A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
The area all-star teams for softball and baseball split up and played games last week at Wade Stadium in Duluth.
The area all-star teams for softball and baseball split up and played games last week at Wade Stadium in Duluth.
Wyatt Kelley of Wrenshall with a foot on the bag and his eye on the ball to complete the play at 1st base during the Polar League All-Star game at Wade Stadium.
Ryan Gray of Carlton, playing short stop, fields a grounder as part of the "Blue" team at Wade Stadium.
Kristian Herman of Carlton pitching for the "Silver" team at Wade Stadium.
Jordan Jokinen of Cromwell waiting for a pitch during the Polar League All-Star game at Wade Stadium.
South Ridge player Celia Olesiak swings away during Polar League All-Star action at Wade Stadium.
Cromwell's Liz Risacher with a jump and a catch to still tag out the runner headed to 1st base during the Polar League All-Stars game at Wade Stadium.
The spring sports season wrapped up with what has become a fan and player favorite for all - the Polar League All Star baseball and softball games.
Things kicked off Friday at Wade Stadium in West Duluth with the boys taking the spotlight first, facing off as the Polar Blue All Stars vs. the Polar Silver All Stars.
From Carlton County, the Blue All Stars featured James LeGarde of Esko, Ryan Gray and Tanner Anderson of the Carlton Bulldogs, Mason Lane of the South Ridge Panthers, and Wyatt Kelley and Randy Wimmer of Wrenshall.
The Silver All Stars included Peyton Koskela and Josh Bolgren of the Eskomos, Kaden Crane and Kristian Herman of the Bulldogs, Connor Bushbaum and teammate Logan Young of South Ridge, Conner Buell of Barnum, Cooper Bexell of Moose Lake-Willow River, and Andrew Silverio of Wrenshall.
Coaches were Ryan Schmidt of the Bulldogs for the Blue All Stars and Arli Jorgenson of Cook County for the Silver All Stars.
The game ended with the Silver All Stars beating the Blue All Stars by a score of 10-6. The Silver team used a six-run fourth inning to tie the game and added runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh to pick up the four-run victory.
Logan Young and Kristian Herman each had two hits in the win, and Peyton Koskela had a two-run double in the fourth for the Silver Team. He also was the winning pitcher for the Silver team.
Mason Lane and Ryan Gray each had two hits for the Blue All Stars in the loss. The game - which featured 18 hits between both teams - also saw 14 errors in a fun-filled atmosphere.
Softball All Stars
The girls took the softball field with the same two Polar Blue and Silver All Star teams.
The Blue team picked up a 12-11 win in the seventh inning. Kristy Demuth led all players with three hits on the afternoon.
Miranda Kelly was the winning pitcher, pitching in the third, fourth and seventh innings.
"It's just a blast to have one more time with all the girls," said coach Jeff Emmanuel, adding that it was nice getting to coach players they competed against all year long. "It was special to get to coach them, instead of against them."
Local players competing in the All Star softball game included Miranda Kelly, Kristy Demuth and Jenna Zdabski of Esko, Brooke Kent of Wrenshall, Liz Risacher of Cromwell-Wright, Malania Madill and Celia Olesiak from South Ridge. Esko's Dea Deleon was selected but didn't play.
Abby and Brynne Mickle, Taylor Nelson and Alania Bennet represented Carlton on the Silver team, along with Jessica Stevens, Izabell Carlson, and Mendota Castonguay of Barnum.
"The highlight of the game was when Alexis Stokke of Floodwood hit her first-ever home run; that's what this is all about." Emmanuel said.
