Norway Wins Error-Filled Game Over Gladstone 8-7

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NORWAY---The Norway Knights and Gladstone Braves combined to make 13 errors in a back-and-forth baseball game Thursday night at Marion Park. The final error of the night cost the Braves as the Knights picked up a 8-7 win in eight innings.

The game was played under 46-degree temperatures with a brisk wind that made it feel even colder. The Knights honored their only senior, Gannon Bray, in a pre-game ceremony.

"That was pretty cool," Bray said. "Norway hasn't done that in recent years. This is the first time I've seen it, so it meant a lot to me. A lot of memories here. I'm gonna miss this field for sure. Shoutout to the Norway program for all the memories over the last four years. It's been special."

Norway Manager Tony Adams praised Bray as the teams lined up on their respective sides of the field, then he saluted the Braves' seven seniors as they also tipped their hats to the soon-to-be-frozen crowd of parents and friends.

Then Bray went out to the mound to pitch what might be the final time on the Mike Maule Field (Norway does have one more game next Tuesday against Escanaba).

Bray was charged with six runs in his four innings of pitching, but all six runs were unearned.

It wasn't much better for Gladstone starter Trevor Hanson, who was the victim of three errors in the bottom of the first inning as the Knights scored three times to take a 3-2 lead.

The game went back-and-forth until the top of the fourth inning, when the Braves scored three times on three more Norway errors. That gave the Braves a 6-4 lead. But Norway tied it up in the bottom of the fifth inning when Bray smacked a two-out bases loaded single.

"The ball came down the middle of the plate, and I just swung," Bray said. "I wasn't thnking too much about it. I just swung the bat."

Gladstone answered in the sixth inning when Blake Krouth led off with an infield hit and Braden Sundquist followed with a base hit. Norway reliever Isaac Lorenzoni walked Cam Kelly to load the bases, then walked Hanson to force in the go-ahead run.

The Braves squandered a chance to add to that lead with the bases loaded and no outs. Gladstone Manager Lucas Lacosse called the suicide squeeze, as he has done multple times in nearly every game this season.

But Tyler Darmogray took the inside pitch and Sundquist was a dead duck at the plate. And because Darmogray didn't offer at the pitch and stayed in the batter's box, he was called out for interference. Owen Trombley nearly salvaged the inning when he bounced it up the middle, but Norway shortstop Alex Ortman made a nice play to end the inning.

The Knights tied the game on an RBI single by Chase Carlson in the bottom of the sixth inning, and after Lorenzoni pitched a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, the Knights had the chance to win when Darmogray made errors on back-to-back plays, and he walked Bray.

Somehow, Darmogray managed to wiggle off the hook as he struck out Lorenzoni and Ian Popp, and got Brent Lagina to bounce out to keep the game going.

Krouth got his third hit of the game to lead off the top of the eighth inning, but the next three Gladstone batters made outs. In the bottom of the eighth, Nolan Amundson led off with a walk and stole second. He went to third on a passed ball, but it looked like Darmogray would get out of trouble again when Carlson flew out and Ortman struck out.

Darmogray got ahead of Michael Peterson in the count, and then Peterson got enough contact to bounce one up the third base side. Darmogray got to it, but uncorked another high throw to first base, ending the game as Amundson slid head-first into the plate.

Gladstone had eleven hits in the game, with Ryan Polley and Mason LaChance both getting two hits to go along with Krouth's three. But they couldn't overcome the defensive mistakes, (they also had two runners picked off of second base) and finished their regular season with a 14-9 record. They'll open the district tournament on June 4 against Newberry.

Norway improved to 10-9-1 on the season, and will close the regular season next Tuesday against Escanaba at Marion Park. Game time is 5:30 ET/4:30 CT and it will be broadcast on WCHT (FM-93.5/AM-600) in Delta County, and on WMIQ-AM (1450 Iron Mountain).

The Knights will then face either Bark River-Harris or North Central in the district championship game next Friday afternoon in Bark River.