It was an exciting start to the postseason for the Superior Central baseball team.
The Cougars were hosting Manistique on May 27 in their Division 3 district opener, and they won 5-4 in eight innings on a walk-off RBI single by Brandon Boyak.
Jaykob Dahm started the game on the mound for the Cougars, tossing the first four and twothirds innings on 75 pitches. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks while recording eight strikeouts.
Isaac Rondeau went the final three and one-third innings to get credit with the win. He struck out seven Emerald batters.
Manistique scored two runs in the top of the first inning, but Dahm shut them down from there. He was pulled at 75 pitches in order to keep him eligible to pitch in the rest of the district tournament on Friday.
“We were losing 2-0 at the time we pulled him,” head coach Greg Mannisto said. “It wasn’t an easy decision to play for Friday, and we knew they were facing the same scenario with their pitcher in Cooper Curtis. Curtis threw a heck of a game. Our batters were not making good contact. He struck us out nine times in four innings.”
The Cougars were still behind 3-1 in the seventh, but an RBI hit from Boyak made it 3-2. Then an RBI hit by Dahm sent the game to extra innings at 3-3.
Manistique scored a run in the top of the eighth to claim a 4-3 lead, but SC used its next at-bats to secure the victory.
Aidan Korpi led off the eighth with a single, and he subsequently stole second and third. A wild pitch allowed him to race home to tie the game.
Ryder Kroupa was on base with two outs, and Boyak came up with the big RBI hit for the walkoff to score Kroupa.
Boyak finished with three hits and two RBI. Korpi had one hit, two runs and two stolen bases. Kroupa got on base five times and scored twice.
On Friday in the semifinals, the Cougars took on district host Menominee, where their season came to an end in a 2-0 defeat.
“It was a pitching duel, as the score implies, and we were only able to collect two hits,” Mannisto said. “Ryder Kroupa and Jaykob Dahm got one apiece.”
Rondeau pitched well but suffered the loss. In throwing a complete game, he gave up two runs and struck out nine. Menominee scored one run in the fifth and another in the sixth.
“It was a really nice ballgame Isaac pitched. You forget he is a freshman. We just couldn’t get anything by their defense,” Mannisto said. “Menominee played error-free defense. We got a runner to second base three times but were unable to get the hit we needed. It was a well-played game. Not much to hang our heads about. They fought until the last pitch.”
“
It was a really nice ballgame Isaac pitched. You forget he is a freshman. We just couldn’t get anything by their defense.
—Greg
Mannisto
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