Onekama drops 2 in Glen Lake Baseball Invitational

 
Manistee News Advocate Staff Reports
Published April 25, 2010
BLAIR TOWNSHIP — Dropping its pair of games at the Glen Lake Baseball Invitational Saturday didn’t dampen the spirits of Onekama as the Portagers were able to enjoy their time playing at Wuerfel Park, the home of the Traverse City Beach Bums.

“It was a fun day to get to play in an awesome ballpark,” said Onekama coach John Neph of the three-team round-robin tournament. “To play in a professional place like that was really unique and special, so we had a great day.

“What made it special for us is that every kid got to go on the field and get an at-bat. That’s how we kind of approached it." Onekama dropped its opener 3-0 to Glen Lake, who went on to win its own tournament.

The Portagers Dan Gillespie got the start on the mound and tallied two strikeouts while giving up two runs in four innings.

 
 		 Nathan Fitch finished the game in relief and picked up one strikeout while giving up a run.

At the plate for the Portagers, seniors Thomas Koon and Kevin O’Connor knocked a pair of hits apiece.

In the second game, Onekama shuffled its lineup and put a pair of young arms on the mound in a 17-6 loss at the hands of Inland Lakes.

Portager sophomore Stephen Verrett started on the mound and struck out two batters in 2 2/3 innings of work.

In relief, freshman Bryce Reckow tallied two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.

O’Connor picked another pair of hits at the plate for the Portagers while Jared Miller knocked a triple and in his first varsity start, freshman Curtis McKenney had two hits, the latter a double, to go along with a pair of RBIs.

“It was very good competition,” Neph said of the field. “Any time you can play quality programs outside of your league helps you learn, and we learned a lot of things about our baseball team.”
     
   
     

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