Sault, Rudyard split baseball doubleheader

SAULT STE. MARIE — Sault Ste. Marie had a long wait for its baseball home opener this season.

Blue Devils split a doubleheader with the Rudyard Bulldogs in the first games of the spring at James Field Monday.

Rudyard won the first game 6-5, holding off a late Sault rally. 

Bulldogs senior lefthander Brett Mayer pitched 5 2-3 innings for the win, allowing five runs on five hits, while striking out 10 and walking five. Tate Besteman picked up the save, closing the final 1-3 inning.

Rudyard took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning and added two more in the fifth and sixth. The Sault scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth and two in the bottom of the sixth before falling short.

“Talk about two different games,” Sault High coach Kris Bontrager said. “Game one I think we just had too many little mistakes that hurt us. For the most part they were all self-induced. You go right from the first inning when you have two kids picked off at first base. Those are things you can't have against better teams. I believe it was five out of the six innings that we put the lead off man on with either a walk or hit by pitch. You can't do those things against a team like Rudyard and give them full credit. They took advantage of them and made us pay.”

Brett Mayer finished with two hits, while Aiden Bickel, EJ Suggitt, Besteman, Tanner Baker and Eli Sprague had one hit each for the Bulldogs.

“We played good baseball in game 1,” Rudyard coach Billy Mitchell said. “Brett pitched well, we played well behind him, we hit the ball well and ran the bases well. It was a good win against a very good Sault team. They made a pretty good run at the end and we were able to limit their run and come out with a win. Coming into today we knew they had athletes and were a well coached team.”

Ethan Chambers hit a single and double and drive in three runs, while Josh Lumsden also had a double, and Avery Wilson and Dom Haller had one hit each for the Blue Devils.

Garrett Gorsuch started on the mound for the Sault and gave up six runs on seven hits over 5 2-3 innings, striking out six and walking three. Josh Lumsden pitched 1-3 inning in relief.

Sault High bounced back to win the second game 20-1 in three innings. The Blue Devils pounded out 19 runs in the first inning and ended it early.

Chambers, Wilson, Josh Lumsden and Ian Earl led the Sault with two hits each, while Jakob Davie, Jack Bachand, Haller and Ethan Adair added one hit each. Lumsden, Chambers and Wilson each had doubles among their hits, and Chambers led the team with three RBIs.

“In game 2 our bats finally came alive,” Bontrager said. “It's been a long time since I've been a part of an inning like that. It was good for the kids to show some character and bounce back like they did. I told them after the game. If we can continue to hit the ball like that and clean up some of the little mistakes. We can go on a nice little run here to finish the season.”  

Jonah DeNuccio-McShane pitched three innings for the win, allowing one run on two hits, and striking out three.

Rudyard used five pitchers, who gave up a combined 20 runs on 12 hits and six walks. 

Cam Peterson and Austin Warner had hits for the Bulldogs. 

“In game 2 you have to tip your cap to the Sault,” Mitchell said. “The coaches got them regrouped between games and they came out on fire. We made some errors, but give them credit for putting the bat on the ball and running the bases well. We just have to put that game behind us and get ready for our games against Manistique on Wednesday.”

Rudyard (6-6-1 overall, 3-3 SAC) was also scheduled to visit Manistique Wednesday. Sault High (10-10-2 overall, 5-3 SAC) visits Pickford on Thursday.  

Contact Sports Editor Rob Roos at rroos@sooeveningnews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @rroosTEN.