HOLDING SERVE: Gladstone Takes Opener, 16-2

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos taken by Jayger Quinn, and click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Davin Mattonen, Cooper Sanville, and Braves Manager Tyler Swanson.

GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School baseball team pounded out 18 base hits Tuesday evening, with six different guys getting two hits apiece, and the Braves beat the Menominee Maroons, 16-2, in the MHSAA Division Three district tournament opener at Don Olsen Field.

Garrett Carlson hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning to give Menominee the lead, but the Braves crushed the ball in the bottom of the inning, sending ten batters to the plate and scoring seven times against Maroons pitcher Blake Malke.

Gavin Frossard had an RBI hit, Rex Kelly drove in two runs with a single, Johnny Soderman added a run-scoring hit, and Austin Pepin drove in two runs with a base hit.

The Braves scored two more runs in the second inning, with Kelly driving home one of them, and then put five more runs on the board in the third inning. That inning saw eleven Braves batters come to the plate, with Nate Young leading the way with a two-run single.

Trevor Thorbahn and Casey Alworden also had RBI hits, and Pepin had his second run-scoring hit of the game. Gladstone put it away with two more runs in the fourth inning, with Thorbahn's RBI single cashing in on Davin Mattonen's double that nearly left the yard, and Owen Mattonen's base hit that started that inning.

Aiden Beal had an RBI single for the Maroons' second run in the third inning.

Isaac Ketchum earned the win on the mound for Gladstone. He threw the first three innings of what turned out to be a five-inning game, and was charged with both runs on five hits.

Cooper Sanville threw thefinal two innings, allowing one hit. Sanville also had two hits and a walk at the plate, and he scored three times.

Malke took the loss for the Maroons, who finish their season with a 5-18 record, but can still point to their 7-6 upset win over Gladstone in the regular season as a brought spot. One of the few Menominee seniors, Gable Buck, ended his Maroon career on the mound, throwing the final two innings.

Gladstone's record in an up-and-down season improved to 19-13, but the Braves are 1-0 in the most important statistic: playoff baseball.

The Braves will host Superior Central in the district semifinals on Friday. The Couagrs played two games on Tuesday as well, but they were tune-up games, not playoff ones. SC lost both to Escanaba by identical 10-0 scores.

Friday's district semifinal game will be broadcast live on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The second semifinal will feature Manistique against Newberry.