Reeths-Puffer nearly reached the GMAA finals Saturday, but a pair of key errors late in the semifinals against North Muskegon sent two runs across the plate and provided the decisive margin in a 5-3 defeat.
The Rockets earlier advanced to the semis with a 4-2 quarterfinal win over Oakridge.
After two walks, an error and a wild pitch led to R-P's 3-1 lead over the Norsemen being cut in half and two runners on base North Muskegon's Chase Mieler laid down a bunt to move both runners ahead. Instead, they both scored after two errors on the play. North Muskegon added another run in the next at-bat on an RBI single.
It was a tough way to go for the Rockets (4-6), who scratched out three runs on their only two hits of the game in the second inning to take an early lead. Brayden Mitchelson and Cade Paugh each had an RBI single, and Brendan Guikema reached on an error and later scored a run on a wild pitch.
Mitchelson pitched the semifinals and allowed only two earned runs and two hits in five innings. He struck out seven.
The Rockets bounced back from a two-run deficit and broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning to beat the Eagles earlier in the day. R-P scored the go-ahead run on an error, and Jack Yonkman drove in an insurance run with a single. Connor McManus tied the game with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly. Drew Brooks got the win, allowing no earned runs in 6 1/3 innings and striking out five.
