the first game, Gladstone scored four runs in the first inning on a pair of two-run hits by Owen Hanson and Carson Shea. In the second inning, the Braves had the first two men on base, but the inning ended quickly when Seymour's fly ball was caught in short right field. The Blue Devils then turned it into a triple play when they got Lamberg caught in between second and third base, and then Lucas Weinert was tagged out at second.

Gladstone added two runs in the third inning, however, and scored five more runs in the fourth, to put it away. Shea had another two-run single, and ended up with five RBI in the game. Stephenson had a pair of RBI singles as well.

Hanson threw all five innings to pick up the win, allowing three hits. Shane Thompson took the loss, allowing seven runs (three earned) on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Sault Ste. Marie (8-8) will compete in the Escanaba Tournament on Saturday, with a game against the host Eskymos set for 10:00 a.m.

Gladstone (20-4) travels to Coleman, Wis., Saturday, to face Southern Door.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos taken by Brenda Crow and videos taken by Nate Bellville. You can also click the AUDIO buttons to hear radio replays of several plays.