Escanaba Cubs Rally To Beat Menominee Red Wave

ESCANABA---It was a line-up that you will not likely see again this summer.

The Escanaba Cubs Baseball team took the field Tuesday night with only ten players, and two of those guys were brought up from the Junior Cubs team to fill the roster.

The inexperience and guys playing out of position showed as the Cubs made six errors and had trouble hitting the ball for most of the game against Menominee.

But the Cubs managed to stage a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun the Menominee Red Wave, 6-5, at Al Ness Field.

The Cubs got off to a good start in the first inning, scoring two runs against Menominee pitcher Matt Hanson.

Lewis Ostrander and Parker LaMarch both had base hits, and Jack Valentine drew a walk.

One run scored on a hit by C.J. Barron, and another run came in on a bad pick-off throw to first base. Those two runs would be all the Cubs would score until the very end, as Hanson set down ten straight Escanaba batters at one point.

Menominee scored a run in the third inning as Nathan Nowack drove home Adam Nolde with a single. Then, in the fourth inning, the Red Wave took the lead as Spencer Howell tripled home Bryce Tharp and Sam Larson against pitcher Alec Slaga.

Slaga, who had not pitched or played baseball in two years, was pressed into service because many Cubs starters were missing. Sean Bissell was at the U.P. All-Star Football Game events in Marquette. Brandon Punzel was at a college baseball camp.

Tyler Skufca was in Ann Arbor to support his girlfriend, who had major surgery. Justin Popelka and Logan Lamb were both gone. Hunter LaMarch is out with a shoulder injury.

And then, halfway through the game, Tyler Hardwick got sick and had to leave the game. That left JV Cub call-ups Sam Hall and Jonny Schlenvogt in the game.

Trailing 5-2 entering the seventh inning, Cubs Manager Tom Ohman was not upset, in fact, he was happy that his team was still in the game.

And then came the wild bottom of the seventh inning that saw the Cubs come from behind to win the game.

A walk and an error put two men on base, and then a balk was called with a runner on third, bringing the Cubs to within 5-3. Ostrander got ahold of one and ripped it up the gap for a double, bringing Schlenvogt into third base.

With the tying run at second, Parker LaMarch came through with a base hit to center field, scoring both Schlenvogt and Ostrander. The throw to the plate was wild and went back to the backstop, sending LaMarch to third base with the potential winning run.

That brought up Lamb, the Cubs' only 19-year-old. With two strikes on him, Lamb hit a pop fly just out of the reach of the Menominee first baseman. LaMarch scored.

Ostrander earned the win in relief of Slaga. Hanson took the complete game loss.

The Cubs' game scheduled for Wednesday night in Niagara has been cancelled.

The next game is Friday night at 8:30 ET at the Firecracker Tournament in Marinette, Wis., against the host Marinette County team.

The games from Marinette all weekend long will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com from the Pederson Ballpark.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken during Tuesday night's game.