Post 39 splits twinbill with Preble

GREEN BAY – Marinette’s Post 39 had a mixed day against Green Bay Preble on the road Saturday, Jun. 15, losing the opener in a close 4-2 decision before obliterating the home team in the second contest by a final of 15-1.

In the loss, Marinette got runs on an RBI- single in the third inning by Logan Marvin to bring in Kolton Goldsmith. Post 39 got another one in the fifth as JJ Brand scored on a sacrifice grounder from Marvin that tied the game at 2-2. But the Preble squad pulled ahead with a run of its own in the fifth, followed by another in the sixth to pick up the victory.

Game two started slow and then ramped up to a blowout. 

Logan Kurth knocked in Chase MacGregor with a single as Marinette posted a run in the opening inning to kick things off. 

Then came the second frame and a four-run outburst from Post 39, who took advantage of several Preble miscues to move runners around. Up next, Marinette plated seven runs in a strong fourth inning, highlighted by an RBI-double from Maverick Williamson and an RBI-single from Kurth, making it 12-1.

MacGregor brought in another two runs in the fourth inning on a home run, scoring himself and Kolton Goldsmith, followed by an RBI-double from Williamson to score Weston Hanson and cap the scoring. 

Unable to build on hot start, Marinette falls to Bay Port

SUAMICO – Marinette’s Post 39 Legion squad got off to a hot start on Tuesday, Jun. 18 on the road against Bay Port, putting up four runs in the contest’s opening inning, but couldn’t add to that total as the home team came alive in the third inning with three runs in what would be the start of a three-inning, 10-run outburst that led to a 10-4 win for Bay Port.

“Unfortunately, we gave up 10 unanswered. We had too many defensive errors, I think we gave them five or six unearned runs,” Marinette head coach Brian Lesandrini said after the game. “Obviously, you’re not going to win like that.”

Marinette managed to load the bases right away to begin the game, bringing its first run across after Logan Kurth was hit by a pitch. 

Later in the inning with two outs down but Marinette still threatening with the bases juiced, Justin Kruse came up big with a three-run double, scoring Kurth, Ethan Doubek and Weston Hanson to make it 4-0.

But the Post 39 bats went cold from there. And in the third inning, Bay Port finally got to Marinette starter Jackson Schramm, who had pitched well up to that point, recording three of their five hits for the game in that pivotal inning, bagging three runs to get within striking distance of the lead and also putting Marinette’s defense on its heels. 

Bay Port took the lead in the fourth with another trio of runs, all unearned, and then added four more in the fifth inning on just two hits.

“Of course, I’m happy with the way we started,” commented coach Lesandrini. “We just didn’t finish well enough. We’ve got to avoid giving up that bad inning defensively. Unfortunately, we didn’t. It was a couple of errors that started the avalanche, if you will. We’ve just got to learn from it and try to build on it for next time.”

Marinette Legion struggles to get offense going at Gregg Johnson/Al Erickson Tournament

ESCANABA –Marinette’s Post 39 played an abbreviated version of the Gregg Johnson/Al Erickson Memorial Tournament this past weekend, getting in just two games thanks to Saturday’s action getting canceled due to weather, falling in both, first to Niagara on Friday by a final of 4-3 and then to Plover on Sunday in a 4-0 decision..

In its first game of the tournament, things were quiet offensively with the score at 0-0 going into the sixth frame when Marinette broke the game open with three runs, thanks to RBI singles from Justin Kruse and JJ Brandt.

Facing a 3-0 deficit late in the game, Niagara came right back at Post 39 with a big four-run performance in the bottom of that frame to snatch the lead from the purple shirts, a lead they would hold on to for three more outs to record the win in seven.

Following Saturday’s wild weather and the elimination of scheduled games against Gladstone and host team Escanaba, Post 39 got into another slow starter of a contest against Plover, with the two teams locked at 0-0 after three innings of play. 

In the top of the fourth inning, Plover’s Darren Grabski broke through with a two-run single to get the game’s scoring started. Plover would score again in the sixth and seventh innings as the Marinette bats failed to produce any scores. 

In the defeat, Brand, Chase MacGregor and Ethan Doubek each turned in a base hit for Marinette.