One That Got Away: Kimberly Rally Stuns Escanaba

KIMBERLY, Wis.---It was just what Escanaba Cubs Manager Tom Ohman was looking for. His team was finally hitting the ball, Devin Olsen was pitching well, and the defense was mostly good behind him as the Cubs faced the Kimberly Cougars Saturday night.

Escanaba carried an 8-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, and it looked like the Cubs would get a big win on the road that could serve as a confidence boost for the rest of the season.

Ben Kleiman leads off at second base.

But then came a disasterous inning as everything that could go wrong did.

Kimberly scored eight runs and stunned the
Cubs, 10-8, at Kimberly's Sunset Park.

Trent Schwalbach had just ripped a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning, to right field no less, to give his team a seemingly-safe lead. But Olsen had a rough bottom of the inning, and he got very little help from his teammates.

Olsen walked the leadoff batter, hit the next man with a pitch, then issued another walk to load the bases. He got Mitch Tourville to hit a grounder to Nick Vandermissen at second base.

Vandermissen got the throw to Ben Kleiman at the bag for the out, but Kleiman's relay throw to first was wild. So, a second run scored on the error and it was 8-4.

Olsen got the next batter to hit a fly ball for the second out. But the inning was far from over. Colin Engelbert walked, then Olsen hit Kyle Bellin on an 0-2 pitch to reload the bases. Kimberly's #3 hitter, Scott Schreiber got an RBI single to make it 8-5.

Ohman took Olsen off the mound and turned to Bailey Lamb to get that illusive third out. But cleanup hitter Ben Diedrick greeted him with a two-run double that cut the Cubs lead to 8-7. Then it looked like the Cubs would get out of the inning with the lead when Thomas Johnson hit a pop-up between the pitchers mound and third base.

Devin Olsen pitched into the sixth inning.

Third baseman Andrew Kausak called for the ball, but he dropped the pop-up. That tied the game for Kimberly. And the next man, Austin Weyenberg, smoked a two-run double to the Sunset Park fence to score two runs.

Kimberly, unbeliveably, had a 10-8 lead.

The Cubs went out 1-2-3 in the seventh inning, and the collapse was complete.

Earlier in the game, the teams exchanged unearned runs and the game was tied at 2-2. The Cubs finally put together a big inning at the plate, and the Cougars made a couple of big mistakes to help the Escanaba cause in the fifth inning.

David Falish and Kleiman both walked to start the inning, then Vandermissen bunted them into scoring position. On that play, the Cougar pitcher, Bellin, chose to throw to third and it was way late. With the bases loaded, Schwalbach hit a ground ball and it looked like there would be an out at the plate...maybe a double play at first base.

But the throw to the plate was very high, halfway up the backstop. Two runs scored and the Cubs had a 4-2 lead. Lamb followed with an RBI single and, with two out, Kausak ripped one off the third base bag to score another run and the Cubs led, 6-2.

Trent Schwalbach Two-Run Home Run.

Then, in the sixth inning, Falish walked again and Schwalbach drove him home with the home run to the right-center alley. That made it 8-2, but then, disaster struck.

Escanaba (5-9) outhit Kimberly (5-6), 10-8. Schwalbach, Lamb, and Kausak all had two hits apiece. Lamb takes the loss on the mound, allowing two runs (none earned) on two hits in 1/3 of an inning, Olsen was charged with eight runs (even earned) on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked six and hit two batters, striking out two.

HIGHLAND INDIANA 10, ESCANABA 0---The Cubs had plenty of chances to score in this game, but never could get the hit with men on base.

First Baseman Ian DeMarse retires Highland's Luke Polster, but Poster got a run batted in with his grounder to third.

Escanaba loaded the bases in the first inning on three walks, but Matt Jensen grounded out to end the threat. In the third inning, Justyn Doucette walked and Falish singled to start the inning on a positive note. But Vandermissen struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch, and Schwalbach hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

In the fourth inning, Lamb and Ian DeMarse each got base hits, but Kyle Berres struck out and Devin Barton flew to center. And in the fifth inning, Doucette led off with an infield single before the next three batters made outs.

