Braves Win Dramatic Softball Games From Eskymos
ESCANABA---It was a playoff atmosphere Tuesday night as the Escanaba Eskymos hosted the Gladstone Braves met in a softball doubleheader at Lemmerand Park. The Battle of Delta County was certainly that as both games went down to the wire, and then some. The Braves won the first game, 1-0, in eleven innings, and then Gladstone rallied from four runs down to win the second game, 6-4. It was 0-0 all afternoon long as Gladstone senior Tinner Sharon overpowered the Eskymos with her fastball, along with an occassional change-up to keep the batters off-balance. Meanwhile, Escanaba's Sam Connor went toe-to-toe with the Braves pitching ace. Connor allowed ten hits in the eleven innings, but she scattered them throughout the game and got very good defense behind her. Ashley Cook tracked down several long fly balls to center field, and Callie Heller was solid at shortstop with four big putouts.
Bunt scores winning run in 11th for Braves
Sadie Strasser grounded to short, and Heller threw home to catcher Becca Piron. Piron blocked the plate and applied the tag for the out. Escanaba's best chance to score was in the sixth inning when MacKenzie Leisner drew a two out walk. She stole second, and an overthrow on the play put her on third base. But Sharon was able to strike out Michelle LaFave on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, pinch-hitter Anna Burch hit a grounder off of Sharon's glove. The ball bounced to second base, but Burch legged it out at first base, breaking Sharon's no-hitter after 10 2/3 innings. Sharon recovered, however, to get the next three outs; two of them were Eskymos who could not get the bunt down and popped up to Kowalski up the first base line. Escanaba tried six sacrafice bunts in the game and did not get a single successful bunt. Alternative content
Tinner Sharon post-game comments
Sharon also had three base hits at the plate. Lexi Hongisto also had three base hits in the game for the Braves. The Eskymos scored three runs in the first inning as LaFave ripped a two-run single and Piron followed with a solo home run to center field. In the third inning, LaFave ripped a home run to right field, and the Eskymos led their rivals, 4-0. Braves Manager Ashley Hughes decided to bring Sharon back to the pitcher's circle in the fourth inning, and Sharon kept the Eskymos off the board for the final four innings. That performance gave the Braves the chance to come back, and they did. Alternative content
Michelle LaFave HR for Eskymos
Then in the sixth inning, Bridget Becker had an RBI single to cut the gap to 4-2. The seventh inning became dramatic when with one out, Parrett was safe on an error. But Sharon kept the game alive with a base hit. Then Strasser came through with an RBI single to make it 4-3. That brought up Hongisto, and she crushed a Frappier pitch to the fence for a two-run triple, giving Gladstone a 5-4 lead. A wild pitch brought in an insurance run, and the Braves had a 6-4 lead for Sharon to protect in her 15th inning of pitching work in the doubleheader. She worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning, with two strikeouts, to preserve the doubleheader sweep. Gladstone improved to 16-2 on the season. Escanaba's record fell to 10-9. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mike Dagenais, and to hear highlights and interviews. |
Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
4/8 |
4:00 PM |
at Green Bay Preble
|
3 - 5 (L)
|
0-1
|
4/8 |
6:00 PM |
at Green Bay Preble
|
4 - 1 (W)
|
1-1
|
4/18 |
4:00 PM |
Norway Knights
|
11 - 2 (W)
|
2-1
|
4/19 |
1:00 PM |
Escanaba Eskymos
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
3-1
|
4/19 |
7:00 PM |
Rapid River Rockets
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
4-1
|
4/22 |
4:00 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
6 - 0 (W)
|
5-1
|
4/22 |
6:00 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
6 - 2 (W)
|
6-1
|
4/26 |
11:00 AM |
Paw Paw Redskins
|
4 - 3 (W)
|
7-1
|
4/26 |
1:00 PM |
Holland High School
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
8-1
|
4/26 |
4:00 PM |
Williamston High School
|
11 - 1 (W)
|
9-1
|
5/1 |
4:00 PM |
at Traverse City St. Francis
|
5 - 0 (W)
|
10-1
|
5/1 |
6:00 PM |
at Traverse City St. Francis
|
3 - 4 (L)
|
10-2
|
5/6 |
4:00 PM |
Rapid River Rockets
|
8 - 0 (W)
|
11-2
|
5/6 |
6:00 PM |
Rapid River Rockets
|
11 - 4 (W)
|
12-2
|
5/8 |
4:00 PM |
Negaunee Miners
|
4 - 0 (W)
|
13-2
|
5/8 |
6:00 PM |
Negaunee Miners
|
5 - 2 (W)
|
14-2
|
5/13 |
4:00 PM |
at Escanaba Eskymos
|
1 - 0 (W)
|
15-2
|
5/13 |
6:00 PM |
at Escanaba Eskymos
|
6 - 4 (W)
|
16-2
|
5/17 |
10:00 AM |
Birch Run
|
5 - 2 (W)
|
17-2
|
5/17 |
2:00 PM |
Frankenmuth High School
|
6 - 4 (W)
|
18-2
|
5/17 |
6:00 PM |
New Boston Huron High School
|
10 - 3 (W)
|
19-2
|
5/20 |
4:00 PM |
Escanaba Eskymos
|
6 - 0 (W)
|
20-2
|
5/20 |
6:30 PM |
Escanaba Eskymos
|
2 - 1 (W)
|
21-2
|
5/28 |
4:00 PM |
Houghton Gremlins
|
16 - 0 (W)
|
22-2
|
5/30 |
2:00 PM |
Negaunee Miners
|
5 - 0 (W)
|
23-2
|
5/30 |
4:00 PM |
Manistique Emeralds
|
12 - 0 (W)
|
24-2
|
6/7 |
12:00 PM |
at Traverse City St. Francis
|
3 - 1 (W)
|
25-2
|
6/7 |
2:00 PM |
Boyne City
|
4 - 1 (W)
|
26-2
|
6/10 |
12:00 PM |
Muskegon Oakridge
|
5 - 1 (W)
|
27-2
|
6/13 |
10:00 AM |
Coloma Comets
|
5 - 4 (W)
|
28-2
|
6/14 |
3:00 PM |
Unionville-Sebewaing
|
2 - 1 (W)
|
30-2
|