Gladstone Tops Marquette In Baseball Home Finale

GLADSTONE---The Gladstone Braves spotted the Marquette Redmen a 3-0 lead and then roared back to post a 12-6 win Thursday night at Don Olsen Field.

It was Gladstone's final home game of the regular season, with a slew of road games still ahead over the next eight days. Thursday was also Parents Night for the Braves.

Hunter Doucette ripped a two-run homer off of Gladstone starter Clay Cole in the first inning, then Doucette smacked an RBI single in the second inning to make it 3-0.

The damage could have been worse, but the Braves got a runner at third base to end the top of the inning, and then the boys went to work with the bats in the bottom half.

Jared Crow led off with a single, then Braeden Lamberg was hit by a pitch.

With two out, Carson Shea, in the nine spot in the batting order, came through with a hard-hit shot over the third base bag. It was a two-run single to make it 3-2.

Then Cole singled, and Lucas Weinert was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases. That brought up Cody Frappier, and he powered a shot that hit the fence in right-center field, narrowly missing a grand slam. Instead, it was a three-run double.

Cole quickly retired the Redmen in the third and fourth innings, and then in the bottom of the fourth, Marquette committed three errors that factored into three Gladstone runs. Cole helped his own cause with an RBI double, and it was an 8-3 game.

But Marquette came back again, hitting the ball hard against Cole in the fifth inning. Doucette had another RBI double, and the Redmen closed to within 8-6.

Gladstone put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, with two of them coming on a double by Cole.

Cole ended up with the pitching win, going six innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits. He struck out seven Redmen, four of them looking. At the plate, Cole had a single, two doubles, and drove in three runs.

Shea went 3-for-3 at the bottom of the order, and scored all three times.

Blake Henricksen took the pitching loss for Marquette, tossing four innings, allowing eight runs (five earned) on seven hits. Brendan Kaski threw the final two innings in relief, and allowed four runs on three hits. Doucette ended up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

Gladstone (22-2) travels to Iron Mountain for a doubleheader on Saturday, and then it's off to Green Bay for a single game against Southwest. The Braves will play two games in Rudyard next Tuesday, then face powerhouse Green Bay Preble on the road next Thursday night. And then there's a twinbill in Marquette next Friday afternoon.

That's eight road games in a span of one week before Graduation Weekend.

The games next Thursday and Friday will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos taken by Brenda Crow, and to hear post-game interviews with Carson Shea, Cody Frappier, and Braves Manager Don Lauscher.