Hurons lose heartbreaker in district semifinals

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

In Hillman at the district tournament the Rogers City Hurons faced off against the Onaway Cardinals in the second semifinal matchup, knowing the winner would face Posen for the district title. Rogers City was the home team in the contest and after putting the Cards down in order, came to bat in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Logan Schuiteman walked and Sara Carpenter followed with a great bunt that Onaway couldn?t handle to give Rogers City two on with no outs.

Two outs later Schuiteman scored on a passed ball and Greta Grambau singled to drive in Carpenter and give the Hurons an early 2-0 lead. In the third inning, the Huron offense would shine again as Schuiteman reached on an error and was sacrificed to second by Carpenter. Katie Tulgestke followed with a single to give the Hurons runners on second and third with one out. Emily Marx would follow with a double to drive in Schuiteman and Tulgestke and give the Hurons the 4-0 lead. The Hurons lone senior pitcher, Sammi Brege, retired the first 13 Cardinals in a row and saw her team take that lead going into the fifth inning.

In the top of the fifth the Cardinals designated hitter Molly Cleaver got a one-out hit. Pinch runner Kourtni Hyde would be caught stealing by the Hurons sophomore catcher Marx. Melissa Pomranke followed with a single and attempted to steal second base but was cut down by Marx to end the inning. Onaway would again threaten in the sixth as two players reached base but were stranded. Rogers City added a run in the bottom half of the sixth as Sam Hall walked with one out followed by an Amanda Lenard double to put runners on second and third for the Hurons. Katie Darga then singled to score Hall and the rally was ended by a line drive to second base by Schuiteman.

In the top of the seventh inning Cardinal senior Danielle Cleaver led off the inning with a home run to put Onaway on the scoreboard 5-1. Stephanie Richards followed with a single and was on second base with two outs when Deanna Demaestri hit a base hit to score Richards on a very close play at home plate. With Demaestri on first Cardinal secondbaseman Kate Chapman hit a ground ball to short that took a terrible hop toward the face of Tulgestke who was in great position to make the play and end the game for the Hurons.

Chapman reached on the play and brought Shaylee Sachs to the plate. With a 2-2 count, Sachs got under the pitch and sent the ball in the air with the wind blowing out, the ball would sail out of the park to tie the game at 5. In the bottom of the seventh the Hurons would see Carpenter reach with a single but be thrown out stealing in a close play at second base, the Hurons would then go down in order. A one-hour lightning delay followed before the contest could continue with extra innings. The Hurons then intentionally walked Danielle Cleaver. Richards then grounded out before Molly Cleaver stepped to the plate and put one up into the wind that cleared the fence for yet another Cardinal long ball to give the Cardinals the 7-5 lead. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Hurons would go down in order for just the second time all game and lose a heartbreaker to the Cardinals.

?Sammi Brege pitched a great game. We made some great defensive plays and scored five runs on ten hits, we had a chance to score a few more runs but it didn?t happen,? said coach Karl Grambau. Brege took the loss for the Hurons giving up seven runs on nine hits while striking out five a

nd walking one. Schuiteman pitched to three batters in the eighth inning, following the Cleaver homer, allowing one hit and striking out two. ?We played a great game and just came up short. You have to give Onaway credit for the way they hit the ball in the seventh inning down 5-0 and 5-1 with two outs. We were one pitch away on several batters and the Cardinals rallied. I never saw a wind kick up like it did while they batted and the three-run homer was hit high and the wind just kept carrying it out of the park. It just cleared the fence by a little bit but it was enough to tie the game,? said coach Grambau.

Grambau and Darga each had two hits and an RBI. Tulgestke and Lenard each had two hits including a double. Marx had a double and two runs scored and Carpenter added a hit for the Hurons. ?It was a great season and it is too bad it had to end. We had one senior, Sammi Brege, and she had a great year. She was a great leader for us and she will be missed. We congratulate Onaway on winning the district and wish them luck in the regionals at Rogers City,? said coach Grambau.