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Eskymos Beat Black Sox In A Rare Sunday Twinbill
 ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School baseball team played Sunday baseball for the first time in the program's history, topping the Sault Ste. Marie (Ont.) Black Sox, 14-4 and 13-3, at Al Ness Field. Both teams were called by the mercy rule after five innings. In the opener, Eskymo Manager Kirk Schwalbach chose to start many of his younger players who do not often see much game action. And they did well. 
Escanaba's Jeff Lyle is safe as Soo first baseman Dom Buonomo gets the throw.
And freshman pitcher Brandon Punzel tossed five innings, allowing just two base hits. Punzel's only rough inning was the third, when he walked back-to-back batters, uncorked a wild pitch, and gave up his only two hits. Sophomore Tyler Hardwick had an RBI double and an infield hit, and Jeff Lyle ripped a two-run single and had a bunt single from the #9 spot in the order. All in all, it was a good performance for the boys on a mild, sunny afternoon. Escanaba scored four runs in the first inning on RBI singles by LaMarch, Bailey Lamb, and Slaga. Freshman Logan Lamb drove in a run with a groundout. LaMarch's RBI ground out in the second inning made it 5-0 as Jake Rodman hustled all the way home from second base. 
Freshman Brandon Punzel pitched well.
Brad Manson followed with an RBI single, a wild pitch scored another run, and then Coty Anderson and Jordan Pine each plated runs with sacrafice flies. All of a sudden, Escanaba's lead was down to 5-4. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth inning when Slaga led off with a double and scored on a two-bagger by Hardwick. Lyle had a bunt single, and then on a stolen base attempt, an error allowed Hardwick to score. Rodman's RBI single brought in the third run of that inning, giving the Eskymos an 8-4 advantage. Jamis McMaster came on to pitch for the Black Sox, and he got the Eskymos to pop the ball up several times. But an easy one was dropped by the shortstop, and another one was missplayed by the catcher in foul territory. Three pitches later, Lyle took advantage of that "new life" with a two-run single. The inning continued with RBI hits by LaMarch and Punzel, a two-run single by Bailey Lamb, and a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Lewis Ostrander to end the game. 
Tim Leuneburg pitched for the first time.
Lyle was frequently behind the hitters, and had numerous 3-2 counts in his 4 1/3 innings of work. He was able to make some big pitches, however, and he kept the Black Sox off the board. Lyle was allowed three hits and walked five batters. The Eskymos scored twice in the first inning when Kleiman singled and scored on a double by Bissell. Bailey Lamb drove in the second run with a ground ball to third base. In the second inning, the Eskymos hit Black Sox starting pitcher Josh Lumley hard. And some shotty defense behind Lumley didn't help his cause. Escanaba scored six runs in that inning, with Lyle, Kleiman, and Bissell all getting RBI hits. It was 8-0. Escanaba led, 9-0, in the fifth inning when Lyle ran out of gas. He walked the first two batters of the inning, although Bissell helped out by throwing out one of the runners trying to steal second base. Schwalbach gave Tim Lueneburg a chance to pitch, but it didn't go well. Lueneburg walked five of the six men he faced, forcing in three runs. Slaga was brought in to pitch, and he got a pop up to end the inning. It was 9-3. 
Eskymo Coach Kirk Schwalbach (13) and pitcher Jake Rodman (10) have a chat.
But in the fifth, Anderson walked Beversluis and Ostrander to start the inning. After Slaga was called out on strikes, Kleiman and Bissell had back-back RBI singles, and Kleiman eventually stole home as the Black Six botched the first-and-third situation. The game ended at 13-3 when Punzel got an RBI single off of reliever Jordan Pine. Bissell ended up with three hits and three RBI in the second game, and Kleiman had three hits and two runs batted in. Lyle earned the pitching victory. Escanaba had a total of 22 hits in the doubleheader, while the Black Sox managed five hits. The Black Sox (1-6 overall) committed ten errors in the two games. The Eskymos improved to 8-2 on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday with a home game against the Marinette (Wis.) Marines. Game time is 5:30. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos from Sunday's doubleheader. Pictured at top: Tyler Hardwick goes back to the bag as Soo first baseman Brad Manson reaches for the high throw. 
Eskymo sophomore Lewis Ostrander at the plate during Sunday's game against Black Sox.
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| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
4/20 |
10:45 AM |
at Whitehall Vikings
|
4 - 2 (W)
|
1-0
|
4/20 |
6:00 PM |
at Remus Chippewa Hills
|
12 - 3 (W)
|
2-0
|
4/26 |
5:00 PM |
at Kenosha Tremper High School
|
3 - 14 (L)
|
2-1
|
4/27 |
1:00 PM |
University School of Milwaukee
|
12 - 2 (W)
|
3-1
|
4/27 |
7:00 PM |
Prairie Du Chien Blackhawks
|
12 - 1 (W)
|
4-1
|
4/29 |
5:30 PM |
at DePere Redbirds
|
1 - 5 (L)
|
4-2
|
5/4 |
12:30 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
16 - 0 (W)
|
5-2
|
5/4 |
5:45 PM |
Gladstone Braves
|
5 - 1 (W)
|
6-2
|
5/5 |
12:00 PM |
Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
|
14 - 4 (W)
|
7-2
|
5/5 |
3:00 PM |
Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
|
13 - 3 (W)
|
8-2
|
5/7 |
5:30 PM |
Marinette Marines
|
2 - 0 (W)
|
9-2
|
5/8 |
6:00 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
11 - 2 (W)
|
10-2
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5/9 |
6:00 PM |
Gladstone Braves
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14 - 8 (W)
|
11-2
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5/17 |
5:00 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
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3 - 4 (L)
|
11-3
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5/17 |
7:30 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
|
10 - 9 (W)
|
12-3
|
5/18 |
12:30 PM |
Gladstone Indians
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5 - 0 (W)
|
13-3
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5/18 |
5:30 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
|
3 - 4 (L)
|
13-4
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5/21 |
4:30 PM |
at Shawano Hawks
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1 - 2 (L)
|
13-5
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5/21 |
6:30 PM |
at Shawano Hawks
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
14-5
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5/25 |
10:00 AM |
Shepherd
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3 - 2 (W)
|
15-5
|
5/25 |
12:30 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
|
11 - 4 (W)
|
16-5
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5/25 |
2:30 PM |
at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils
|
4 - 5 (L)
|
16-6
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5/28 |
6:30 PM |
at Gladstone Braves
|
3 - 3 (T)
|
16-6-1
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6/1 |
12:30 PM |
Petoskey Northmen
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0 - 2 (L)
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16-7-1
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