Click the thumbnails to see photos taken by Natalie Pantti.
RHINELANDER, Wis.---The Marquette Post 44 Blues baseball team had a successful weekend at a tournament in Rhinelander, as the team continues to build for the stretch drive by playing on the road.
The Blues won three out of four games this weekend, including a dramatic 6-5 upset win on Saturday against traditional Wisconsin powerhouse Wausau D.C. Everest. Post 44 ended up losing on Sunday, 8-4, to Fond duLac Springs, the same team the Blues lost to in another tournament in Fond duLac last weekend. That time it was a 2-0 score.
The Blues have not played a home game yet at Haley Field, and the only two games in the Upper Peninsula were a pair of victories last Thursday. Still, the Blues have a 6-3 record after the first two weeks of the summer baseball season.
On Sunday against Fond duLac, Superior Central's Isaac Rondeau got the ball and gave up six runs on nine hits in four innings on the mound. Marquette did get a couple of hits from Dezzy Gleason and a pair of RBI from Ethan Brown, but could not come back from a 7-0 deficit that was built in those first three innings.
The Blues beat Rhinelander, 8-2, on Friday, and dusted off Ironwood, 12-7, on Saturday, but the highlight was the win over D.C. Everest. Everest also went 3-1 in the tournament and won the championship on a tiebreaker, but Saturday's walk-off win on a base hit by Mid Peninsula High School's Jaykob Dahm was one the Blues are still proud of.
Marquette Sentinel Alex Brennan did his best to keep the D.C. Everest hitters in check, throwing 5 2/3 innings before running out of pitches in the sixth inning. Westwood Patriot Roman Yuhas walked two and was charged with an unearned run but got out of that inning, and got the first out of the seventh, before Gleason got the final two outs.
That set up the bottom of the seventh, with the Blues trailing, 5-4. Brown led off with an infield hit, Easton Jezewski walked, and when Wes Robinson bunted, Everest couldn't handle the “small ball”.
The error allowed the tying run to score, and then after they intentionally walked Gleason to load the bases, Dahm ripped the base hit to center field to bring home the winning run.
DC Everest outscored their opponents, 40-4, in the three victories, but the Blues held them to five runs. They ultimately got the trophy because Marquette gave up 22 runs and Everest gave up only ten. But for the Blues, a successful weekend.
Marquette (6-3) will finally play a home game Monday night against Menominee (1-4). That game was postponed last week. Monday's game starts at 5:30 ET/4:30 CT and it can be heard live on FM-100.3 in Marquette and FM-103.7 in Menominee.
