Rudyard ends Hurons’ season at regional baseball tournament
by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor
The Hurons were not able to overcome a poor start in the regional semifinals Saturday as they lost to Rudyard, 6-2 at Johannesburg. ?Sometimes you have to say that your opponent is pretty good and they beat you. And that is what they did today,? said Huron coach Howard Madsen. ?They (Rudyard) hit the ball well enough to win and they caught the ball. They played better than we did today. I have to give them credit.?
RUDYARD?S FIRST three batters of the game reached base, the first on a walk, the next two on singles, and each would later score in a three-run first inning. That would be enough to propel the Bulldogs into the regional finals where they defeated Central Lake. The game had some elements of a track meet, with a lot of action on the base paths. Rudyard stole a base in the first, then Huron catcher Greg Peacock cut down a runner at second for the final out of the inning. Rudyard stole eight bases in the contest and were caught twice.
IN THE Huron first, Rogers City?s lead off batter, sophomore shortstop Jordan Zempel, walked but then was picked off first, the first of three Hurons picked off base. Isaac Freel followed with a strikeout, and then Tyler Schuiteman doubled to center, just ahead of John Rhode?s strikeout to end the inning. Rudyard continued its assault in the second inning. After allowing two singles and hitting a batter, Huron starter Nick Kowalski was lifted by Madsen with two out in the second inning and a runner on base. Joe Finch came on and worked four and one-third innings. He surrendered three hits and a run while walking three and striking out three. Rogers City never could mount a rally against two tough Rudyard lefties, starter Josh LaCoursiere, who pitched the first three and one-third innings, or reliever Craig Wallis, who finished. Between them they allowed seven hits and five walks while striking out nine Huron batters. Wallis showed signs of being overpowering at times, despite an injury which limited him to minimal innings so far this season. The big junior wasn?t afraid to pitch Huron hitters inside and was just wild enough to keep them off-stride.
Rogers City scored a run in the fourth, courtesy of an RBI single by all-state candidate Tyler Schuiteman. The senior outfielder drove in Zempel who singled to lead off the inning and was sacrificed to third by Freel.
SCHUITEMAN ADVANCED to second on an error by the first baseman, but was left stranded as Rhode and Scott Kowalewsky both struck out. Wallis entered the game in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two out. The Hurons threatened in the inning when Evan Vogelheim reached base on an error by the second baseman, pinch-hitter Dustin Hein walked, and Finch beat out a bunt. Finch was caught leaning toward second base and was picked off for the second out. LaCoursiere re-loaded the bases with a walk to Zempel, the second of his three walks on the game. Then, Rudyard coach Ron VanSloten brought in Wallis to face the left-hand hitting Freel. Wallis struck out Freel to end the threat, keeping the score at 4-1 after four innings. Rudyard added a run in the fifth inning on a lead off single, a stolen base, a bunt single to move the runner to third, and a sacrifice fly. Rogers City?s 3-4-5 hitters went down 1-2-3, the only time Schuiteman didn?t get a hit in the game from the number three slot in the lineup.
Finch walked a batter and hit another in the Rudyard sixth, but kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. Good base running and bad base running gained the Hurons a run in the sixth inning. Junior centerfielder Bret Karsten started the Huron half of the sixth with a line drive single to left. He stole second and then moved to third after Wallis walked Kowalski and Zempel. With the bases loaded and two out, Karsten scored when Zempel got snared in a rundown between first and second, after he took off on a 3-2 count to Freel. Karsten sped to the plate safely, before Zempel wa
RHODE CAME on to pitch the seventh inning, walking two and striking out two batters. He committed a balk to allow Rudyard?s sixth and final run of the game. In the Hurons? last chance inning, Schuiteman singled to right but was cut down trying to stretch his hit to a double. Rogers City managed seven hits with three by Schuiteman, and one each from Zempel, Karsten, Vogelheim, and Finch. Coach Madsen?s team ends the season at 19-12-2, after winning the district title the week before. He said sometimes the other team just plays better and that was the case at Johannesburg Saturday.
?We didn?t throw strikes and we didn?t pitch the ball very well. I have to give their pitchers credit. The Rudyard pitchers were really effective. They hit the good spots when they needed to and handled a couple of shots. We only had a couple of kids who were quick enough to turn on the ball. They were good at hitting the inside portion of the plate. They did a good job,? Madsen said. The game ended the careers of six Huron seniors, Schuiteman, Vogelheim, Freel, Kowalski, Peacock, and Jackson Bruning.