Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, along with post-game comments from Trent Rutter and Austin Pepin.

ESCANABA---The Gladstone Indians and Escanaba Cubs turned in another white-knuckle performance on Saturday in the semifinals of the Upper Peninsula Zone Five Tournament at Al Ness Field. As has happened so many times before, including three times this season alone, it went down to the wire, and then some.
 

The Indians beat the Cubs, 3-2, in eight innings, to advance to the Zone Tournament championship game. The two teams had to wait out a 77-minute rain and lightning delay before finishing the game in dramatic fashion.

The Cubs scored first in the bottom of the first inning after Eli Gardner doubled and Adrian Mercier singled him home against Indians pitcher Tyler Darmogray.

Mercier, though, had some control troubles on the mound in the second inning and it cost him.

He walked both Isaac Ketchum and Cooper Curtis, and then Trent Rutter came through with a line drive two-run single to give Gladstone a 2-1 lead.

Darmogray recovered in the third inning to strike out the side (other than hitting Chase Cloutier with a pitch), and Mercier matched him with a 1-2-3 inning in the third,

Darmogray walked two batters in the bottom of the third inning, but was able to get Bryce Blixt to fly out, keeping it a 2-1 Indians lead.

In the fourth inning, Darmogray gave up base hits to Trent Turchin and Cloutier, but got a huge strikeout of Gardner, once again, keeping it a 2-1 game.

Both pitchers tossed 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth, sending us to the seventh inning, still in a 2-1 Gladstone lead. But these Esky-Gladstone games never go quietly.

In the top of the seventh inning, Mercier walked Austin Pepin, and with one out, Rutter got another base hit to center field. Then Johnny Soderman walked to load the bases, and the Cubs were in danger of having the season slip away.

With the bases loaded and one out, Ashton Rymkos came into a tough spot on the mound after Mercier maxed out his pitch count. But Rymkos got Darmogray to ground to third, with the play at the plate cutting down a potential insurance run. Then, he got Casey Alworden to bounce into a fielder's choice to Mercier at short.

Disaster averted for the Cubs! But they were still down a run heading to the bottom of the seventh inning against Darmogray, who was also running low on pitches.

And Darmogray got into immediate trouble, walking both Trent Turchin and Chase Cloutier to start the inning. And then Gardner put down a perfect bunt for a base hit, loading the bases with no outs. It looked like the Cubs were positioned for a walk-off.

Mercier had a chance to win the game, and was able to lift a fly ball to Rutter in right field, who went down and made the grab. Turchin tagged up and scored, tying the gane at 2-2 for the Cubs.

That brought up Bon LaChance, who has crushed both high school and Legion pitching all summer long. This time, he hit a grounder toward third, and Cooper Curtis had no play. So, once again, the bases were loaded with one out, and the Cubs needed only a fly ball from Matt Kaven to walk off into the championship game.

Reliever Austin Pepin got the job done to save the Gladstone season. He got Kaven to bounce one up the middle. Darmogray, now at shortstop, scooped it up, threw to Alworden at second, and over to Aedan Creten for a monster 6-4-3 double play.

That sent the game to extra innings, with storm clouds forming overhead, and thunder could be heard in the distance.

The eighth inning would see the international tiebreaker rule used, with each team starting their half of the inning with a runner on second base.

And Creten came through with a line drive base hit to bring Alworden home, giving the Indians a 3-2 lead. And then, the rains came, and caused massive puddles on the field. The teams waited for more than an hour as the rain stopped and the grounds crew went to work. Finally, the game resumed, and Rymkos got two strikeouts and a flyout to keep the Cubs down by just one run.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the tying run on second base, Bryce Blixt got down a bunt to move that runner to third base. But Pepin got Rymkos to pop up, and then he struck out Graham Johnson to end another wild Escanaba-Gladstone game.

The Indians had five hits and the Cubs had six in the marathon game. There were no errors on either side. Both teams' pitchers struck out ten batters. As even as it gets.

But in the end, the Indians beat the Cubs for the third time in four meetings, all of them by one run, and two of them in extra innings.

Escanaba ends its season with a 14-6-1 record, after starting with three losses.

Gladstone improved to 11-9, and will play the Eastern U.P. Wood Ducks in the Zone championship game later on Saturday.

ZONE SEMIFINAL #2---EUP 7, NORWAY 5---The Wood Ducks scored two runs in the seventh inning to beat the defending UP champion Norway Vikings, 7-5, in the other semifinal.

That game was in the seventh inning when very heavy rains flooded the Gladstone field, so the bottom of the seventh inning was played in Escanaba after the Cubs-Indians battle ended.

Just before the rains came, Matt Lumsden and Trey Lynn both got infield base hits to break the 5-5 tie. And then, Wood Ducks pitcher Odin Medrick retired the Vikings 1-2-3 in the resumed seventh inning to preserve the win.

Lumsden had two hits and drove in three runs for the Wood Ducks. Avery Wilson and Trey Lynn also had two hits apiece.

Norway got two runs batted in each from Cole Baij and Jacob Deuter. Deuter had three base hits, but it was not enough for the Vikings as finished their season with an 11-7 record. Baij took the loss on the mound, giving up seven runs (five earned) on ten hits in 6 1/3 innings. Carson McLean got the final two outs after giving up two base hits.

The Wood Ducks improved to 8-9-2 on the season, heading into the championship game against the Gladstone Indians. Game time is scheduled for 4:30, and you can hear it live on WCHT-FM/AM (93.5/600). Listeners in the Soo can tune in at www.rrnsports.com.