Editor’s note: A full recap of this weekend’s Firecracker tournament will run in Wednesday’s edition of the EagleHerald.
MARINETTE — Round one of the annual M&M series between the Marinette and Menominee Legion baseball teams belongs to the purple and white after Post 39 collected a convincing 21-5 victory over the Red Wave to cap off day two of the Firecracker tournament on Saturday.
Offense carried the day for Marinette, as Post 39 racked up 15 hits compared to just three for Menominee.
Three of those hits came off Gable Buck, who lasted just one-third of an inning after Marinette ambushed the Red Wave hurler in the bottom of the first.
Chase MacGregor led off the frame with a double before Buck issued consecutive walks to Weston Hanson and Ethan Doubek to load the bases.
MacGregor scored on a fielder’s choice by Logan Kurth and it was off to the races for Marinette, as an RBI-single from Maverick Williamson coupled with a two-run knock by JJ Brand lifted Post 39 out to a 5-0 lead.
Marinette kept the carousel spinning in the bottom of the second, as Hanson and Landon Corwin both drove in a run while MacGregor chipped in a two-RBI double as Post 39’s cushion grew to 11-0.
Menominee answered back in the top of the third, as Tyler Bouty scored thanks to a Marinette error while wild pitches allowed Torin Davis and Lewis Vogeltanz to cross home plate.
Buck tacked on an RBI-groundout to score Aiden Sevon, while a two-run double off the bat of Dylan Beal cut the Red Wave’s deficit down to six.
“I’ve been waiting for us to come out swinging and we finally did that tonight,” Marinette coach Brian Lesandrini said. “Menominee wasn’t afraid to swing. They put the ball in play and we made a few errors that helped them get back in the game. They’re aggressive hitters at the plate, but we played some good baseball and got a nice win.”
Post 39 put matters out of reach for good in their portion of the third, as Brand and MacGregor both drove in a pair of runs before Kurth defied the southerly winds and crushed a three-run home run over the fence in center field, making it a 19-5 game in favor of Marinette.
“We hung a five-spot on Marinette and then went out and laid an egg. We weren’t positive. We came off the field and thought that the game was over, and as coaches, we continually preach that games aren’t over until the umpire tells you that it’s over,” Red Wave coach John Lauzer said. “We’re so young that we just don’t have that killer instinct.”
Menominee was able to get a runner into scoring position in the top of the fourth after Bouty led off the inning with a single, then advancing second on a groundout by Sevon before moving up to third on a wild pitch.
Williamson, who took over for MacGregor on the mound to begin the frame, proceeded to tightrope Post 39 out of trouble by getting Davis to fly out to center field to end the inning.
Marinette plated two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, one coming on a bases-loaded walk and the other courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Hanson.
Buck and Robert Finger were both groundout victims to start the fifth inning before Beal hammered a triple to once again give the Red Wave a runner in scoring position.
Just as he had the inning prior, Williamson got Marinette out of danger, getting Dawson Bardowski to ground out and sealing the five-inning, 10-run mercy rule triumph for Post 39.
Due upBoth Marinette and Menominee were in action on Sunday, as the Red Wave battled Gladstone while Post 39 took one Sault Ste. Marie in the fourth and third-place games of the Firecracker tournament. Results were unavailable at press time.
Menominee travels to Kingsford for a doubleheader on Tuesday before venturing back to Marinette on July 4 to face Post 39 at 1:30 p.m. at Pedersen Ball Park.
Marinette 21 — Menominee 5 (five innings)
Marinette 568 2xx x — 21
Menominee 005 00x x — 5
WP: MacGregor 3IP, 5R, 3ER, 2H, 2BB, 3K
LP: Buck 1/3IP, 5R, 5ER, 3H, 3BB, HBP
Leading hitters (Marinette): Kurth 1x3, R, HR, 4RBI; MacGregor 2x3, 2R, 2 2B, 4RBI; Brand 2x3, R, 5RBI
Leading hitters (Menominee): Beal 2x3, 2B, 3B, RBI; Bouty 2x2, 2B; Buck 0x3, RBI
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