ESCANABA---Most of the time, when two baseball rivals meet on the field, it is an intense battle. The Escanaba Cubs and Gladstone Indians have squared off in many such battles over the years. But Tuesday night's game at Al Ness Field was not one of them.
Gladstone emerged with a 3-0 win that did not have much drama, and did not include a single RBI hit. Two of Gladstone's runs scored on wild pitches. The other run scored on an infield groundout by Hayden Hardwick. Both teams had four base hits in the game.
"We're always happy with a win," Indians Manager Jim Groleau said. "Boy, with the warm weather, you'd figure the bats would come out alive. But they were hibernating tonight. But there was a lot of good defense by both teams."
For the Indians, Justin Jurek got the ball with the understanding that he would throw only three innings. That's because the Tribe played in the Gregg Johnson Memorial Tournament last weekend, and will play in a tournament in Newberry this weekend.
Jurek managed to squeeze a fourth inning out of Coach Groleau before Christian Groleau came in to pitch in the fifth inning.
"He came in and we had a 70 pitch count on him," Jim Groleau said about Jurek. "To start the fourth inning, he only had about 60. So, he lobbied. He ended up with 75."
Groleau retired all nine Cubs batters he faced to earn the save. He is used to being a starting pitcher, so coming on in relief was a little different for him.
"When you start, you kind of pick when you're going to warm up," he said. "You wear your sweatshirt and you're getting warm. But when you're in relief, you're kind of 'Go Out there and get warm, and go watrm up as fast as you can'."
And the Indians' pitching held the Cubs at bay all night.
"A lot of the balls we hit tonight weren't very sold, that's for sure," Escanaba Manager Tom Ohman said.
Escanaba's big chance against Jurek came in the bottom of the first inning when Dane Messersmith, Ben Kleiman, and Brandon Punzel all had back-to-back-to-back base hits.
But Devin Olsen struck out on a 3-2 pitch and Hunter LaMarch flew out. Inning over.
"As soon as it happened, I was like 'here we go again'," Ohman said. "We stranded three, and that kind of hurt. We could have got some opportunity to get some good momentum going. It sure would have been nice to get two (runs)."
Escanaba had just one more base hit the rest of the way, an infield hit by Jeffry Lyle in the second inning. The Cubs were completely handcuffed the rest of the evening.
Gladstone didn't exactly light it up at the plate, either. Jurek got his team's first hit of the night in the third inning and eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.
In the fifth inning, Jurek walked and Christian Tackman got a base hit. Both scored runs, with Jurek scoring on Hardwick's grounder and Tackman scoring on a wild pitch.
That was it for putting runs on the scoreboard.
Ohman elected to start several players who normally don't get playing time, as the Cubs were "between tournaments" with this game.
Ohman eventually put a few of his normal starters into the line-up, but they couldn't generate any offense either. Jurek threw the first four innings for the Indians, giving up four hits, two walks, and striking out six batters.
Groleau was perfect on the mound.
"Nine up, nine down," Coach Groleau said. "Threw it over the plate. No free-bees."
Andrew Miller, starting on the mound for the first time this season, allowed one run on two hits and three walks through four innings.
But he gave up a hit and a walk to the first two men he faced in the fifth inning, so Ohman brought in Andrew Sedlar.
"Andrew Miller did a great job for us," Ohman said. "We're just going to keep plugging away with him, and he can only get better from here on in."
Sedlar gave up the grounder to Hardwick and threw a wild pitch to allow Gladstone to take a 3-0 lead. Then, he settled down and allowed no runs in the sixth or seventh.
"Sedlar found a new pitch," Ohman said. "It's kind of like a knuckle-curve or something. All I know is that it tumbles and jumps and moves!"
Escanaba stranded seven baserunners in the first four innings of the game. Gladstone ended up leaving nine runners on base, including four against Sedlar late in the game.
Gladstone (13-10) returns to action with a doubleheader Wednesday night, at home, against Newberry.
Coach Groleau is unsure of who is going to play where, given that the Indians will be in Newberry for a tournament this Saturday and Sunday.
