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Jurek Saves The Day Again As Indians Blank Cubs
 ESCANABA----He may be just 15 years old, but Justin Jurek continues to make his mark on the Gladstone Indians baseball team in clutch situations. Rewind to the spring, when Jurek came on in a bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning to strike out Alex DeHaan and preserve an Indians win over the Escanaba High School Eskymos. Well, fast forward to Thursday night, when the Escanaba Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 3-0 game. 
The Cubs had baserunners on at the end.
But Jurek stayed calm, struck out Schwalbach and got Young to hit a pop fly, and the Indians celebrated a 3-0 win over the snakebitten Cubs. "I was a lot more confident this time than the last time, I can tell you that," Jurek said. "I don't know what it is. I guess in big moments like this, I seem to throw a lot harder than I usually do, it's just the adrenaline flowing." "We've got all the confidence in the word in Justin," Indians Manager Jim Groleau said. "I've coached him now seven, eight years, it seems like forever. He always comes through. You give him the ball and he's always gonna be around the strike zone. "For some reason, he picks up three, four miles an hour (on his pitch) when he faces the cross-town rivals." Escanaba left the bases loaded three times in the game, stranding 12 men altogether. "It's been like that all year," Cubs Manager Tom Ohman said. "We've cut our own throats at times with baserunning, getting picked off when the pitcher's just stepping off the mound. But hey, they're a good team. That's the first time I've seen them all year, and I'm impressed with them, especiallty their 3-4-5 hitters. They can hit." 
Esky's Trent Schwalbach had a good start.
"Nine up, nine down, and I'll tell you what, we're looking forward to seeing that out of him," Ohman said. "That looks good going into the U.P. Finals. He didn't really get many innings in this year, but that's because of a lack of a schedule." Gladstone scored a run in the fourth inning when Paul Tomaszewski hit a slow roller to short and beat it out at first base. Peyton Jurek bunted him to second, then Cody Frazer came through with a base hit. Tomaszewski scored the game's first run as he collided with Escanaba catcher Justyn Doucette at home plate. Gladstone added two runs in the fifth inning. Justin Jurek drew a two-out walk, Tomaszewski got an infield hit off of the mound, and then Peyton Jurek got a single to load the bases. Frazer drew a walk to force in a run, then Gladstone's other run scored on a passed ball. That made it 3-0, but Escanaba had plenty of chances to rally. 
Gladstone's Peyton Jurek bunts.
With the bases loaded, Blake Ballard got Bailey Lamb to pop up on a 3-2 pitch. Ballard threw four innings and allowed two hits to earn the pitching win. In the fifth inning, Andrew Kausak got a lead-off hit, then with two out, Vandermissen got his second hit of the game, and DeHaan walked. Clearly, Gladstone didn't want to give DeHaan anything to hit, as he walked three times and bunted the other time. With the bases loaded, reliever Jake Pearson struck out Schwalbach to end the inning. And so that set up the drama in the bottom of the seventh, when Falish and DeHaan both walked and Vandermissen got "nicked" by a pitch in the arm. Groleau removed Pearson and brought in Jurek, setting up the battle with Schwalbach. Schwalbach will be a sophomore at Lakeland College next fall. Jurek will be a sophomore at Gladstone High School next fall. So, what was his approach? "Once I got that second strike on him, I stepped off the mound," Jurek said. "I just thought to myself 'I'm throwing this as hard as I absolutely can." "The kids call the pitches," Groleau said. "I was sitting in the dugout, and I said to myself, 'you better not throw him a deuce (curveball)'." 
Austin Young was locked and loaded, but...
Then, it was 18-year-old Austin Young, who will play football at Northern Michigan University this fall. Jurek got Young to pop up....appropriately enough to his older brother Peyton....and the Indians celebrated a shutout victory. "Him, I really wasn't trying to gas him up or anything," Jurek said. "I threw it hard, but not like I was to Trent. If he was gonna hit it, I was just hoping that he'd hit it to one of our guys." He did. And for the Cubs, it's another case of "what might have been". "We had the right people at the plate and, unfortunately, we didn't get it done," Ohman said. "That team is the real deal. They're legit." Gladstone (34-8) will host the Sault Ste. Marie Travelers in a doubleheader on Saturday to close out the regular season. The games have been moved from night contests to a 1:00 doubleheader. There will be no radio broadcast of these games. Escanaba (7-12) will also host the EUP Travelers in a doubleheader on Sunday at Al Ness Field. The twinbill starts at 1:00, and the games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and rrnsports.com. Unless there is a third Little League junior boys sectional game needed at that time, then that game would be broadcast instead. CLICK the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see more photos from the game taken by Kym Frazer. Also, you can listen to audio highlights and interviews there.  |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
5/2 |
6:30 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
11 - 1 (W)
|
1-0
|
5/6 |
1:00 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
2-0
|
5/9 |
7:30 PM |
Escanaba Eskymos
|
5 - 4 (W)
|
3-0
|
5/12 |
1:00 PM |
at Menominee Red Wave Legion
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
4-0
|
5/12 |
3:30 PM |
at Menominee Red Wave Legion
|
15 - 3 (W)
|
5-0
|
5/14 |
6:30 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
6-0
|
5/18 |
6:30 PM |
at Ishpeming Blue Storm
|
10 - 1 (W)
|
7-0
|
5/19 |
12:00 PM |
at Channing Railroaders
|
12 - 2 (W)
|
8-0
|
5/19 |
2:30 PM |
at Channing Railroaders
|
9 - 1 (W)
|
9-0
|
5/22 |
6:30 PM |
at Marquette Blues
|
2 - 5 (L)
|
9-1
|
5/29 |
6:30 PM |
Ishpeming Blue Storm
|
4 - 0 (W)
|
10-1
|
5/30 |
6:00 PM |
at Escanaba Eskymos
|
4 - 3 (W)
|
11-1
|
6/3 |
4:00 PM |
Iron Mountain Golds
|
7 - 0 (W)
|
12-1 For.
