Gladstone Indians Lose Two At Firecracker Tourney
Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos from Saturday's games.
MARINETTE, Wis.---The Gladstone Indians American Legion Baseball team suffered a pair of losses on Saturday at the Marinette Firecracker Tournament, falling to the Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox, 2-0, and then losing to the Maintowoc (Wis.) Bandits, 13-2, at the Pederson Ballpark.
The Indians finished pool play with an 0-3 record, and will face Menominee in the seventh place game on Sunday morning.
Saturday's games were played under much better conditions than on Friday, when an all-day rain made for a wet setting. But Marinette tournament grounds crews spent more than two hours Saturday morning cleaning up two fields that were completely under water, and all of Saturday's games were played under warm, sunny, and dry conditions.
Against the Soo, the Indians could not solve the pitching of Cole Massie, who threw a complete game three-hitter. Massie struck out eleven batters, and did not walk anybody.
The only runs of the game came in the top of the fourth inning for the Black Sox, when Cooper Sanville, who matched Massie over the first three innings in a pitcher's duel, walked the first man he faced and then hit the next batter with a pitch.
With one out, Zac Allard's sacrifice fly scored the game's first run, and then Indians second baseman Casey Alworden threw away Hunter Thorkilson's ground ball for an error that brought in the second run. That was all that Massie needed, although the Indians did stage a last-minute rally to try to salvage the game.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tyler Darmogray smacked a one-out double to center field, and Alworden was safe when he hit a ground ball to third base and the Black Sox tried to get Darmogray at third base. Too late, two were on base for the Indians.
Massie, though rared back and struck out Aedan Creten and Isaac Ketchum to end the threat. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Sanville got a two-out double to center field, but Massie ended the game on a strikeout of pinch hitter Gavin Frossard.
The Black Sox (19-17 overall) won despite getting just three base hits.
Later, Gladstone faced a tough Maintowoc Bandits team, and had to do so without Darmogray, who was hurt in the game against the Black Sox. Manitowoc scored two runs off Indians starter Cooper Curtis in the top of the first inning, but the Indians had a huge scoring chance in the bottom of the inning.
Alworden led off with a bunt single, and then Sanville and Austin Pepin followed with base hits to load the bases with no outs. Then a wild pitch scored the Indians' run, and Creten drew a walk to reload the bases.
So the Indians were in business, down just 2-1 and three men on base. Curtis then came up and smoked a line drive up the middle, but it went right to second baseman Aaron Stephany. He caught it, and Pepin was hung out to dry off the second base bag. The double play killed the rally, and Ketchum flew out to end the inning.
Then in the second inning, Manitowoc effectively put the game out of reach with four runs. The Bandits (9-1 overall) scored at least one run in every inning, and pounded out 14 base hits against Curtis, Trent Rutter, and Frossard as the Indians' pitching was stretched to the limit. The top of the Manitowoc order was deadly, with Tate Hartlaub and Brady Hadler both getting three hits and driving in two runs apiece.
Manitowoc will face Watertown in the tournament's third place game on Sunday.
For Gladstone (5-4 overall) it was a disappointing day after the team had made a run in last weekend's Gregg Johnson Memorial Tournament. The Indians will face the Menominee Red Wave (6-10 overall) in the tournament's consolation game on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. The Indians will then be home Monday night against the Marquette Blues, and on Wednesday, will face the Escanaba Cubs, on the annual Christiian Groleau Night.
Sunday's game will not be on the radio due to religious programming, but the games on Monday and Wednesday will be broadcast on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
