By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC - A three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning propelled West Branch into the championship game of the Michigan Senior Baseball State Tournament.
West Branch's Kyle Wangler launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th to give his squad a 5-2 victory over Eastwood in the championship semifinal at Russom Fields Monday afternoon.
West Branch will now face Eastwood, 7-0 winner over Grand Rapids Southern Monday night in the consolation finals.
Grand Rapids was forced to forfeit the game after it discovered that it did not mean the manditory play requirements for all of its players.
The championship game is set to begin at 3 p.m. with a second game, if necessary, scheduled for 6 p.m.
The Michigan State champion will advance to the Central States Regional in Peru, Ill. beginning on Friday.
Michigan will be in Pool C along with the state champions from Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Pool A will consist of District 20, Kansas, Iowa and Kentucky. Pool B will be made up of Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio.
The tournament will run from Aug. 5 through Aug. 11.
Eastwood…2
West Branch…5
Troy Lambert was a one-person wrecking crew for much of the day, but it was Wangler who delivered the crushing blow to end the extra inning extravaganza.
Lambert picked up the victory on the mound, pitching all 10 innings.
He also had a pair of doubles and a pair of singles for West Branch.
Besides the game-winning, three-run home run, Wangler also had a pair of singles. West Branch got two singles and a double from Kyle Weber.
Jeremy Followell went the distance for Eastwood, which finished with six hits compared to 12 for West Branch.
Josh Martin and Brandon Rickstad both had doubles for Eastwood, while Ryan Mayne finished with two singles.
Southern…0
Eastwood…7
The final score will read 7-0, however, Grand Rapids Southern was up 8-3 when the game officially ended.
However, since one player did not get the required at-bat, Southern was forced to forfeit the game.
Southern led 8-0 after the second inning of play and was leading 8-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh when it was discovered that one of its players did not get the required at-bat.
Grand Rapids was going to walk in five runs intentionally to continue the game, however, after consulting with officials in Indianapolis, Ind., it was decided that Southern could not do that.
The game continued and Southern got the final out to end the game.
The team was going to play the game under protest, but that protest was withdrawn shortly after the game was completed.
The final result will be 7-0, however, the statistics from the game will count, including the pitching and hitting totals.
Chris Feys was on the hill for Grand Rapids and Ryan Mayne for Eastwood.
Offensively for Southern, Luke Glendening hit a grand slam, while Matt Malewitz and Feys both singled and doubled. Pat Schuiteman and Zach Lewis both finished with two hits.
Eastwood got a single and a double from Ryan Buder and a double from David Oliphant.