Cheboygan slips by Junior Girls in the last inning
by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor
If a base of girls who have qualified for the state tournament the last five years wants to make it six straight, they are going to have to dig themselves out of a hole after a 12-10 loss in the opener Tuesday. Up 10-6 heading into the top of the seventh inning, the girls could not hold onto the lead and allowed six in. The best they could do in the bottom of the seventh was get a runner to third. The girls will be back in Cheboygan to play the loser of the Cheboygan v. North Emmet contest. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Another loss would put an end to their tournament run. The game got started off the way everyone had hoped with a 4-0 lead after two innings. Rogers City maintained the lead until the final inning. Leilani Kortman was four-for-five in the game, while starting pitcher Leanne Buczkowski had a pair of hits. Other players taking the mound were Logan Schuiteman, and Lindsay Ponik.
The Junior Girls had mopped up the competition during the regular season, but manager Mike Darga went back to look at the scorebook from earlier in the season and found three players who were on the Cheboygan High School JV team the last time the two teams played each other. Darga hopes the loss acted as a wake-up call and the girls get things going for tonight?s game. The Junior Girls are one of only two teams left in the playoffs. The Minor Girls still await action at the state tournament July 27.
Rogers City just could not get by Petoskey. Again, one of the games came down to the slimmest of margins. On July 10, in a battle of two, 2-0 teams, Petoskey had the upper hand, 5-4. Rogers City dropped down to the losers bracket the next day and defeated North Emmet, 13-7. The win put the boys in the championship series, where it was not as close the second time around as John Garlitz no-hit the local stars in a 17-2 Petoskey win. ?We had a lot of fun in the tourney,? said coach Ed Benzer. ?Our championship game performance was not how I envisioned it to be, but it didn?t take away from the heart showed by the RC all-stars, especially when some said we wouldn?t win a game.? They finished 3-2 at the Harbor Springs District Tournament. In the final game against Petoskey, Rogers City got off to a good start with three of the first four batters getting on base with two walks and an error. The first run of the game was scored when Dylan Kortman got Jesse Wilbert in from second.
A caught stealing and strikeout ended the threat. Garlitz, a big lefty, shut RC down the rest of the way. He struck out seven in five innings of work. Chris Peacock scored the other run. Petoskey had 10 walks and seven hits, but Rogers City committed seven errors. Pat Quaine (10 K) was the winning pitcher the previous day against North Emmet. Peacock pitched the final two innings (3 K) to get the save. The score was still close through four innings at 3-1, before Rogers City broke it open with a seven-run fifth. Keegan Urban was two-for-five with a double and three RBI, while Wilbert had a pair of hits and runs. Clayton Laroche, Chad Karsten, and Kortman all had two RBI each. Ezekiel Freel scored three runs and three walks. Zach Sobeck pushed in two runs on two walks. In the first game against Petoskey, Rogers City could not take advantage of the 12 c
Minor Boys
After starting off with a shut out win against Harbor Springs, the boys dropped the next two games. They lost to Petoskey, 6-5, and Sault Ste. Marie, 20-5. Casey Szatkowski picked up the victory on the mound. Some of hitting stars in the tournament were Skyler Tulgestke, Travis Sharpe, and Jacob Malcoha. Correction: The Major Boys results were incorrectly listed under the bold headline, ?Minor Boys.? The Advance regrets the error.