RC plays for regional title on home field Saturday

by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor A two-run triple by junior third baseman Matt Mertz broke a 2-2 tie with tournament host Hillman in the district championship game, giving the Hurons a come from behind win. That sets the stage for regional action on the Hurons? home field Saturday. Norway, which came out of the Rudyard district, takes on Gaylord St. Mary, winner of the Johannesburg-Lewiston district in the 10 a.m. opener.

Rogers City (19-12) faces four-time district champ Harbor Light Christian (26-4-1) in the second regional semifinal. The winners square off in the afternoon championship game with a trip to Traverse City Central for the quarterfinals Tuesday on the line. The Rogers City regional winner will play the winner of the Maple City regional, which includes 34-1 and number one ranked Frankfort.

Harbor Light defeated Pellston 18-0 in a three-inning mercy-rule contest. They defeated Mackinaw City 6-1 in the semifinals. Norway (11-4-1), in its first year of varsity baseball, advanced to the regionals with wins over Pickford 9-2 in the opener and a stunning 5-4 win over host Rudyard (17-8-1) in the championship game.

St. Mary defeated Wolverine 10-7 in the semifinal game and topped Joberg 6-5, avenging two losses to the Cardinals earlier in the season. MERTZ SLASHED his game winning hit to right, scoring Scott Grulke, who was intentionally walked (one of three intentional passes issued to him on the day) and Jordan Zempel, who singled. Before that, Zempel?s hit brought in Tyler Szumila, who started the rally with a one-out single. Rogers City trailed the Tigers 2-1 after Hillman scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Hillman sophomore Andrew Saddler crushed the first pitch he saw over the right field fence.

Hillman took the lead off a pair of Huron errors in the sixth. A high fly ball off the bat of Travis Schalk got lost in the sun in right field, and Schalk ended up on third. He scored as Szumila?s pitch got by Huron catcher Pat Quaine to give the Tigers the lead. Szumila made few mistakes in the contest, exhibiting great control on the mound. He spotted fastballs and kept hitters off-stride with a tricky curveball. The junior pitched all seven innings, allowing just six hits and one walk. He had two strikeouts and his team committed two errors behind him. He had two of his team?s five hits and scored two runs.

THE FIRST Huron run came in the fourth inning. Szumila singled on a bloop pop-up down the third base line and went to second on an error. He scored off another error, from a ball hit by Grulke to shortstop. ?Close games are fun. Fans don?t really like them but I do,? said coach Howard Madsen. ?Coaches can have more of an impact in a close game.?

Madsen said coming back to win after surr

endering the go-ahead run on errors felt good. ?We had to battle back. We can?t make mistakes. That is a good baseball team we beat and I am very proud of the way we bounced back,? he said. ROGERS CITY topped Onaway 16-2 in the first game of district play. Ben Tulgestke picked up the win and had a big day at the plate. He pitched all five innings of a mercy-shortened game, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk. He struck out three. At bat, he scored four times, reaching base on a single in the first, being hit by a pitch in the second, was safe on an error in the third and he walked in the fourth inning.

Zempel drove in five runs on a three-run homer in the first inning, a sacrifice fly in the second, and a double in the fourth. He also singled in the third inning. Senior second baseman Josh Curtis had two doubles and a single and drove in four runs in the big win over Onaway. Szumila and sophomore center fielder Jesse Wilbert each had two hits in the contest. Rogers City scored four runs in the first, three in the second, two in the third and seven in the fourth inning. Winner of Tuesday?s quarterfinal game will play the winner of the Maple City regional, which includes 34-1 and number one ranked Frankfort.