All-stars claim two district crowns, including the state-bound Major Girls; one team is out
Major Girls— The Major Girls played three games and swept all three challengers by a combined score of 65-6 and now will play in the state tournament beginning Saturday in Taylor. The players, many of whom were on the Minor Girl all-star squad that played for a state championship last year, defeated Cheboygan in the title game 15-5; knocked off Onaway, 14-1; and dominated Harbor Springs in the playoff opener, 36-0. Opening ceremonies for the 16 qualifying teams are Saturday at 8:45 a.m. Games will continue in the double elimination format until a champion is crowned July 22.
Rogers City?s first game will be played sometime Saturday. The girls hope to take some of the momentum gained at districts to state. Against Cheboygan, the offense was like a slow moving train, building up speed until there was no stopping them. Sara Carpenter doubled in the first inning and came home on a RBI single off the bat of Julia Lewandowski. Emily Marx knocked in Lewandowski for a 2-0 lead. Carpenter came through with a two-run homer her next time up, bringing in Lindsay Ponik, who walked ahead of her.
Leilani Kortman and Lewandowski walked and crossed the plate after Marx delivered another key single. The inning continued when Katie Darga reached on an error and came home on an RBI single from Logan Schuiteman. Schuiteman then stole home and the Rogers City lead was 9-1. There were no runs in the third and fourth innings, but the all-stars put up another six.
Schuiteman walked and scored on a LeAnn Strzelecki single. Carpenter knocked in Strzelecki with a hit. Kortman walked and scored on a Lewandowski base hit and later was brought home on a Marx triple. The Cheboygan pitcher then walked Darga and Schuiteman to load the bases for Sammy Brege, who delivered a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. Schuiteman was the winning pitcher.
Against Onaway, Cheryl Romel (three runs scored) and Kortman (two runs) were one-for-one. Brege tossed a two-hitter and recorded eight strikeouts. Marx and Carpenter had a combined 12 RBI in the playoff opener July 8 against Harbor Springs. Both players had grand slams and two-run homers. Janice Ciarkowski earned the win on the mound.
Senior Boys— Playing flawlessly in the field and shutting out Petoskey twice earned the Senior Boy all-stars a district pennant. As of Tuesday, they were waiting to find out who and where they?ll be playing next. The winner of the Alpena district would decide who their opponent will be next weekend.
Rogers City clinched the district flag with a 2-0 shutout of Petoskey. Cody Wenzel threw three-hit ball through seven innings. The game was scoreless through four innings until Rogers City put its only runs of the game on the board. Greg Peacock got the rally going with a double. That was followed by a single in the hole by Jackson Bruning. Wenzel then ripped an RBI single to score Peacock and later would come in on a passed ball. The runs would hold for RC.
In the seniors? second game of the tournament, they dominated Onaway, 15-1. The boys scored five runs in the first inning, including a three-run homer by Jake Bellmore, who went four-for-four with five RBI. An eight-run fourth put the finishing touch on the win as 14 batters came to the plate for Rogers City. Wenzel was three-for-three. Isaac Freel earned the win, striking out four. The tournament started with a 4-0 win over Petoskey. Wenzel kept the Petoskey bats quiet and threw a two-hitter.
Justin Wilbert had three RBI, two of whcih came in on a double in the fifth inning.
Major Boys— The Major Boys all-stars couldn?t overcome walks, errors and clutch hitting from Petoskey, as the squad had their two-game winning streak stopped Tuesday. Petoskey built a 3-0 lead in the first inning and wouldn?t give it up. Rogers City trimmed it to one, but could get no closer. Justin LaPointe struck out 13 and walked six. The next action is today at 5 p.m.
LaPointe?s dramatic two-run homer in the last inning defeated Cheboygan 7-6, making it possible for Rogers City to advance. Cheboygan took a 6-2 lead on a grand slam but the majors chipped away and got to within one run. With nobody out, Josh Curtis walked and came home when LaPointe deposited the ball over the fence 200 feet away in left-centerfield.
Tyler Szumila earned the win in relief. Dave Lewandowski, Alex Jozwiak, and Jesse Wilbert were all two-for-three. Ben Tulgetske struck out nine North Emmet batters in a 12-0 playoff opener for the squad. LaPointe had two homers in a two-for-two day, while Matt Mertz was two-for-three.
Minor Girls— The Minor Girls all-stars won one game and lost two games over the weekend and are finished in tournament play. Last Friday, the girls dropped a 9-2 game to Onaway as Hilary Viegelahn took the loss on the mound. She pitched the first three innings before being relieved by Paige Lewandowski, who scored the only two runs for Rogers City.
The girls had better luck in their Saturday game with Cheboygan, winning 19-2 to support pitcher Emily Deletka. Catcher Judy Romel had three hits, while Deletka, Lewandowski, and Viegelahn added two each. Lewandowski scored five runs for Rogers City. Onaway eliminated Rogers City 18-7 in a game played Sunday in Cheboygan. With the score tied 5-5, Onaway put up eight runs in the third inning to provide a cushion. The team was coached by Dennis Meredith, Richard Lamb, and Riconda Lamb.
Minor Boys&#
Then the boys ran into Petoskey on Saturday and were tagged with a 13-8 loss. Brege collected three hits, while Dylan Orr had two.
Junior Girls— The Junior Girls all-stars were rained out in the second inning Tuesday against Cheboygan. They were trailing at the time, 3-0. The girls were to be back on the road Wednesday (past press time).
Junior Boys— The Junior Boys all-stars dropped their first game 12-9 to Tahquamenon and can?t afford another loss in the double elimination tournament being played in Rogers City. Tuesday?s game was postponed after three innings because of the weather, but Rogers City was leading North Emmet. The game was to be continued but postponed to Thursday, weather permitting. The Junior Boys? tourney continues through Saturday, with action on the Little League field and at Gilpin Field.