Badger Amateur Baseball Association Grand Championships and the Little Falls Loggers seem to go hand-in-hand in recent years.
The Loggers handed Gresham an 8-6 defeat Sept. 6 in the BABA’s 80th Grand Championship game at Veterans Memorial Ballpark in Gresham to win their third straight title.
In one of the most exciting BABA Grand Championship games in recent memory, the Gophers overcame a 4-0 deficit before scoring six unanswered runs to take a 6-4 lead. However, two home runs from Connor Kurki turned a 6-4 deficit for the Loggers into an 8-6 lead.
The game ended on a double play with outs at home plate and third base in the bottom of the ninth inning after the Gophers had the tying run on base and the potential winning run at the plate.
Little Falls took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning without a hit. Kal Fischer, Kyle Finger and Parker Gullixon drew walks to load the bases with one out.
A fourth walk to Drew Radies resulted in the game’s first run, Finger later scored on a wild pitch, and Cam Gruenwald drove in the third run on a fielder’s choice.
The Loggers added another run in the second inning, as starting pitcher Carter Kurki doubled and courtesy runner Carter Melum scored on Connor Kurki’s sacrifice fly.
Gresham’s Trayvon Granquist cut the Loggers’ lead in half with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. Carter Weisnicht, who had led off the inning with a single, also scored and the Gophers headed to the fourth inning down 4-2.
The Gophers then used five hits to score four runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead.
Cody Reimer, Granquist and Nate Ejnik loaded the bases with singles. Mequon Frechette made it 4-3 by driving in a run on a fielder’s choice, Mike Pecore drove in two runs with a double, and Ray White added an RBI single that gave the Gophers a two-run lead.
The score stayed 6-4 until Connor Kurki’s solo home run in the seventh inning. He later gave the Loggers the lead for good in his next at-bat with a three-run homer in the eighth inning that turned out to be the final runs of the game. Carter Kurki singled, and Fischer walked ahead of Kurki.
Frechette singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning for Gresham, and Crew Weisnicht was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Pecore followed with a hit to left field, but Frechette and Weisnicht were tagged out at home plate and third base, respectively, for a game-ending double play.
Gresham outhit Little Chute 9-6. Chris Dunn ended up getting the win on the mound in relief of Carter Kurki, while Connor Kurki worked the ninth inning to pick up the save.
