THE HEAT IS ON: Legion Tourney Semifinals Set

GLADSTONE---The temperatures were hot and so was the baseball on Friday as the Upper Peninsula Zone Five American Legion Tournament continued in Delta County.

The eight team field was cut to the final four, with Gladstone, Menominee, Marquette, and Copper Country advancing to Saturday's action.

GLADSTONE 3, MENOMINEE 0---In a rematch of last year’s state finalists, the Indians and Red Wave played a defensive battle at Don Olsen Field.

Menominee had already qualified for the semifinals with wins in their first two games, so Coach Jon Lauzer chose to start Buddy Beyer on the mound. He threw well, nearly matching Gladstone’s Jakob Rogers pitch for pitch.

Menominee had at least one base runner in all seven innings, but a runner was picked off of third base in the third inning and Rogers got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning when Ethan Russell grounded to second to end the inning. Gladstone reliever Parker Frappier gave up a hit to Russell in the seventh inning, walked Jason Janquart, and gave up a single to Akex Hanson. But he got Keagan Monroe to fly out to end the game.

Gladstone scored the first run in the third inning when Ben Kelly singled and scored on a double by Cooper Cavadeas.

In the fifth inning, Gladstone scored two more runs as Carson Shea and Cavadeas had baxck-to-back RBI hits. The win clinched the pool championship for Gladstone.

MARQUETTE 7, COPPER COUNTRY 4---In the first game of the day in Escanaba, Marquette overcame some shoddy defense to pull out a late-inning victory.

The Blues led, 4-1, after a Kyle Frusti two-run single. But the Flames tied the game, with one run coming in when a grounder bounced off the umpire’s foot into the outfield.

A second runner was thrown out when center fielder Blake Henriksen threw to Jake Peterson for the tag at the plate.

The tying run scored in the sixth inning when Brandon Norkel was at the plate with runners at the corners.

They did a delayed steal and when Peterson threw to second base, Sam Kikila scored the Flames' second run. The runner going into second base, Carter Crouch, collided with Blues second baseman Pete Vandenavond, who was shaken up on the play. Vandenavond was able to stay in and play the rest of the way.

Marquette scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, however, on an RBI single by Henriksen and a two-run, pinch hit single by Connor Steer. Brenden Kaski earned the win on the mound, and Kyle Frusti pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for the save.

COPPER COUNTRY 5, ESCANABA 4---The Escanaba Cubs season came to an end despite a late rally from a five-run deficit, as the Copper Country Flames held on for a 5-4 win at Al Ness Field. Kade Ferrell and Justin Norkol each had two hits and two runs batted in as the Flames grabbed a 5-0 lead, with Isaac Bennetts throwing five strong innings.

But Escanaba got on the board in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Ayden Hanson and three bases-loaded walks by the Copper Country bullpen. The Cubs had runners at first and third in the bottom of the seventh inning as Jake LaFave singled and Connor Aiken walked.

But a strikeout ended the game. Riley Lamb pitched five innings for Escanaba and was tagged with all five runs on seven base hits. He also walked five batters. Drew Rodman pitched the final two innings and gave up two hits, but did not allow a run.

NEGAUNEE 5, BARK RIVER 3---The Negaunee Diamonds were shut out in their first two games of the tournament by a combined 21-0, but the Diamonds scored two runs in the first inning and three more in the second, and beat the Bark River Bucs, 5-3. Four of the five runs were unearned ad the Bucs made three errors.

Tanner Peterson earned the win on the mound for Negaunee. The Bucs trailed, 5-1, entering the bottom of the seventh before Zach Englund singled home Sam Hall to make it 5-2.

Johnnie Robinette then smoked one to the left field fence for an RBI double, but Englund was thrown out at the plate to end the game.

BARK RIVER 6, GLADSTONE 4---In a game that meant nothing in the tournament standings, Bark River scored five runs in the third inning to knock off Gladstone, 6-4. The Indians had already won the pool, and the Bucs were eliminated.

Nick Javurek and Matt Richer had back-to-back RBI hits off of Indians pitcher Ben Kelly in that inning, then Mason Korhonen launched a long three-run homer to left field. It was Korhonen's first-ever home run at the high school or American Legion baseball level.

Korhonen, who pitched for Bay College back the spring, went within one batter of a complete game before he reached his 105-pitch count in the seventh inning.

He had control troubles early in the game, giving up two Gladstone runs in the second inning when Ian Schwalbach and Cody Frappier both walked. Schwalbach scored on a wild pitch and Frappier scored on a grounder by his brother, Parker.

After Bark River had the big five-run third inning, big black clouds rolled in, but the severe thunderstorms stayed to the south in Lake Michigan and in Wisconsin.

Gladstone scored in the fifth inning when Carson Shea smoked a double to the center field fence and he scored on a ground ball by Dan Martin.

In the seventh inning, JV call-up Blake Krouth came through with a base hit and scored on an error. With Cody Frappier at the plate representing the game’s winning run, Javurek came on to get that final out and send the Bucs into the off-season successfully.

FRIDAY'S OTHER GAMES
Marquette 13, Iron Mountain 2
Copper Country 9, Iron Mountain 1
Menominee 11, Negainee 0

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
Semifinal in Gladstone---Copper Country vs Gladstone, 11:30 a.m.
Semifinal in Escanaba---Marquette vs Menominee, Noon
Championship Game in Escanaba, 4 p.m.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos from several of the games, and hear interviews with Gladstone’s Cooper Cavadeas and Bark River’s Mason Korhonen.