Southern Michigan Team Rallies Past Junior Cubs
ESCANABA---The Escanaba Junior Cubs carried a two-run lead into the final three innings of their game against Ida Post 514 on Sunday, but the team from Monroe County scored five unanswered runs to best the J-Cubs, 7-4, at Al Ness Field. Ida, which lost a pair of games to the Marquette Reds on Friday, got the early lead on Sunday with a run in the first inning. But Escanaba tied the game in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Drew Rodman. But Escanaba regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Austin Willette dumped one into short right field with the bases loaded, scoring Cody Frappier and Johnny Schlenvogt, making it a 3-2 game. Escanaba added another run to take a 4-2 lead. Ida got an undearned run in the fifth inning to get back to within one run. Junior Cubs pitcher Noah Lancour threw well, but his pitch count started to rise in the sixth inning. A base hit, error, and hit batsman loaded the bases with one out, and Parker Frappier was brought in to pitch. Ida's Paul DuRocher greeted him with a shot down the left field line, scoring Volpi McKinney and Clay Simpson with the tying and go-ahead runs. Ida added a pair of unearned runs in the seventh inning to make it a 7-4 final. Escanaba hosts a Junior Legion tournament next weekend, and then the following weekend, the J-Cubs will host the Zone Five Tier III Upper Peninsula Championships. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and video highlights from Sunday's game. |