Inland Lakes tops Hurons in baseball district

A pair of walks to open the game proved to be the undoing for the Hurons in baseball district play last Saturday in Onaway. Starting pitcher Adam LaLonde?s free passes, plus a pair of Huron errors, led to the only two runs of the game as the Hurons bowed out of the state tournament with a 2-0 loss to Inland Lakes.

LaLonde struck out three in the first inning, but the walks and errors were too much for the team to overcome.

?He threw strikes and we didn?t. We were always getting into trouble. I kept looking up and they always had runners on. We struggled all day trying to throw strikes,? said coach Howard Madsen. With bases loaded in the second inning, Madsen brought in Aaron Florip, who extinguished the fire. Florip went the final six innings in relief, striking out three, allowing three hits, and walking two.

ON THE other side of the plate, the Hurons could manage just two hits, with line drives often hit right at the Bulldog defensive players. Senior centerfielder Cody Hurst had a single in the six inning, junior leftfielder Justin Kelley had a single in the seventh and Cody Wenzel added a hit. And that was all.

The Hurons? only real scoring threat came in the sixth inning when they had two men on base. Cody Wenzel reached base on an error, then Florip flew out. Hurst beat out an infield single, and then LaLonde struck out. With catcher Tim Cercone at bat, Wenzel was gunned down trying to steal third base.

?Florip threw well enough to win. We just didn?t hit the ball,? Madsen said. The loss ended a streak of 13 years in a row that the Hurons had won the district title, a fact not lost on many upset ballplayers. ?We weren?t really thinking about the streak, we were thinking about getting two runs,? Madsen said.

ALTHOUGH THE season is over, prospects look good for next season, when the Hurons will likely compete in Division IV. ?We have a lot of players coming back, so we will be strong. It is disappointing to be leaving the tournament so early, we?re not used to do

ing that. The upside is that we are going to be well experienced next year. We will have a wealth of experience coming back,? Madsen said.

Rudyard went on to win the district and regional titles. They are in quarterfinal action Tuesdy (June 10 ) in Gaylord.

Last week in games played with Posen, the Hurons took both ends of a doubleheader, 4-3, and 11-4. Florip had three hits in the game, including the game-winning RBI in the sixth inning. Judd Vekaryasz took the win on the mound. Florip had three hits in the second game, including two singles and a double, adding three RBI in support of Wenzel?s pitching.

Rogers City finishes the season with a 22-13 record.