GLADSTONE---The Gladstone High School baseball team won its third straight district championship on Saturday, under rainy conditions at Don Olsen Field.
Gladstone beat Alger County, 15-0, in the district semifinals, and then overwhelmed Negaunee, 13-1, in the championship game. The first semifinal game of the day saw Negaunee upset Calumet, 4-3, on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Both games ended on the mercy rule, but both were closer than the final score indicates.
The first semifinal was against the Alger County A's, a combination of Munising, Superior Central, and Mid Peninsula High Schools.
That game was tied at 0-0 in the third inning as the A's threw out one runner trying to steal, and another Braves runner was picked off of first base. But Gladstone scored six runs in the third inning to take control.
Later, with the rain pouring down, the Braves led Negaunee just 3-1 in the fifth inning of the championship game. But Gladstone scored ten unanswered runs to claim the title.
Gladstone Manager Don Lauscher was happy to see his team's bats wake up, after struggling to put runs on the board in recent games. The Braves had 12 hits against Alger County, and 17 hits against Negaunee.
Gladstone outfielder/designated hitter Clay Cole had quite a day at the plate. He was 3-for-4 in the semifinal, with a bunt single, tw0-run double, and RBI triple. Cole's only out was a productive one: a 6-3 putout that scored a run in his third at-bat.
Then, in the championship game, Cole had four singles, scoring three runs and driving in three. So, for the day, he was 7-for-9, with seven RBI and four runs scored.
Owen Hanson also stung the ball against Negaunee, with a double and two singles, and two runs batted in. Hunter Botruff and Lucas Weinert had three RBI on the day.
Freshman pitcher Jared Crow threw all five innings of the semifinal, allowing three base hits and striking out eight batters. Clay Smith took the loss for Alger County.
In the championship game, Braves senior Elliot Danhoff was sharp again, throwing all five innings and yielding just three hits. He struck out seven batters, and the Miners' only run came in when Danhoff hit Shane Ring with the bases loaded.
Negaunee had title hopes on Saturday longer than many would have predicted. The Miners pulled an upset in the morning game, beating Calumet, 4-3, in eight innings.
As the rain poured down, Carter Richardson had the walk-off base hit, setting off a wild celebration along the first base dugout. Grant Johnson came on to pitch the final three innings for Negaunee, and he pitched well for a while against Gladstone as well.
But the Braves eventually got to Johnson, scoring two runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-1 lead.
Gladstone then added four more runs in the sixth and four in the seventh to make it a 13-1 final.
The runs in the fifth inning came on RBI singles by Cole and Weinert.
In the sixth inning, Cole and Braeden Lamberg had RBI hits, and Brandon Cooper had a two-run single from the #9 spot. And in the final inning, Cole had another RBI single and Nick Trudeau contributed a sacrafice fly.
There was a special moment for the Braves as time ran out on the championship game. Gladstone senior Hunter Garling, a two-time All-Stater who has not played this season because of "Tommy John" surgery on his elbow, entered the game in the final inning as a pinch runner for Cole. Garling scored a run from third base.
One continued area of success for the Braves on Saturday was bunting. Cole had a bunt single in the first game. Then in the championship game, Lamberg had a bunt single, while Botruff, Dan Martin, and Weinert all had sacrafice bunts.
Gladstone improved to 20-12 on the season. The Braves have won 13 of their last 15 games after starting the season with a 7-10 overall record.
Gladstone travels to Charlevoix next Saturday for the Division Three regional tournament. The Braves will face Kalkaska in the semifinals at approximately 12:00 noon. The other semifinal game will pit Boyne City against Manton.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to hear interviews with Cole, Danhoff, and Coach Lauscher, listen to game highlights, and to see photos and videos taken by Laura Lamberg.
Gladstone beat Alger County, 15-0, in the district semifinals, and then overwhelmed Negaunee, 13-1, in the championship game. The first semifinal game of the day saw Negaunee upset Calumet, 4-3, on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The first semifinal was against the Alger County A's, a combination of Munising, Superior Central, and Mid Peninsula High Schools.
That game was tied at 0-0 in the third inning as the A's threw out one runner trying to steal, and another Braves runner was picked off of first base. But Gladstone scored six runs in the third inning to take control.
Later, with the rain pouring down, the Braves led Negaunee just 3-1 in the fifth inning of the championship game. But Gladstone scored ten unanswered runs to claim the title.
Gladstone Manager Don Lauscher was happy to see his team's bats wake up, after struggling to put runs on the board in recent games. The Braves had 12 hits against Alger County, and 17 hits against Negaunee.
Gladstone outfielder/designated hitter Clay Cole had quite a day at the plate. He was 3-for-4 in the semifinal, with a bunt single, tw0-run double, and RBI triple. Cole's only out was a productive one: a 6-3 putout that scored a run in his third at-bat.
Owen Hanson also stung the ball against Negaunee, with a double and two singles, and two runs batted in. Hunter Botruff and Lucas Weinert had three RBI on the day.
Freshman pitcher Jared Crow threw all five innings of the semifinal, allowing three base hits and striking out eight batters. Clay Smith took the loss for Alger County.
In the championship game, Braves senior Elliot Danhoff was sharp again, throwing all five innings and yielding just three hits. He struck out seven batters, and the Miners' only run came in when Danhoff hit Shane Ring with the bases loaded.
Negaunee had title hopes on Saturday longer than many would have predicted. The Miners pulled an upset in the morning game, beating Calumet, 4-3, in eight innings.
As the rain poured down, Carter Richardson had the walk-off base hit, setting off a wild celebration along the first base dugout. Grant Johnson came on to pitch the final three innings for Negaunee, and he pitched well for a while against Gladstone as well.
Gladstone then added four more runs in the sixth and four in the seventh to make it a 13-1 final.
The runs in the fifth inning came on RBI singles by Cole and Weinert.
In the sixth inning, Cole and Braeden Lamberg had RBI hits, and Brandon Cooper had a two-run single from the #9 spot. And in the final inning, Cole had another RBI single and Nick Trudeau contributed a sacrafice fly.
There was a special moment for the Braves as time ran out on the championship game. Gladstone senior Hunter Garling, a two-time All-Stater who has not played this season because of "Tommy John" surgery on his elbow, entered the game in the final inning as a pinch runner for Cole. Garling scored a run from third base.
One continued area of success for the Braves on Saturday was bunting. Cole had a bunt single in the first game. Then in the championship game, Lamberg had a bunt single, while Botruff, Dan Martin, and Weinert all had sacrafice bunts.
Gladstone improved to 20-12 on the season. The Braves have won 13 of their last 15 games after starting the season with a 7-10 overall record.
Gladstone travels to Charlevoix next Saturday for the Division Three regional tournament. The Braves will face Kalkaska in the semifinals at approximately 12:00 noon. The other semifinal game will pit Boyne City against Manton.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to hear interviews with Cole, Danhoff, and Coach Lauscher, listen to game highlights, and to see photos and videos taken by Laura Lamberg.
