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Blues, Red Wave Drop Into Legion Loser's Bracket
 HANCOCK---The Marquette Blues and Menominee Red Wave American Legion Baseball teams both lost to the host Copper Country Flames as the U.P. Zone Five Tournament continued on Friday. Marquette also eliminated Ishpeming in a loser's bracket game. The day started with Marquette and Copper Country finishing a game from Thursday night that was suspended by darkness. It was a very early rise for the two teams: an 8:00 a.m. resumption in the sixth inning. Copper Country pulled it out, 5-4.  The EUP squad out of Sault Ste. Marie rallied to win, 16-8, making Negaunee the first team to be eliminated from the tournament. Marquette was back on the field for a loser's bracket game against the Ishpeming Blue Storm, and Ishpeming had a 5-2 lead before Marquette rallied to win, 9-7. That knocked the eight-team field down to six. Escanaba and Gladstone battled in a winner's bracket game, with the Indians beating the Cubs, 9-6 (see separate story). With the sun starting to go down in Hancock, the host Flames faced Menominee in another winner's bracket game. Menominee scored two runs in the first inning on a Nathan Nowack hit, but Copper Country got three in the bottom of the inning to take the lead, with Hans Stimac getting the big two-run base hit.  But they could get no closer in the final two innings, so the home team advanced to the winner's bracket final on Saturday against Gladstone (2:00 ET). Menominee, meanwhile, will play in a loser's bracket semifinal game Saturday afternoon at 4:30 ET. Escanaba and Marquette were supposed to play in a loser's bracket game Friday night, but the game was rescheduled for 9:00 Saturday morning. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box for photos, videos from the Marquette-Ishpeming and Menominee-Copper Country games.  |