The Gladstone-Newberry games will start at 6:00 Wednesday night and will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at rrnsports.com.
Escanaba (3-7) will also be in tournament action this weekend at the Firecracker Tournament in Marinette, Wis. The Cubs face the host Marinette team at 8:30 ET Friday night. That game will not be broadcast on the radio.
But the Cubs' games on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Kym Frazer, and listen to post-game interviews.
Gladstone emerged with a 3-0 win that did not have much drama, and did not include a single RBI hit. Two of Gladstone's runs scored on wild pitches. The other run scored on an infield groundout by Hayden Hardwick. Both teams had four base hits in the game.
Gladstone's Jake Pearson steals second.
For the Indians, Justin Jurek got the ball with the understanding that he would throw only three innings. That's because the Tribe played in the Gregg Johnson Memorial Tournament last weekend, and will play in a tournament in Newberry this weekend.
Jurek managed to squeeze a fourth inning out of Coach Groleau before Christian Groleau came in to pitch in the fifth inning.
"He came in and we had a 70 pitch count on him," Jim Groleau said about Jurek. "To start the fourth inning, he only had about 60. So, he lobbied. He ended up with 75."
Christian Groleau post-game comments.
"When you start, you kind of pick when you're going to warm up," he said. "You wear your sweatshirt and you're getting warm. But when you're in relief, you're kind of 'Go Out there and get warm, and go watrm up as fast as you can'."
And the Indians' pitching held the Cubs at bay all night.
Escanaba's Andrew Miller threw four innings during Tuesday night's game.
Escanaba's big chance against Jurek came in the bottom of the first inning when Dane Messersmith, Ben Kleiman, and Brandon Punzel all had back-to-back-to-back base hits.
But Devin Olsen struck out on a 3-2 pitch and Hunter LaMarch flew out. Inning over.
"As soon as it happened, I was like 'here we go again'," Ohman said. "We stranded three, and that kind of hurt. We could have got some opportunity to get some good momentum going. It sure would have been nice to get two (runs)."
Escanaba had just one more base hit the rest of the way, an infield hit by Jeffry Lyle in the second inning. The Cubs were completely handcuffed the rest of the evening.
Hayden Hardwick RBI ground ball
In the fifth inning, Jurek walked and Christian Tackman got a base hit. Both scored runs, with Jurek scoring on Hardwick's grounder and Tackman scoring on a wild pitch.
That was it for putting runs on the scoreboard.
Escanaba's Jeff Lyle steals second base as Jake Pearson (left) and Christian Tackman (right) go for the throw.
Ohman eventually put a few of his normal starters into the line-up, but they couldn't generate any offense either. Jurek threw the first four innings for the Indians, giving up four hits, two walks, and striking out six batters.
Groleau was perfect on the mound.
"Nine up, nine down," Coach Groleau said. "Threw it over the plate. No free-bees."
Andrew Miller, starting on the mound for the first time this season, allowed one run on two hits and three walks through four innings.
But he gave up a hit and a walk to the first two men he faced in the fifth inning, so Ohman brought in Andrew Sedlar.
"Andrew Miller did a great job for us," Ohman said. "We're just going to keep plugging away with him, and he can only get better from here on in."
Tom Ohman post-game comments.
"Sedlar found a new pitch," Ohman said. "It's kind of like a knuckle-curve or something. All I know is that it tumbles and jumps and moves!"
Justin Jurek holds his swing as catcher Dane Messersmith catches the high pitch.
Gladstone (13-10) returns to action with a doubleheader Wednesday night, at home, against Newberry.
Coach Groleau is unsure of who is going to play where, given that the Indians will be in Newberry for a tournament this Saturday and Sunday.
The Gladstone-Newberry games will start at 6:00 Wednesday night and will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at rrnsports.com.
Escanaba (3-7) will also be in tournament action this weekend at the Firecracker Tournament in Marinette, Wis. The Cubs face the host Marinette team at 8:30 ET Friday night. That game will not be broadcast on the radio.
But the Cubs' games on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Kym Frazer, and listen to post-game interviews.
