Ogemaw Heights walk-off spoils Gaylord baseball comeback

Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review
·2 min read
Gaylord's Connor Abraham attempts to lay down a bunt during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.
Gaylord's Connor Abraham attempts to lay down a bunt during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.

PETOSKEY — After trailing for most of the game, the Gaylord baseball team put together a rally in the top of the seventh inning to bring their Region 2 district semifinal game to a 3-3 tie heading into the bottom of the last inning.

However, the Ogemaw Heights Falcons refused to go away, eventually knocking off the Blue Devils in walk-off fashion for a 4-3 victory to advance to the district title game on Saturday, June 4 at Turcott Field in Petoskey.

Gaylord's bench watches a play and reacts during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.
Gaylord's bench watches a play and reacts during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.

Ogemaw Heights jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning, but Gaylord countered with two runs of their own in the top of the second, capitalizing on back-to-back errors from the Falcons and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Connor Abraham to tie the game at two runs apiece.

The Falcons reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth, gaining a 3-2 lead they would hold until the top of the seventh inning on a sac fly of their own.

With Gaylord down to their last three outs and needing a run to stay alive, a rally started with a one-out single from Ian Busch. A quick stolen base put the tying run in scoring position, while a fly-out put the two-out opportunity in Louden Stradling’s hands. He responded to the moment with a clutch single, plating Busch from second to tie the game at three runs apiece.

Gaylord's Austin Vanderveer throws a pitch during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.
Gaylord's Austin Vanderveer throws a pitch during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.

The game seemed destined for extra innings after pitcher Austin Vanderveer retired the first two Ogemaw Heights batters to start the bottom of the last inning. However, a bloop single, a hit-by-pitch and a groundball RBI-single later and the Falcons were celebrating a walk-off victory.

Busch led the way for Gaylord at the plate, finishing with two hits and scoring the critical tying run. Vanderveer pitched 6.2 innings, striking out five while allowing four earned runs.

Stradling had a single and an RBI for the day, while Brennan Berkshire, Adam Daust and Luke Enders all added hits of their own.

Gaylord's Luke Enders starts to swing at a pitch during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.
Gaylord's Luke Enders starts to swing at a pitch during the Region 2 district semifinal on Saturday, June 4 at Joe Turcott in Petoskey, Mich.

The season-ending loss means Gaylord will finish the season with a 13-14-1 record. Petoskey would go on to defeat Ogemaw Heights in the Region 2 district championship game.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Ogemaw Heights Falcons beat Gaylord Blue Devils in Region 2 districts