Escanaba Eskymos Split Baseball D.H. In Bay City

BAY CITY---With snow still covering Al Ness Field, the Escanaba Eskymos travelled downstate to finally get in some baseball. The team hadn't played since its season-opener in Appleton before Spring Break, so Manager Kirk Schwalbach wasn't sure what he would see from his Eskymos as they played the Bay City Wolves in a doubleheader.

Escanaba scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to come from behind and win its first game of the year, 6-4. The Eskymos dropped the nightcap, 8-2.

Eskymo Senior Devin Olsen at the plate.

"They are a Division One team," Schwalbach said. "They have played ten games before we played them, and we were outside for the first time. I think a split with them, on the road, this early, is a good thing."

Ben Kleiman got the ball in Friday's opener, and gave up a run in the second inning.

But he did not allow anything more until he tired in the sixth inning. Meanwhile, it stayed a 1-0 Bay City lead until the Eskymos scored twice in the top of the sixth inning.

Tyler Skufca and Hunter LaMarch had RBI singles to put the Eskymos in front. But the Wolves went back to work in the bottom of the inning, scoring three times.

"I think Ben was squeezed a little bit (by a small strike zone)," Schwalbach said. "He walked a couple and then they scored. There were some tough calls."

Skufca came in to pitch, and then Devin Olsen came on to finally end the inning.

Escanaba trailed, 4-2, entering the top of the seventh, but the boys went to work.

Hunter LaMarch had two RBI hits.

Kleiman walked, Sean Bissell singled, and then Brandon Punzel walked to load the bases. Bailey Lamb came through with a two-run single down the left field line to tie the game at 4-4.

Olsen walked with the bases loaded to give Escanaba a 5-4 lead, and then LaMarch got an RBI hit for a third straight game, making it 6-4.

Olsen finished the seventh inning on the mound and the Eskymos had a win.

The second game started off nicely for the Eskymos as they scored two quick runs on hits by Lewis Ostrander and Bissell.

But they couldn't get any more runs, despite having plenty of runners. Escanaba stranded 15 runners and lost, 8-2.

"We had opportunities to score but we just couldn't get a hit," Schwalbach said. "We should have scored 15 runs. But we had the bases loaded with one out twice, and didn't score."

Olsen threw the first five innings, and he struck out nine batters in those innings. He blanked the Wolves in the first two frames, but gave up two runs in the third, one in the fourth, and then three runs in a disasterous fifth inning.

Eskymos have a meeting on the mound.

"The wheels fell off in the fifth inning," Schwalbach said. "And it all happened with two outs. We had a play at the plate where we tagged him out, but the umpires didn't see it that way. If we're down 4-2 going to the top of the sixth, it could have been different."

Instead, the Eskymos were down, 6-2, as the Wolves tacked on two more runs.

So Schwalbach let newcomer Corey McInerney pitch the sixth inning, and he allowed the final two runs in that frame. Still, Schwalbach was not upset with his team.

"I'm very satisfied with how the kids played," the third-year manager said. "There's some things that we need to clean up, once we finally get on the field (for practice)."

Escanaba (1-2) will play another doubleheader on Saturday at Essexville-Garber.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/11	5:30 PM	at Appleton North Lightning	3 - 7 (L)	0-1

4/18	4:00 PM	at Bay City Central Wolves	6 - 4 (W)	1-1

4/18	6:00 PM	at Bay City Central Wolves	2 - 8 (L)	1-2

4/19	11:00 AM	at Essexville-Garber Dukes	7 - 16 (L)	1-3

4/19	1:00 PM	at Essexville-Garber Dukes	3 - 14 (L)	1-4

4/25	6:00 PM	at Kenosha Tremper High School	9 - 2 (W)	2-4

4/26	10:00 AM	at Waupun, Wis.	6 - 4 (W)	3-4

4/26	6:30 PM	at Fox Valley Lutheran High School	4 - 7 (L)	3-5

5/3	12:30 PM	Menominee Red Wave Legion	10 - 0 (W)	4-5

5/3	5:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	0 - 7 (L)	4-6

5/7	5:30 PM	at Marquette Redmen	10 - 4 (W)	5-6

5/8	4:30 PM	at Gladstone Braves	0 - 1 (L)	5-7

5/11	1:00 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	5 - 4 (W)	6-7

5/11	3:15 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	11 - 2 (W)	7-7

5/13	6:30 PM	at Kingsford Legion Blues	15 - 0 (W)	8-7

5/16	5:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	7 - 2 (W)	9-7

5/16	7:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	6 - 2 (W)	10-7

5/17	12:30 PM	Houghton Gremlins	7 - 2 (W)	11-7

5/17	5:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	6 - 7 (L)	11-8

5/22	4:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	10 - 0 (W)	12-8

5/24	12:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	9 - 0 (W)	13-8

5/24	2:30 PM	Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	10 - 3 (W)	14-8

5/26	6:00 PM	Gladstone Braves	1 - 3 (L)	14-9

5/29	4:30 PM	Marinette Marines	5 - 7 (L)	14-10

5/31	12:30 PM	at Cheboygan Chiefs	19 - 3 (W)	15-10

5/31	3:00 PM	at Petoskey Northmen	5 - 3 (W)	16-10

6/7	10:00 AM	Newaygo High School	6 - 1 (W)	17-10

6/7	3:00 PM	Gladwin	1 - 4 (L)	17-11