Marquette muffles Maroons in season finale

MARQUETTE — The regular season ended with a thud for the Menominee boys baseball team on Thursday, as the Maroons were victims of a 4-0 shutout loss at the hands of Marquette.

For the second straight game, Menominee’s offense tallied four hits but struggled once it had men on base, with the Maroons going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Menominee looked poised to seize an early lead in the top of the second inning after Dylan Beal and Torin Davis led off the frame with back-to-back singles, while a walk issued to Aden Short loaded the bases.

Momentum ground to a halt there for the Maroons, as Issac Sarles struck out Cyle Kenny and Aiden Seven before getting Nate Nelson to ground out to first base to get the Sentinels out of the jam.

Menominee had another chance to jump on top of the Sentinels after Landan Bardowski and Gable Buck led off the top of the third with consecutive singles before galloping into scoring position thanks to stolen bases.

As it had the inning before, momentum deserted the Maroons when they needed it most after Carlson and Beal both were flyout victims before Davis went down on strikes to end the scoring threat.

Marquette snatched a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the inning and never looked back, tacking on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 4-0 game.

Austin Malke was tagged with the loss on the mound after allowing four hits, four runs, none of which were earned, and two walks. He added one strikeout to his ledger.

Bardowski, Buck, Beal and Davis all went 1-3 at the dish. Short went 0-1 with a walk.

Cream of the crop

It wasn’t all bad news for Menominee on Thursday, as six Maroons collected All-Great Northern Conference honors.

Bardowski was named to the GNC All-Defensive Team as an outfielder and also snared an outfield spot on the First Team.

Buck (infield) and Davis (outfield) both garnered Second Team accolades, while Carlson, Beal and Cam Gauthier all earned Honorable Mention.

Due up

Menominee: The Maroons face Gladstone in the opening round of the District playoffs on Tuesday in Gladstone, with first pitch set for 4 p.m. central time.

Marquette 4 — Menominee 0

Marquette 002 02x x — 4

Menominee 000 000 x — 0

LP: Malke 5IP, 4H, 4R, 2BB, K

Leading hitters (Menominee): Bardowski 1x3, SB; Buck 1x3, SB; Beal 1x3, Davis 1x3