By Nick Gerhardt
On a 93-degree Fourth of July, Rosen’s Mike Schake wanted to finish what he started. He probably didn’t think it’d take as long as it did nor did he expect the result.
Schake threw all 17 innings in an 8-6 loss to rival Ortonville in Rosen in a game that will get talked about for years to come. He finished with 261 pitches and faced 75 hitters. He allowed eight runs, seven earned, walked eight and struck out six in front of a crowd of more than 350 people treated to free beverages thanks to a team sponsor.
He might’ve stopped after nine innings but a series of twists and turns set the stage for an epic performance. Rosen held 6-3 and he needed just three more outs. But Ortonville rallied for three runs. Tyson Powell doubled in a run and Justin Downes lined a 0-2 single to left field to score two runs to tie it. The Express appeared to have the game wrapped up earlier on a double play ball, but the throw to first sailed and the inning continued.
“I came out after the ninth and I was pretty upset, smacked the bench and said there’s no way I’m coming out of the game,” Schake said.
He especially wasn’t coming out of the game after he saw who Ortonville called upon in relief. In the bottom of the ninth, the Rox trotted out Schake’s older brother Tony to the mound. What transpired the rest of the way makes for good sibling rivalry lore. Mike and Tony traded zeros until the 17th. Tony threw 94 pitches over nine innings and faced 35 batters. He allowed six hits, walked three and struck out six.
“There’s a lot of chirping going on and both teams know what’s going on,” Rosen manager Tyler Adelman said. “The umps knew the situation. A lot of brotherly talk. Tony was telling people to sit down and Mike was giving it right back. It was a lot of high intensity brotherly love.”
The brothers competed in front of the rest of the family with their mother, grandmother and sister in attendance. Both brothers attended Ortonville High School, Tony graduating in 2013 and Mike in 2016. Mike got an opportunity to suit up for the varsity squad during the playoffs of Tony’s senior year when the team made a run to the section championship before falling to New York Mills. Mike learned the most about baseball from that team and Tony, he said..
Tony worked with Mike on baseball things most days growing up during the spring and summer with Tony taking on more of a paternal role with his younger brother.
“He did a really good job with me,” Mike said. “I’m sure he was crazy proud of me but he’s competitive. He’s way more competitive than me and he’s good at everything.”
Tony didn’t expect to pitch against Rosen after suffering an oblique injury a week earlier, but figured he could pitch an inning or two. He didn’t anticipate going nine innings.
“[Ortonville manager Matt Fellows] tried pulling me out at one point,” Tony said. “It was the 14th or 15th inning. It doesn’t matter if I keep going or not. If anyone is going to lose it might as well be me. I’m not letting my little brother show me up.”
Tony admits he didn’t have his best stuff on the mound, but kept finding a way to get outs.
“Slow curveball, that was about all I had on it.,” he said. “Matt was making fun of me at first base saying, ‘You really snapped that one.’ It was like an eephus. It was like just get it over the plate and let gravity do the work. The guys in the dugout were saying it looked like batting practice.
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Mike kept Ortonville at bay in extra innings until the fateful 17th inning. Ortonville got a lead-off single from Tyson Powell. Braxton Brandreit followed with a one-out single and stole second base to set the table for Isaiah Tandoh, who singled in a run. Hunter Merritt added an insurance run with a base hit for the 8-6 final.
“I was just thanking the baseball gods we finally got a run,” Tony said.
Rosen had its chances to clinch the game. The Express loaded the bases in the 15th with one out, but Ortonville got a force out at home and eventually got out of the inning. In between innings Mike made sure to stay hydrated. He doused his hat in cold water and tried to stay loose.
The Rox hardly tallied a hit in extra innings until the 17th inning. The quick innings helped prevent Mike from getting stiff. He did admit after a long eighth inning where the Express scored a pair of runs he started to feel fatigued when he returned to the mound to start the ninth. It was also the first time Mike worked with catcher Dru Boots. Despite the lack of familiarity, Mike didn’t shake off Boots once during the game.
“He wasn’t walking anyone basically, he just kept throwing strikes and we kept hitting them at people,” Tony said.
The teams combined to leave 30 runners on base and finished with 34 hits. There were 17 walks. Ortonville starter Josh Mueller threw the first seven innings and tallied 148 pitches before getting lifted after allowing four runs, three earned, on 12 hits with four walks and eight strikeouts. Justin Downes threw an inning of relief before Tony Schake took over. Despite the extra frames, the game lasted just 4 ½ hours.
Powell and Tandoh each had three hits for Ortonville. Preston Kraft went 4-for-8 for Rosen and Boots collected three hits with an RBI. Devin Boots added three hits and an RBI, too.
Mike spent much of Saturday napping and recovering. He hasn’t had much down time between work and his wedding, scheduled for July 12. Rosen had a game Sunday against Appleton and he didn’t return to the mound or the field. But he did pinch run.
Mike and Tony have tangled on the mound before. Last season, the two squared off in the Busch Light Invitational. Mike hit his only career home run off of Tony, but the older brother got the last say with a walk-off home run against Mike for a 4-3 Ortonville win. Mike played with the Rox for a couple of seasons before joining the Express where he also plays shortstop when he doesn’t pitch. Mike also serves as an assistant coach with the Ortonville High School baseball team.
They also faced each other last season on Memorial Day in Ortonville where Tony threw a one-hit shutout for the Rox. Tony also hit a solo home run in the playoffs two years ago to give Ortonville a 1-0 win over Rosen.
The 17-inning pitching performance stands out as one of the longest efforts in state history. Other noted endurance starts include Dennis Pieske, who threw all 20 innings for Cyrus in 1976 in a 2-1 state tournament win over Fairfax. That game matched the state tournament record for longest game by going 20 innings. The mark got set in 1971 when Hector beat Stark 4-2. The record has since been broken when Bird Island defeated Loretto 3-2 in the 2022 state tournament. Ryan Hayes of the Delano A’s noted on the Talking Townball podcast that Loretto’s Nick Koch threw 20 innings in a game once, too.
Though Tony and the Rox won the game, Mike might have won the day.
“My one buddy said they should make a statue for Mike in Rosen because he’s GOAT now,” Tony said.
