Gull Lake wins Game 1 6-4; Portage Central takes Game 2 13-0 in 5 innings.  

Game 1:  Gull Lake’s Brandon Ruge went 6 strong innings on the hill, keeping the Mustangs off balance to pick up the win against Portage Central. Ruge picked up his second victory of the season, he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits while striking out 6. Gavin Griffin took over for Ruge allowed 1 run on 2 hits to earn the save. Gavin Brasosky was on the hook for the loss. Portage Central got on the board early in the 1st when Ben Cunningham scored on a wild pitch. They added 1 more run in the 2nd when Bronson Wyman scored on a passed ball. Going into the bottom of the 2nd trailing by 2, Kole Warren lead off the inning with a hit by a pitch, Jake Allen also reached base on a hit by pitch. With runners on 1st and 2nd Gull Lake’s Jack Blesch hit a sharp line drive to Portage Central’s shortstop Luke Leto who was able to double off Warren at 2nd. A Nick Fadden single and a Hunter Hazel hit by pitch loaded the bases for Gull Lake. On the next pitch Justin Mansager unloaded them with a 2 out triple, Mansager scored on the play on an error, giving Gull Lake a 4-2 lead. Portage Central got one back in the top of the 3rd when Luke Leto scored on a passed ball. Gull Lake would add 1 more run in the 4th and a crucial run in the 6th both on RBI singles by Kole Warren.  Portage Central cut into the lead in the top of the 7th when Ben Cunningham grounded out to Dylan Stanton scoring Luke Leto who previously tripled. Leto had two hits for the Mustangs, Max Longman also added two hits in the loss. Dylan Stanton lead Gull Lake with 3 hits, a double and 2 singles. Justin Mansager, Cade Stanton, and Kole Warren all had 2 hits for Gull Lake in the win.

Game 2:  Portage Central scored 13 runs on 14 hits while limiting Gull Lake to 2 hits in Game 2. Portage Central scored 3 runs in the 2nd and then broke the game wide open in the 3rd scoring 7 runs sending 11 Mustangs to the plate. They added 1 in the 4th and 2 more in the 5th, giving them a 13-0 victory in 5 innings. Max Longman had a big day at the plate going 2-3 with a homerun, a double and 2 RBI’s. Nick Kolberg, Jack Juday, Andrew Witt, and Adam Wills all had 2 hits for the Mustangs. On the mound Nick Kolberg got the victory going all 5 innings, shutting out Gull Lake while giving up 2 hits. Cade Stanton got the loss for Gull Lake. Gull Lake’s 2 hits were a Cade Stanton double and a Luke Scoles single.  

Portage Central plays Vicksburg home next Tuesday while Gull Lake travels to Byron Center Saturday to play in the Byron Center Tri Tournament.