On Sunday, Aug. 17, our Islanders traveled to Baileys Harbor to take on the A’s. It was a must win game to get into the playoffs. Besides winning we also needed either West Jacksonport or Maplewood to lose to get in. And as it would turn out, both did lose that day, but we still needed a win to advance.
Our Islanders went scoreless in the top of the first inning, and the A’s scored one in the bottom, so we had a 1-0 deficit after one. But in the very next inning we were able to make up for that. Ray McDonald got on base on an error, Matt Petersilka walked, and Alex Johnson got a base hit to load the
bases. Then top of the order, Caleb Cornell walked, sending Ray on a lei-
surely stroll home, to score. But then we flew out, leaving the bases loaded.
The A’s were able to score one run in the fifth and one in the sixth innings, to take a 3-1 lead. We also left the bases loaded in the third, and men on base as far as second in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. So we had our chances, but were unable to score, and we ended up with a season ending 3-1 loss.
Caleb, Matt Foss, and Alex had hits for our Islanders, but we would need more than three. The A’s only had four hits, including one from Jaxin Lindgren, from the Island, but who decided to play for the A’s in order to get more playing time. It was pretty much a pitchers’ dual, plural, since we used three, and they used two. One highlight was the seventh inning, when our young reliever Bennett Isaacson-Krueger struck out their side in three straight, providing hope for the future.
Kolberg, Sister Bay, West Jacksonport, and Maplewood advanced to the playoffs.
By Jim Rose
