Englund Does It Again! Tri-County Majors Advance
GLADSTONE---It was the summer of 1996, when a Soo Hill boy was dominating the Little League circuit around here. Kurt Lauscher carried the Gladstone Major Boys to a state championship, and to within one victory of a trip to the Little League World Series that summer. Lauscher was almost automatic at the plate, and opposing teams resorted to walking him over and over again. But in the Central Regional Tournament in Indianapolis, a pitcher from Boardman, Ohio, threw a pitch a little too close to the plate in extra innings. Lauscher crushed it over the center field fence for a game-winning home run.
Tri-County's Duane Englund on Monday.
Certainly not to the extent that Lauscher did, but Englund had a h0me run and a two-run single in a 6-0 win over Escanaba on Saturday. And in Monday's rematch against Escanaba, Englund had an RBI triple in his first at-bat. So as Englund came to the plate with two men on in a tie game in the fifth inning, Escanaba Manager Ron Young visited pitcher Nick Dufour. Don't give Englund anything to hit. Walk him. Dufour's first three pitches were way out of the zone, but the fourth one was too close. Englund ripped it up the middle for a two-run double, leading Tri-County to a 5-2 win that puts the tiny league into the district finals this weekend. This was a loser's bracket game, but it was well-played by both teams, and it took just 71 minutes to play.
Escanaba second baseman Garrin Salo.
Tri-County returned the favor in the second inning when D.J. Bourdeau hit a grounder back to pitcher Kole Salmi with a runner on first. Salmi threw to second for the first out, then Englund gunned the ball to first base for an inning-ending double play. Escanaba managed to tie the game in the fourth inning when Dufour led off with a base hit, his second hit of the game. He scored on a base hit by Maguire Fahrenbruck, and although Tri-County cut a runner down at third base, it was a 1-1 ballgame. Escanaba had two players missing from the line-up and showed up with just nine players. But those nine guys played a strong game, and took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Bourdeau led off with a triple to the Howes Field fence, and then he scored the go-ahead run as Tanner Nelson pushed one to the right side of the infield. With two out, Escanaba had a great chance to build a lead when Dayne Fahrenbruck got a bunt single and Garrin Salo ripped a double to put runners on second and third. But Salmi got Dufour, who was already 2-for-2, to pop up to end the inning.
Cody Vandermissen shuffles a ball to Dayne Fahrenbruck (right) .
In between, there was a play where the Escanaba first baseman got a grounder and, instead of touching first base, threw to second base, and got nobody. And another Tri-County boy was safe on a fielding error. And that brought up Englund, who changed the outcome of the game because of the intentional walk that wasn't. Both pitchers, Salmi and Dufour, threw well, and they both managed to toss complete games despite Little League Baseball's pitch limit of 85 pitches per game. For Escanaba, it can be deemed a good tournament run, given the fact that many of the most talented 12-year-olds chose to play Cal Ripken ball instead of All-Stars. Those nine boys who played on Monday played some good fundamental baseball. They managed to win a game on Sunday, and were competitive all weekend long.
Listen to Duane Englund's big hit.
And by the way, that Englund boy? He can pitch, too. So could Lauscher, all those years ago. WCHT-AM (600) will travel to Kingsford with the Tri-County boys and will broadcast their game live at 5:00 E.T. on Friday. Tri-County will play either Iron Mountain North or Kingsford. Those two teams will play each other Tuesday night in Kingsford. Friday afternoon's game will also be streamed live on www.rrnsports.com. Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see more pictures from Monday night's game.
The Tri-County Major Boys celebrate their win, which puts them into the district finals on Friday.
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