Prep roundup: busy week in Gaylord for area baseball, softball teams

GAYLORD ― After freezing temps and cancellations early in the week left us in the Gaylord area patiently waiting for warmer weather, the temperatures rose just enough in th later half of the week to get the area prep sports teams back on the fields.

It was a busy week second half of the week for the area baseball, softball and soccer teams, each logging multiple games from Wednesday through Friday.

Check out the results from the Gaylord, St. Mary's and Johannesburg-Lewiston in this week's prep roundup.

Baseball

Gaylord- After having their win streak snapped by Gladwin earlier in the week, the Gaylord baseball team was back in action in Boyne City on Saturday for three games with Marquette, Ogemaw Heights and Alpena.

They ended up 2-1 on the day, defeating Maquette 4-3 and Ogemaw 9-5 before falling to Alpena in the finale.

The Blue Devils walked off for the win over the Redmen, using Ethan Ford's RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to plate the winning run. Ford led the way with two runs scored and the game-winning RBI.

Against Ogemaw, Gaylord flipped a one-run deficit into a four-run lead thanks to a five-run fourth inning, taking a 9-5 victory in the shortened game. Lucas Green had the best overall performance with a hit and two RBI, while Louden Stradling had a hit, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.

In their final game of the day, the Blue Devils built a 5-2 lead through five and a half innings before a four-run performance in the bottom of the fifth put Alpena on top for good, wrapping up the 7-5 Wildcat victory.

Stradling went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and another stolen base, while Will Bethuy went 2-for-2 with an RBI, a walk and a stolen base.

Gaylord is now 9-5-1 overall, matching up with their rivals from Petoskey on Tuesday, April 25 for their next matchup.

St. Mary's- The St. Mary's Snowbirds also wrapped up a 2-1 week, falling to Hillman on Wednesday before picking up back-to-back wins over Mancelona on Friday.

Hillman limited St. Mary's to two hits overall while breaking a tie in the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead and eventual 3-1 win over the Snowbirds, handing them their first loss of the young season. Daniel Jacobson picked up one of two hits with a double and an RBI, while Donovan Blust had the other hit.

They got back on track with two easy wins on Friday, defeating Mancelona 10-0 in game one and 11-3 in game two for their fifth and sixth wins of the season.

Dillon Croff pitched all five innings of the shortened game one, allowing no hits while striking out 11 batters. Jacobson had another impressive performance at the plate, providing two hits including a fifth-inning grand slam that pushed the Snowbirds to the 10-run mercy rule. Gavin Bebble also had three hits along with two runs scored and an RBI.

Brody Jeffers led the way in the 11-3 win in game two, going 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, five RBI and two runs scored. Blust got the win on the mound, pitching 4.1 innings and striking out five batters while allowing just one earned run.

The Snowbirds now have a 6-1 overall record this season.

JoBurg- The Johannesburg-Lewiston Cardinals were the most active team with four games from Wednesday to Friday, sweeping Forest Area in the first two games before falling in back-to-back matchups with Inland Lakes.

Colin Basinski had three hits, two runs and two RBI in a 17-2 victory over Forest Area in game one, while RIley McVannel got the win with no hits and no runs allowed, striking out eight in three innings of work. In the game two, 20-0 JoBurg victory, Rylan Rosso led the way with three hits, two RBI and two runs, while Thomas Fox got the win with no hits and no runs given up through three innings of work. He and Eli Lindbert combined for 11 total strikeouts.

Friday's doubleheader did not go their way, with Inland Lakes taking two victories with a 5-0 win in game one and a 12-2 win in game two.

Now 4-2 overall, JoBurg will be back in action at Onaway on Tuesday, April 25.

Softball

JoBurg- The Johannesburg-Lewiston girls also had four games over the second half of the week, sweeping Forest Area on Wednesday before splitting their doubleheader with Inland Lakes on Friday.

JoBurg dominated both games with Forest Area, winning game one 12-1 and game two 23-1 for back-to-back mercy rule victories.

Jayden Marlatt was the leader in game one with four hits, four runs scored and an RBI while also getting the win in the circle, giving up just one earned run on two hits while striking out nine. Game two was an all-around effort as the Cardinals put up 19 runs in the first inning alone. Cassie Tallman and Brittney Fox both had three hits apiece, with Tallman providing a home run and seven RBI while Fox had three RBI and three runs scored.

The games on Friday were much different, both matchups in the doubleheader with Inland Lakes were battles, with JoBurg taking an 11-8 win in game one while falling 12-6 in game two.

The Cardinals put up nine runs in the first inning of game one on the way to the three-run victory. Gloria House led the way, going 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Marlatt added two hits, two runs and two stolen bases as well as earning the win in the circle.

Meanwhile, Inland Lakes used a nine-run inning of their own in game two to ride their way to a 12-6 victory. Jocelyn Tobias had three hits and two RBI while Jayden Marlatt had two hits including a home run three runs and an RBI.

JoBurg is now 5-1 overall on the season, set to matchup with Onaway on Tuesday, April 25.

Other Scores

Softball

Hillman 21, GSM 0

Hillman 17, GSM 1

Girls soccer

Bay City John Glenn 4, Gaylord 3

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Prep roundup: busy week in Gaylord for area baseball, softball teams