Hurons sweep Rudyard in doubleheader
Rogers City took two games from Rudyard sparked by strong performances by two senior pitchers Tuesday at home. ?The kids played well today. I am real happy with their defensive play. We hit the ball. We hit the ball extremely hard today,? said coach Howard Madsen.
Defensively, the team has improved since the first outing. ?Defense is getting better every day and it is going to improve. We still have a lot of work to do,? Madsen said. ?We did all the little things we need to do to win games.? The Hurons took game one 8-3 as they scored three in the first inning and four in the second. Joe Finch had the Bulldogs penned in until the visitors broke out for three runs in the fifth inning.
FINCH WENT all six innings, surrendering five hits and one walk while striking out five. Senior left fielder Scott Kowalewsky scored three runs, reaching base on a single, being hit by a pitch and error. John Rhode threw shutout ball in the 4-0 win. Kowalewsky singled in the first, stole second base, then scored on a passed ball. Sophomore catcher Pat Quaine drove in the second run. He knocked in senior third baseman Ryan Darga, who singled, moved to second on a passed ball, and then moved to third on a ground out by junior second baseman Josh Curtis. The last two Huron runs came on a two-run homer from junior shortstop Jordan Zempel, scoring Rhode, who reached on an error.
LAST FRIDAY, the Hurons played two games–rather started two, and finished one. The first game went to the Hurons, 10-1 behind the pitching of Finch. Two runs in the fourth broke a 1-1 tie and then five in the fifth and two in the six salted away the win. Bret Karsten and Rhode each scored three runs, with Karsten notching two hits and a walk while Rhode blasted a triple and a single. In game two, Hillman broke a 5-5 tie with a run in the bottom of the fifth before the umpires suspended the action. Rhode went all five innings, allowing seven hits and a walk. Kowalewsky had two hits and scored two runs. Scott Grulke had a triple while Quaine added a double. Last Thursday, Rogers City split with Gaylord, losing the first game 10-5 and winning the second game 11-6.
GRULKE STARTED and took the loss in the opener, allowing six runs, two earned, in four innings. Charles Duverney and Dustin Hein worked in relief. Kevin Fairbanks had two of the Hurons? seven hits. In the second game, Gaylord led 2-1 after the first inning, but RC scored four runs in the second and four more in the third. Fairbanks went all five innings, allowing six hits, and three walks while striking out five.
Karsten had three hits, three steals and scored three runs. Rogers City travels to Petoskey Thursday and hosts a tournament Saturday. Rogers City faces Oscoda at 10 a.m. with Posen playing Sault Ste. Marie at noon. The consolation game is set for 2 p.m. with the championship at 4 p.m.
THE HURON JV baseball team, under coach Wayne Karsten, got its season underway with games at Rudyard, Gaylord and Whittemore-Prescott last week. The season started with a 10-5 and 11-3 sweep over Gaylord. Rogers City had 11 hits in the opener, as Erik Meharg earned the win on the mound. He relieved Cody Elowsky as the Hurons erased a 5-1 deficit in the late innings. Matt Mertz had three hits while Sydney Marx and Ben Tulgetske had two. Tyler Szumila was the winning pitcher in game two, striking out five in three innings of work. Zach Sobeck had three hits in the game.
Whittemore-Prescott hosted a JV tournament Saturday. Rogers City won the opener as Tulgestke tossed a perfect game. He struck out eight i
The Hurons managed only three hits in the nightcap as Alex Lemmon took the loss. He allowed two runs on one hit while striking out seven. Tulgestke had two hits and scored the Hurons? only run. The JV team hosts Petoskey Thursday and plays at the Inland Lakes tournament Saturday.