Gladstone Indians outfielder John Soderman (16) accepts the Christian Groleau Memorial Scholarship from Jim Groleau on July 3, 2024 at Don Olsen Field in Gladstone. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

GLADSTONE — It wasn’t just another Gladstone and Escanaba matchup Monday night. It was the Christian Groleau Memorial Scholarship Night, and this years recipient was John Soderman. “Christian was one of my brother’s friends,” Soderman said. “It means a lot to me to be able to win this. As a guy who plays center field the same position as Christian is an honor.”

Christian Groleau was a member of the 2014 Gladstone American Legion state championship team who died in 2020. He was also an All-District and All-Regional pitcher for Gladstone his junior year of high school and also played center field.

“Its an emotional night for the family,” Christian’s dad Jim Groleau said. “To be able to keep his memory going and help these young men with through school, you know it helps them and it helps us in the process cause I mean its heart-wrenching every time we come out here and do this.”