Gladstone’s Austin Pepin (right) smiles back toward the dugout during a game against Negaunee on April 18, 2024 at Don Olsen Field.

GLADSTONE –With a rivalry matchup against Escanaba on the horizon, Gladstone baseball was hard pressed to preserve as much pitching as possible against Negaunee.

The Braves got exactly that.

Behind a complete game shutout from Isaac Ketchum in game one and Austin Pepin carrying a no-hitter into the final inning of the finale, Gladstone earned a doubleheader sweep over the Miners.

Game one

John Soderman got the bats rolling for the purple and white in the first inning with an RBI knock to score Casey Alworden for a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, Cooper Sanville snuck a ground ball past Miners’ third baseman Evan Gauthier to score Soderman for a 2-0 lead.

Negaunee put two runners on in the second and third innings. Ketchum ensured no one got past second base.

Gauthier belted a two-out double in the fifth, but Ketchum earned the third out three pitches into the ensuing at bat. Negaunee earned a walk and a single on back-to-back at bats with two outs, but the pair of ducks, with one 90 feet away from scoring, were left stranded on the pond for a 2-0 Braves win.

Ketchum allowed six hits with two walks while striking out four batters in six innings of work which included 87 pitches.

“We wanted to throw him out there because he hadn’t gotten any innings yet,” Swanson said of Ketchum. “He wasn’t with us in (Wisconsin Dells) because he wasn’t feeling the greatest. Guys were on base, but he did a great job of pitching around soft contact, and our guys made the plays behind him.

Sanville finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Soderman and Nate Young earned base hits.

Game two

While the Braves were flawless in the field for game one, game two featured hiccups. Gladstone committed five errors in Thursday’s finale.

But Pepin found ways to keep his composure. He also got the support he needed from the Braves’ lineup.

Ketchum earned an RBI thanks to a fielders choice in the first for a quick 1-0 advantage and repeated the effort in the third to make it 2-0. On the ensuing at bat Sanville saw a hanging off-speed pitch with a 1-2 count. The freshman thunderously cranked the pitch into the alley in left field, scoring Ketchum and Alworden for a 4-0 advantage.

Pepin issued one free pass for his lone blemish in the fourth. Young committed an error to start the fifth inning, but Pepin needed three pitches in the next at bat to induce a double play and get a pop out to claim a no-hitter into the sixth and final inning.

Pepin’s first pitch of the sixth inning turned into a single from Gauthier, ending the no-no bid. Gauthier later scored to end the shutout bid, but it was the only run the Miners scratched across home plate all day.

Pepin allowed one earned run off two hits with three walks and a pair of punchouts.

“The sky’s the limit for him if he can stay in the zone,” Swanson said of Pepin. “He did a nice job this winter really going to work and getting better. It’s certainly paying off for him.”

In total, Ketchum and Pepin combined to allow eight hits and five walks while stranding 16 Negaunee base runners.

“Couldn’t be more happy with Austin and Isaac today,” Braves skipper Tyler Swanson said. “This was certainly best case scenario for pitching wise. They did a great job, pitched around some base runners. Both of them did. Super happy for both of those guys.”

The win also allows Glasdtone access to all but two pitchers for Friday’s showdown against Escanaba, set for a 4 p.m. first pitch at Al Ness Field.

“We’re gonna go get the win,” Pepin said. “We’re feeling good.”