GLADSTONE---It took an extra two weeks, but the Menominee Red Wave has won the Michigan Veterans Baseball 17-and-under state championship.
The Red Wave bull-rushed their way to the championship with a dominating weekend at Gladstone's Don Olsen Field. Menominee smacked Sagola-Felch Post 168, 8-0, and mercied Gaylord, 10-0, in a doubleheader on a rainy Friday Opening Day.
The Red Wave then knocked off the Marquette Post 44 Reds, 9-3, on Saturday, And then on Sunday, Menominee cruised to a 12-1 win over Sagola-Felch to take the championship.
“You know, this time of year, the kids have been playing for a long summer, so everyone is pretty much playing their best ball right now,” Menominee Coach Josh Jasenovsky said. “We just took advantage of some key hits and, overall, the good competition we faced.”
The tournament, originally scheduled for the weekend of July 17th, was postponed because of thick Canadian wildfire smoke that weekend. It was worth the wait for the Red Wave, most of whom also played on the varsity Red Wave Legion team and on the district champion Menominee Maroons high school team.
“We are a very young team,” Jasenovsky said. “This was basically a freshman team we had out here. Most of our kids are 15 years old. So, we've got a bright future.”
The Michigan Veterans Baseball League was created two years ago by most of what used to be Upper Peninsula American Legion teams that were frustrated with how Legion ball was being run statewide. The MVB decided to not only have a 19-and-under state tournament, but also tournaments for both 17-u and 15-u.
Gaylord won the 19-u title for a second straight summer. Sault Canada won the 15-u.
For this Menominee 17-u team, they may be young, but all of that experience playing against the older kids for the past few months paid dividends, outscoring their opponents this weekend in Gladstone, 39-4.
Urijah Linsmeier earned the pitching victory in the championship game, allowing one run on six hits and three walks. Catcher Nate Nelson, who also caught for John Lauzer's senior Red Wave team, led the way at the plate Sunday with two hits and three runs batted in. Nelson was also carrying a big stick on Saturday against Marquette, when he slugged a two-run homer and also added a single.
Jax Jasenovsky and Tyler Bouty shared the pitching duties on Saturday, with Jasenovsky getting the win after three innings and 59 pitches, and Bouty the save after three innings and just 29 pitches.
In Sunday's morning game, Sagola-Felch defeated the Post 44 Reds, 13-3.
