Todd Rose | Daily Press Gladstone’s Tyler Darmogrey starts off at first base after a hit against Marquette on Friday in a Gregg Johnson-Al Erickson Memorial Legion baseball tournament game in Gladstone.

GLADSTONE – The Marquette Blues won 8-1 over the Gladstone Indians in a Gregg Johnson-Al Erickson Memorial Tournament game on Friday afternoon in Gladstone.

The match ended in the bottom of the sixth after reaching its two-hour deadline.

Brady Wright scored the Blues the entire game, throwing seven strikeouts with one walk. He allowed five hits for one earned run.

Wright also had a hit for an RBI, offensively.

The win was the Blues’ second of the day after beating Bark River Bucs 10-1 in the morning

“(It’s) a good start to the season for the program,” Blues manager Derek Swajanen said. “… We only had two mistakes during the day which is nice and solid.

Swajanen added the ability to put different pitchers as needed as one of Marquette’s strengths. Between the two games, the Blues played four pitchers.

“It’s nice with a staff like this,” he said. “I have 10 pitchers that I can pitch at any time, so that’s really good. We have a lot of weapons that are stored.

The Blues got on the set – and cranked their engines – when Jakob Peterson hit a solo shot over the left field fence to open the second inning. He repeated the feat with another solo home run at the same spot in the sixth grade.

The Blues followed Peterson’s home run with two more runs in the third. Kyle Frusti doubled up to bring Erik Johnson home while Justin Wenk scored on a liner to score Frusti.

“The second was an absolute bomb”, Swajanen said of the Peterson home runs. “He was higher than the foul post when he came through the fence.

“He did a great job. He’s a great defensive receiver; then you also add hitting two bombs today, (and) he’s pretty much a versatile player.”

Mason LaChance started on the mound for the Indians and played two innings. He had two walks with three hits allowed for three earned runs.

Tyler Darmogrey came in for third and pitched for three and 2/3 innings. He hit a strikeout with four walks and allowed five hits for five runs (3 ER).

Dylan Pepin ended the game with one strikeout.

LaChance scored Gladstone’s only point when he was hit by a single from Pepin in the fifth.

“We have done positive things that we have retained (Thursday against Escanaba)”, Indian manager Scott Kwarciany said. “(Thursday) we watched a lot of throws and took a lot of strikeouts that we shouldn’t have taken. Today we hit the ball.

The biggest takeaway from the game, Kwarciany said, was the energy level of the Indians.

“We want them to regain their energy a little”, he said. “It’s a game. They’re supposed to be having fun, and they’re not having a lot of fun right now. And their confidence is a bit shaken.

“But, we’re going to regroup. Come back (Saturday), we’ve had a few home games here and are trying to move things in a positive direction. “

Kwarciany also noted Darmogray’s pitch as a positive part of the game.

Gladstone had five hits, LaChance and Pepin each have two. Elijah Shier had the other Indians beaten.

The Blues start playing today at 10:30 am against Green Bay in Escanaba then they play again in Wells at 1:30 pm against Marinette.

Gladstone hosts Marinette at 4:30 p.m. and Bark River at 7:00 p.m. in back-to-back matches.