ST. LOUIS, Mich. — The Manistee Saints struggled through a lackluster afternoon in St. Louis before pulling out a late-inning win in the second game of a doubleheader to split their final Gratiot County Baseball League regular-season games.
The Saints went into the top of the seventh inning of the second game, tied with the Spirits 5-5.
A two-out bases-loaded single by Dylan Bates scored what proved to be the winning run.
Kyle Gorski pitched the first five innings for the Saints (19-6 overall, 18-2 GCBL), allowing just one earned run, and Adam Pierce worked two scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win for the Saints.
The big blow of the game before Bates’ clutch single was a three-run home run by Xavier Allen.
The Saints lost the opener 11-7 in an error-filled game in which St. Louis plated eight runs in the fourth inning. Blake Johnson started on the mound for the Saints and was charged with his first loss of the season.
Pierce Johnson and Simon Shimel each collected three hits in the opener and drove in five runs between them.
The Saints won the regular season GCBL championship and now move on to the league tournament at Lumberjack Park in Riverdale next Sunday.