KINGSFORD---The Norway Little League has dominated the district tournaments over the past few years, and the Gladstone Major Boys showed up in Dickinson County on Friday without a single player who played travel ball during the spring.
And when Gladstone fell behind, 5-0, it looked like just another Norway playoff win. But the Gladstone boys roared back to tie the game late, before Norway scored four runs in the sixth inning to post a 9-5 victory at the East Kingsford Field.
The win puts Norway into Sunday's district championship game, while Gladstone has to come back to Kingsford on Saturday to face the host team in a loser's bracket contest.
Gladstone pitcher Quinn Downey had a tough first inning, throwing 30 of his 85 allowed pitches, and falling behind, 4-0.
Connor Ortman had an RBI single in the inning, Bryan Stanchina added a hit that scored a run (with an error attached), and two other Norway runs scored on passed balls and defensive errors.
So, Gladstone was in a hole.
And the hole got deeper when Micah Wilson ripped a solo home run over the tall fences in right field in the third inning, giving Norway a five-run lead. Norway chose to go with a pitching policy that allows a boy to throw 35 pitches and need only one day's rest before pitching again.
Concluding that they could beat Gladstone and play in Sunday's title game with a full slate of arms, Norway used four different boys on the hill.
It almost backfired as Gladstone started to chip away at the deficit. In the bottom of the third inning, Doby Gillis and Quinn Downey both walked. Jake Wachholtz doubled in one run, and two more came in on a wild pitch and error. It was a 5-3 ballgame.
On the mound, Downey settled down, and held the Norway bats in check.
Then in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Gladstone boys made another move.
Downey led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Tyler Barteld was safe on an error by the Norway pitcher, scoring Downey with the 5-4 run. Wachholtz followed with his second double of the game, tying the contest at 5-5.
With two out, Daniel Martin got a base hit to right field. Coach Brady Downey sent Wachholtz around third with the potential go-ahead run.
But Shawn Gogolewski made a nice throw to pitcher Ridge Krueger, who relayed it to catcher Nick Morvich. Morvich applied the tag on Wachholtz, and the game stayed tied.
Norway had the top of the order due in the sixth inning, as Downey still had nine pitches to work with before the 85-pitch limit. Adam Faull led off with a single, but Downey got Krueger to bounce int a fielder's choice play for the first out.
Downey walked Morvich to put two on, then had a battle with the clean-up hitter Ortman. Downey got two strikes on him, but Ortman ripped a two-run double just out of the reach of center fielder Jared DeMeuse. It was Ortman's third hit of the game.
That was it for Downey, who had met his pitch limit. Marc Madden came in to pitch, and a passed ball scored Ortman to make it 8-5.
Then Gogolewski got the icing on the cake with a very long solo home run to left field to make it a 9-5 score.
Gladstone could not score in the bottom of the inning, and Norway escaped.
Gladstone plays Kingsford at 12:00 ET/11am CT Saturday in Kingsford.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see more pictures, video clips, and listen to radio highlights from the game.
And when Gladstone fell behind, 5-0, it looked like just another Norway playoff win. But the Gladstone boys roared back to tie the game late, before Norway scored four runs in the sixth inning to post a 9-5 victory at the East Kingsford Field.
Gladstone pitcher Quinn Downey.
Gladstone pitcher Quinn Downey had a tough first inning, throwing 30 of his 85 allowed pitches, and falling behind, 4-0.
Connor Ortman had an RBI single in the inning, Bryan Stanchina added a hit that scored a run (with an error attached), and two other Norway runs scored on passed balls and defensive errors.
So, Gladstone was in a hole.
And the hole got deeper when Micah Wilson ripped a solo home run over the tall fences in right field in the third inning, giving Norway a five-run lead. Norway chose to go with a pitching policy that allows a boy to throw 35 pitches and need only one day's rest before pitching again.
Micah Wilson home run to right.
It almost backfired as Gladstone started to chip away at the deficit. In the bottom of the third inning, Doby Gillis and Quinn Downey both walked. Jake Wachholtz doubled in one run, and two more came in on a wild pitch and error. It was a 5-3 ballgame.
Gladstone center fielder Jared DeMeuse.
Then in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Gladstone boys made another move.
Downey led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Tyler Barteld was safe on an error by the Norway pitcher, scoring Downey with the 5-4 run. Wachholtz followed with his second double of the game, tying the contest at 5-5.
With two out, Daniel Martin got a base hit to right field. Coach Brady Downey sent Wachholtz around third with the potential go-ahead run.
But Shawn Gogolewski made a nice throw to pitcher Ridge Krueger, who relayed it to catcher Nick Morvich. Morvich applied the tag on Wachholtz, and the game stayed tied.
Norway had the top of the order due in the sixth inning, as Downey still had nine pitches to work with before the 85-pitch limit. Adam Faull led off with a single, but Downey got Krueger to bounce int a fielder's choice play for the first out.
Downey walked Morvich to put two on, then had a battle with the clean-up hitter Ortman. Downey got two strikes on him, but Ortman ripped a two-run double just out of the reach of center fielder Jared DeMeuse. It was Ortman's third hit of the game.
Shawn Gogolewski home run.
Then Gogolewski got the icing on the cake with a very long solo home run to left field to make it a 9-5 score.
Gladstone could not score in the bottom of the inning, and Norway escaped.
Gladstone plays Kingsford at 12:00 ET/11am CT Saturday in Kingsford.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see more pictures, video clips, and listen to radio highlights from the game.
Norway's Jason Kirschner bats as Gladstone catcher Brody Sanville closes his eyes.
