Escanaba Baseball Gets Two Wins Over Manistique

Click the thumbails to see photos and videos, and listen to post-game interviews with Scott Hiller, Ben Johnson, Carson Sprader, and EHS Manager Scott Hanson.

MANISTIQUE---The Escanaba High School baseball team played for the first time in nearly two weeks Thursday night, and picked up a doubleheader sweep over the Manistique Emeralds, 7-5 and 16-0, at the Schoolcraft County Fairgrounds.

It was not a balmy night in Manistique, and it certainly was windy, but the Eskymos were happy to finally get on the field after multiple cancellations since their last games on April 9.

"It's been tough," Eskymo pitcher/catcher Ben Johnson said. "We've had a lot of games cancelled. But it feels good to get out here and play some baseball. It's cold, but you stay warm and have some fun."

Johnson earned the win in the second game, throwing all three innings in a mercy-shortened game. He struck out six of the nine outs, and at the plate, Johnson had two doubles, a single, and drove in four of the 16 Eskymo runs.

"I've been in a slump our first two games, so I finally broke it," Johnson said. "Hopefully, it stays that way."

In the first game, Escanaba sent senior Hunter Lancour to the mound against Manistique senior Carson Sprader.

The two have been teammates in summer ball in Escanaba over the past few years, and both braved the conditions to throw Thursday night,

Lancour went 3 2/3 innings for the win, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out sevem batters and walked only one. Sprader, meanwhile, went 2 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss, yielding four runs on four hits.

"It felt great to have a close game, being only our second game, after our win against Marquette (11-7 Wedneday) night," Sprader said. "We're really coming together as a team. We're getting better with each practice, getting bats on more, fielding better, and our pitching has come a long ways this year."

Sprader will play next year at St. Norbert (Wis.) College while Lancour will play at Delta College in downstate Saginaw.

Escanaba took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Bon LaChance and Adam Willette got leadoff hits, and after Willette was erased on a groundout by Scott Hiller, both LaChance and Hiller scored on a slow roller on the infield by Jarret Olsen.

Escanaba added two more runs in the third inning, with LaChance doubling home one of them, but the Emeralds came back. Jack McEvers, who also plays his summer ball in Escanaba, got a two-out RBI single after Lancour gave up hits to Bryce Blixt and Kody Brudvick.

Lancour was able to get a strikeout and flyout to strand the bases loaded.

The Eskymos took a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning when Olsen singled home Hiller, who had singled to start the inning. But the Emeralds came back again after a walk and hit batsmen put two men on for Blixt (another Esky summer ball guy) and he smoked an RBI double for his third base hit of the game.

Hiller, a senior who's playing baseball for the firsr time after running track for the Eskymos, got a big strikeout of McEvers, stranding the bases loaded again and keeping it 5-2.

"I haven't played since eighth grade year, and Coach kind of told me before the game that I was gonna be closing this game," said Hiller, who's the grandson of Detroit Tigers 1968 World Series champion John HIller. "I got super-nervous, but I just did my job and threw strikes."

Escanaba tacked on two runs in the fifth inning to give Hiller a cushion, on a sacrafice fly by LaChance and an RBI single by Hiller, but the Emeralds rallied again from the 7-2 deficit.

Josh Curtis had an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch, but after a walk put the tying run at the plate, Hiller struck out Blixt to keep Escanaba in front, 7-4.

Then in the final inning, Hiller walked Parker Graphos and gave up a hit to McEvers (his second hit of the game). An infield error brought home Manistique's fifth run, but with the tying run on base, Hiller struck out the final two men he faced to earn the save.

Hiller struck out seven and walked four, allowing three hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief.

"Honestly, it was good for us to play a fairly-close game and Manistique threatened us a couple of times," Escanaba Manager Scott Hanson said. "But we got some kids some opportunities to throw today. Hunter had a pretty decent outing. He was not getting the outside corner in that first game. Scott Hiller, first time he's pitched since he was probably 12 or 13 years old."

"In game two, we hit the snot out of the ball," Hanson continued. "We hit it pretty well in Game One, but we hit it at people. Shout out to Manistique. Jon (Bintner) is doing a super job with these kids, a second year program. A lot of great relationships with Manistique."

Manistique (1-3) will face St. Ignace in a doubleheader on Saturday.

Escanaba (3-1) opens a four-gane homestand Friday evening with a 5:00 game against the Gladstone Braves. Gladstone played twice Thursday as well, rallying past Negaunee twice, 4-3 and 14-4. The Braves scored three runs in the fifth inning of the opener to erase a 3-1 deficit, and then scored nine times in the fourth inning of the nightcap to break open a 5-4 game.

Friday's game will be broadcast live on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.