|
6/3 |
6:30 PM |
Iron Mountain Golds
|
7 - 0 (W)
|
13-1 For.
|
6/5 |
6:30 PM |
at Iron Mountain Golds
|
10 - 5 (W)
|
14-1
|
6/6 |
7:00 PM |
Menominee Red Wave Legion
|
5 - 4 (W)
|
15-1
|
6/9 |
1:00 PM |
Oconto Falls Legion
|
7 - 10 (L)
|
15-2
|
6/9 |
3:30 PM |
Oconto Falls Legion
|
12 - 2 (W)
|
16-2
|
6/12 |
6:30 PM |
Kingsford Legion Blues
|
4 - 3 (W)
|
17-2
|
6/14 |
6:30 PM |
Marquette Blues
|
3 - 0 (W)
|
18-2
|
6/17 |
1:00 PM |
at Kingsford Legion Blues
|
11 - 2 (W)
|
19-2
|
6/17 |
3:30 PM |
at Kingsford Legion Blues
|
11 - 6 (W)
|
20-2
|
6/20 |
6:30 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
8 - 2 (W)
|
21-2
|
6/22 |
5:30 PM |
Eastern U.P. Travelers
|
5 - 4 (W)
|
22-2
|
6/22 |
8:00 PM |
Ash-Port, Wis.
|
1 - 11 (L)
|
22-3
|
6/23 |
12:45 PM |
Midland Berryhill
|
2 - 10 (L)
|
22-4
|
6/23 |
5:15 PM |
Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
|
11 - 6 (W)
|
23-4
|
6/24 |
11:30 AM |
DePere Panthers
|
5 - 6 (L)
|
23-5
|
6/28 |
6:30 PM |
at Ash-Port, Wis.
|
1 - 13 (L)
|
23-6
|
6/29 |
1:30 PM |
at Neenah, Wis.
|
3 - 7 (L)
|
23-7
|
6/30 |
11:00 AM |
at Hortonville, Wis.
|
11 - 4 (W)
|
24-7
|
7/5 |
6:30 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
25-7
|
7/8 |
4:00 AM |
Iron Mountain Golds
|
1 - 0 (W)
|
26-7for
|
7/8 |
12:00 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
6 - 2 (W)
|
27-7
|
7/8 |
2:30 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
8 - 3 (W)
|
28-7
|
7/10 |
5:30 PM |
Negaunee Diamonds
|
16 - 0 (W)
|
29-7
|
7/10 |
8:00 PM |
Negaunee Diamonds
|
12 - 4 (W)
|
30-7
|
7/12 |
6:30 PM |
Kingsford Legion Blues
|
8 - 2 (W)
|
31-7
|
7/14 |
3:00 PM |
Iron Mountain Golds
|
7 - 0 (W)
|
32-7
|
7/14 |
8:00 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
14 - 0 (W)
|
33-7
|
7/15 |
1:00 PM |
at Marquette Blues
|
3 - 5 (L)
|
33-8
|
7/19 |
8:00 PM |
at Escanaba Cubs
|
3 - 0 (W)
|
34-8
|
7/21 |
12:00 PM |
Eastern U.P. Travelers
|
6 - 5 (W)
|
35-8
|
7/21 |
2:30 PM |
Eastern U.P. Travelers
|
0 - 16 (L)
|
35-9
|
7/26 |
3:00 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
9 - 6 (W)
|
36-9
|
7/27 |
9:00 AM |
Kingsford Legion Blues
|
9 - 7 (W)
|
37-9
|
7/27 |
3:00 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
14 - 4 (W)
|
38-9
|
7/28 |
10:30 AM |
Escanaba Cubs
|
6 - 7 (L)
|
38-10
|
8/2 |
10:30 AM |
Hudson Legion
|
11 - 13 (L)
|
38-11
|
8/3 |
10:00 AM |
Menominee Red Wave Legion
|
6 - 7 (L)
|
38-12
|
