'DESTINED TO BE' Hiller Walk-Off Leads Eskymos

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and for interviews with Scott Hiller and Matt Zimmerman.

ESCANABA---Scott Hiller's walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning led the Escanaba Eskymos to a 9-8 come-from-behind win over the Iron Moumntain Mountaineers on Saturday.

The grandson of 1968 Detroit Tigers World Series champion John Hiller came through two hours after Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera got his 3,000th career hit.

"I think Miggy (Cabrera) and me getting a walk-off in the same day, it was just destined to be," Hiller laughed. "I've been making quite a few errors, but I've been doing everything I can at practice to get better and just to get back into the groove."

Hiller, an Eskymo senior, is playing for the first time after running on the EHS track team the last three years. His game-winning hit with two strikes and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning was down the right field line, an opposite-field winner.

"Honestly, my first three at-bats, they weren't too hot," Hiller said. "But we did an 'opposite drill' just the other day in practice, and I seen it on the right side of the plate and I just kind of closed my eyes and took a hack at it, honestly."

Hiller's hit capped a crazy game that saw a lot of typical (and not-so typical) April mistakes, and it lasted three hours and 15 mimutes at a time when the uppserclassmen were ready for the junior-senior prom. Most of them took off literally moments after the game ended.

One of the seniors, Matt Zimmerman, made the most of it. He had three hits and drove in two runs from the Number 6 hole in the Eskymo batting order.

"It took a while, and it was definitely a hard-fought game by both teams," Zimmerman said. "Hitting was going great all night. First hit was right down the (left field) line, looked great and got a double out of that. Bats were going good for everyone tonight. But definitely a lot of mistakes that we have to clean up. We should have been out of that game a long time ago."

Escanaba starting pitcher Bon LaChance carried a no-hitter into the fifh inning, but the game was tied 1-1. Then in that fifth inning, the wheels fell off for LaChance as he gave up two hits and a walk after getting a strikeout to start the inning.

Adam Willette came on to pitch, and gave up a bases-clearing double to Beau Kralovec, as well as an RBI double to Luke Decker, All of a sudden, Escanaba trailed, 6-1.

They got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a Hunter Lancour RBI single, then scored twice in the sixth on an RBI single by Chase Cloutier and a run-scoring infield hit by Hiller. Unfortunately, with runbers at second and third and Trent Lawson at the plate, Cloutier got picked off of third base, keeping the Eskymos behind, 6-4.

Cloutier, though, bounced back by pitching a scorelses seventh inning, giving his team a chance to rally in the bottom of the inning. LaChance drove in a run with a single, and then after Ben Johnson hit a sharp single to center, Escanaba trailed 6-5 and had runners at second and third with only one out.

Zimmerman came through with his third hit of the game, bringing home LaChance with the tying run. But Johnson got confused and went back to second base, and then tried to take off for third. He was tagged out, so instead of a walk-off win for Zimmerman, we went to extra innings.

And those innings were also crazy.

In the top of the eighth, Cloutier struggled, walking two batters and hitting two others, forcing in a pair of Iron Mountain runs. But LaChance, now playing third base, made the defensive play of the game when Jake Powell scolded one toward left field with the bases srill loaded.

LaChance reached out, caught it cleanly an inch off the ground, and touched the bag at third for an inning-ending double play. That kept Escanaba within 8-6.

In the bottom of the inning, with runners at second and third, Lawson came through with a two-run single to center field to retie the game at 8. Lawson, however, would later be thrown out trying to steal third base, and LaChance struck out, so we went to a ninth inning.

Cloutier gave up a leadoff single to Aiden Ellis, but got the next three outs uneventfully, giving the Eskymos another chance to walk it off. Johnson led off the inning with a solid base hit and he stole second base. But Zimmerman popped up and Jarret Olsen struck out.

It looked like we might go to a tenth inning, but Mountaineer reliever Tony Kralovec walked both Trent Turchin and Cloutier, loading the bases, and bringing up Hiller for the biggest moment of his baseball career. And on a day where his grandpa was doubly proud.

So, what's the biggest thing that he learned about baseball from his famous grandpa?

"Never say you can't, and just keep working," he said.

Escanaba improved to 5-2 on the season, at least partially erasing the bitter taste of Friday night's loss to the Gladstone Braves. The Eskymos will host Peshtigo on Monday.