News Photo by Josh Jambor Alpena player Cam McEwen slides safely into home in the bottom of the second inning against the Freeland Falcons on Saturday.

The Wildcats built a late lead but couldn’t hold on in the final game of the tournament, as the Freeland Falcons rallied for a 5-4 victory. The Wildcats were ahead 4-3 entering the top of the seventh, but a two-run single by Freeland sealed the comeback win, clinching the tournament championship.

Despite the loss, Alpena outhit the Falcons 7-6. Eli Tessmer and Brady Chapman led the Wildcats with two hits apiece. Tessmer’s RBI double down the right-field line in the second inning, followed by a double from Owen Kaiser, and a steal at home plate helped Alpena take a 3-1 lead. Cam McEwen added an RBI groundout in the third to push the advantage to 4-2.

On the mound, Zach Orban started for Alpena and allowed one earned run over four innings. Blayze Most took the loss in relief.

Alpena Head Coach Eric MacKenzie discussed his team’s effort throughout the weekend as the Wildcats record in the Big North Conference now stands at 5-3, giving Alpena a shot at the conference crown as the team enters the final stretch of the regular season.

“Overall I was happy with the way we played this weekend, we had two tough games that we lost, but we competed and there were a lot of positives,” MacKenzie said. “I feel like we can build on for the remainder of the regular season as we prepare for tournament action.”

The Wildcats will look to bounce back at home on Tuesday when they host Petoskey. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

MacKenzie expressed his gratitude to everyone that helped with the tournament and thanked the teams for their participation.

“I think the tournament was a great success, we had great weather and a great turnout to support Friends Together and our baseball program,” MacKenzie said. “I want to extend a big thank you to all the schools that played in the tournament, Negaunee, Sault Area, and Freeland, it was great to have them here.

“I also want to thank everyone that volunteered, or helped out in any way, it was a great weekend of baseball and we could not have done it without you,” MacKenzie added.