Meanwhile, Kleiman was having problems on the hill. He walked a man in the first inning and Jordan Minch hit a shot over Doucette's head in left field for an RBI double to make it 1-0.

A second run score don a Luke Polster groundout.

In the second inning, Kleiman got the first two batters, but walked one, hit one, and there were two stolen pases and two passed balls. Joey Pruitt's infield hit scored one run, and Minch smoked a two-run single to center to make it a 5-0 game.

Matt Jensen dives for a ball at shortstop.

Nick Christiansen's two run double and Alex Freitag's RBI single in the fifth inning made it 8-0, then in the sixth inning, a walk, double, groundout, and passed ball scored two runs.

Highland (6-8) outhit Escanaba, 10-4, in the game.

Minch had four hits (two- doubles, two singles). He is a Purdue University recruit.

Escanaba is off until next Friday, when the Cubs travel to Sault Ste. Marie to take part in an eight-team tournament....half of which will be played with wooden bats.

The Cubs will play Ishpeming and the EUP Travelers on Friday, and will face Benzie Central and Petoskey on Saturday.

There will be no radio coverage for these games due to Little League Tournament broadcasts. Updates will be posted here, on-line, however.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos from both games (by Sheila Olsen), and to hear a few radio highlights.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

6/15	1:00 PM	at Green Bay Shockers	0 - 8 (L)	0-1

6/15	3:30 PM	at Kaukauna Legion	3 - 0 (W)	1-1

6/16	1:00 PM	Manitowoc Legion	7 - 8 (L)	1-2

6/16	6:00 PM	Sheboygan Legion	8 - 7 (W)	2-2

6/17	11:00 AM	Kaukauna Legion	7 - 10 (L)	2-3

6/19	6:30 PM	at Marquette Blues	11 - 9 (W)	3-3

6/22	3:00 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	6 - 7 (L)	3-4

6/22	8:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	8 - 0 (W)	4-4

6/23	5:15 PM	Midland Berryhill	0 - 8 (L)	4-5

6/23	7:30 PM	Chief Pontiac	1 - 7 (L)	4-6

6/27	8:00 PM	Marquette Blues	3 - 0 (W)	5-6

6/29	4:00 PM	at Appleton Post 38	0 - 10 (L)	5-7

6/30	4:00 PM	at Highland, Indiana	0 - 10 (L)	5-8

6/30	6:30 PM	at Kimberly, Wis.	8 - 10 (L)	5-9

7/6	1:15 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	17 - 0 (W)	6-9

7/6	8:00 PM	at Eastern U.P. Travelers	5 - 7 (L)	6-10

7/7	10:00 AM	Petoskey Legion	9 - 3 (W)	7-10

7/7	3:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	3 - 4 (L)	7-11

7/19	8:00 PM	Gladstone Indians	0 - 3 (L)	7-12

7/22	1:00 PM	Eastern U.P. Travelers	3 - 1 (W)	8-12

7/22	3:30 PM	Eastern U.P. Travelers	5 - 2 (W)	9-12

7/24	8:00 PM	at Menominee Red Wave Legion	16 - 3 (W)	10-12

7/26	2:00 PM	Marquette Blues	13 - 3 (W)	11-12

7/26	7:30 PM	Menominee Red Wave Legion	2 - 5 (L)	11-13

7/27	12:00 PM	Eastern U.P. Travelers	15 - 4 (W)	12-13

7/28	10:30 AM	at Gladstone Indians	7 - 6 (W)	13-13

7/28	2:00 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	17 - 3 (W)	14-13

8/2	10:00 AM	Menominee Red Wave Legion	5 - 6 (L)	14-14

8/3	9:30 AM	Marquette Blues	0 - 8 (L)	14-15