TAKE TWO: Gladstone Indians Win Twice At States

MENOMINEE---The Gladstone Indians American Legion baseball team beat two downstate squads on Thursday at the state tournament in Menominee.

Gladstone beat Trenton, 10-0, in six innings, then topped Hudson, 5-3, in eight innings.

The Indians will play Friday night against the host Menominee Red Wave in a rematch of last year's state championship game. Menominee had to play just once on Thursday, beating Gaylord, 7-4, under the lights at Spies Field.

Gladstone started the day by beating the Trenton team from suburban Detroit, with ace Jared Crow throwing all but one pitch to earn the victory.

The game ended on the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ben Kelly had a bases-loaded single.

Cooper Cavadeas had an RBI single in the first inning after Braeden Lamberg singled and scored on a wild pitch. In the third inning, Ian Schwalbach broke the game open with a two-run single with two out, making it a 4-0 game.

Dan Martin's RBI double in the fifth inning made it 5-0, and Caden Alworden brought home another run with a squeeze.

Crow threw 97 pitches and left with one out in the sixth inning after two straight errors gave Trenton two baserunners. Tyson Seymour came in to pitch, and threw one pitch: a double play grounder that went back to him on the mound.

Crow struck out seven, walked two, and allowed just two hits.

Gave Cavazos took the loss for Trenton (16-7). going 2 2/3 innings and allowing four runs. Donald Grocki went 1 1/3 innings, also allowing four runs, and Jacob Ling pitched the final inning, giving up the final two runs.

Trenton had two base hits in the game: a first inning single by Matthew Woolsey and a lead-off double by Adam Wilding in the third inning.

After watching Gaylord beat Bark River, the Indians were on the field for an evening game against another southern Michigan team: Hudson, a team that has been a staple in state tournaments on both sides of the Mackinac Bridge.

The Indians had plenty of chances to break the game open early, but struggled to get the big hit, despite many baserunners. In the first inning, Gladstone took a 1-0 lead on a squeeze bunt by Crow with Lamberg on third base. And in the second inning, Zach Hanson squeezed home Schwalbach to make it a 2-0 lead.

Gladstone had a chance to rip open the game as Seymour came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. But he ripped one up the middle that was turned into a 6-4-3 double play, keeping it a 2-0 game.

Then in the third inning, Gladstone loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-battsman, and Cavadeas smoked one of the hardest hit shots of the season.

But the Spies Field is a deep one (325 down the left field line, 385 to center field) and left fielder Trent Longbrake took off running. He somehow caught the ball, over the shoulder, near the fence. Then, there was mass confusion on the basepaths.

Dan Martin was at third base, went back, tagged up, and came home.

But Crow, who was on second base, did not tag up, because he thought the ball was uncatchable.

It took a while for the Hudson outfielders to throw it back to second base for the double play, and Indians Manager Justin Jurek argued that the run should have counted because it scored long before the inning's third out was recorded at second base. Jurek's argument fell on deaf ears, so it stayed 2-0.

Gladstone pitcher Jacob Rogers, meanwhile, was throwing the game of his life. He is in his first year with the Indians after playing for the Marquette Blues last summer. He kept the Hudson batters from getting too comfortable, and made big pitches when he needed to. And his defense was solid behind him most of the way.

Hudson, however, got on the bard in the fourth inning when Matt Kaufman smoked a long shot to center field that was just out of the reach of Schwalbach near the fence. But Rogers got an infield ground ball to end that inning.

Cavadeas came through with an RBI single in the fifth inning to make it 3-1, and that's how it stayed until the bottom of the seventh inning.

Hudson rallied when Longbrake was safe on an error, Noah Benge singled, and Travis Carson put down a bunt that the Indians could not turn into an out. That loaded the bases with no outs.

Rogers got Blake Borck and Griffin Reynard to each hit into groundouts, but runs scored on both plays, so the game was tied at 3-3.

Gladstone got a clutch one-out base hit from #9 hitter Zach Hanson, and then Lamberg bunted him to second. That brought up Seymour, who had made the defensive error in the seventh inning. Seymour smacked a base hit to left field to bring home the go-ahead run, and then Martin singled Seynour home to make it a 5-3 game.

There was more drama in the bottom of the eighth when Cavadeas came in to pitch in relief of Rogers. He got the first two out, but Kaufman singled again, and Longbrake was hit by a pitch. Cavadeas got Benge to strike out swinging, ending the ball game.

Rogers ended up scattering nine hits over seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned), walking just one batter, and striking out three. Cavadeas got the save.

Garrett Gamble took the loss in relief for Hudson (19-14).

MENOMINEE 7, GAYLORD 4---The Red Wave took an early 3-0 lead, Gaylord tied it in the fourth inning, then Menominee pulled away late to post the win. Matt Delfosse picked up the victory, throwing five-plus innings. Jason Janquart earned the save in relief, as Gaylord had the bases loaded in the seventh inning before Janquart got the final out. Janquart and Kyle Struve both had two base hits for Menominee (13-13).

Gladstone and Menominee will play at 7:00 ET Friday night. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. Hudson plays Bark River at 10 a.m. ET. Friday. That game will also be broadcast live.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos, and hear post-game interviews with Ian Schwalbach, Jacob Rogers, and Cooper Cavadeas. Also, listen to a radio replay of the eighth inning of the Gladstone-Hudson contest.