Suttons Bay and Glen Lake hoped to pick up momentum with wins heading into their intra-county clash Tuesday.

KODY HERMAN of Suttons Bay blocks the
plate and prepares to tag out Ray Platts of
St. Mary.

There will be much on the line, including family bragging rights: Suttons Bay assistant coach Ken Herman is the brother of Laker coach Kris Herman.

Adding to the family mix: Norsemen catcher Kody Herman is Ken Herman’s son — and the nephew of Glen Lake’s Kris Herman.

But the game will mean much more, with district tournaments following the next week.

“Besides the fact that it’s Glen Lake and Suttons Bay, a win for either one of us will help get us going for the districts,” said Suttons Bay coach Doug Periard.

Both teams scored double wins in the Northwest Conference Tuesday. The Norsemen set back Leland, 12-1 and 13-3.

Adam Moritz was the winner in the opener, helped by 2-for-3 performances from Anthony Stewart and Shane Kaufman. Stewart also scored 2 runs and knocked in 3 more. Kody Herman doubled and scored twice; Marty Glowicki added a pair of singles.

Ryan Manning and Moritz combined for the win in the nightcap, with Stewart again going 2-for-3 and scoring twice. Credit Herman with a single, RBI and 2 runs; Manning added a double.

Suttons Bay dropped two to conference-leading Benzie Central Friday in makeup games, 12-4 and 16-2.

Manning and Stewart each went 2-for-3 in the first game, with Stewart doubling. Manning again was 2-for-3 at the plate in the nightcap; credit Jared Schaub and Luke Baumann with singles.

Suttons Bay is 7-5 in the Northwest and 12-11 overall; Glen Lake is 11-11 and 4-6 in conference play.

The Lakers picked off Buckley twice Tuesday, 8-2 and 14-11 in an extra inning affair — with Joe Galla winning both games.

“When we needed someone to step up on the hill, Joe was great,” said Laker coach Herman.

Down 2-1 in the fourth, Josh Jacklin and Kyle Klumpp knocked in the tying and winning runs. Klumpp’s 3-run homer in the sixth added some insurance, with Nick Swartz providing solo shots in the third and sixth innings.

Klumpp had 4 RBI, while Jacklin added a pair of singles. Galla provided 3 solid innings of relief work.

The nightcap was a wild affair, with Glen Lake scoring twice to take a 10-9 lead in the top of the sixth but Buckley coming back with a run to tie it. In the seventh, Devin Weber singled home a run, KC Novak singled him home, and Jacklin followed with a 2-run homer.

Buckley loaded the bases with two out and its best batter in Josh Ledford at the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Galla had been brought in again in relief.

Rather than have Galla take a chance on Ledford, who had homered earlier, Herman ordered up an intentional walk allowing a run to score. But Galla got the next batter to ground out, ending the game.

“You never let yourself get beat by their best hitter,” explained Herman.

Jacklin picked up 3 homers in the game, went 4-for-5 at the plate and knocked in 4 runs. Griffard also homered. Collecting a pair of singles each were Ryan Novak and Klumpp.

“We’ve been playing some decent ball, so it’s about time it paid off. We needed to be rewarded for that,” said Herman. Glen Lake had dropped 9 straight.

Herman wanted to remind Laker fans that a John Schlosser alumni game is planned for Saturday, May 24. A home run derby will begin at noon, with the contest starting at 1:30 p.m. Contact Herman at 334-3061, extension 404, for further information.