Escanaba Shuts Down Gladstone In Softball Rivalry

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and for interviews with Esky's Paxton Bullen, Coach Andy Fields, and Gladstone Coach Rick Pepin.

ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School softball team used strong pitching and defense to beat the Gladstone Braves, 6-0, Tuesday night, at Lemmerand Park.

Grayson LaMarche and McKayla Mott combined to throw a one-hitter.

"That's quite the tandem they have there," Gladstone Manager Rick Pepin said of the two Eskymo pitchers. "We struggled at the plate against really good pitching. Credit to their pitchers. But overall, I saw some really great glimpses, and we're moving in the right direction."

"We were fortunate today that we have great pitching," Escanaba Manager Andy Fields said. "And our defense was pretty solid today. For the most part, we are lucky to have that, because we took advantage of Gladstone's mistakes and that's how we got our runs on the board."

"It's the same thing every time with Gladstone," Eskymo second baseman Paxton Bullen said. "They're the rivals. We're 15 minutes away from each other and we just have to beat them every time. It's in our blood just to win. I've always gone out there and just tried to do my best in the Gladstone games."

Escanaba (17-3, ranked No. 3 in the state in Division Two) is used to scoring a lot of runs, with multiple games in double figures, fueled by extra base hits and home runs. But Gladstone pitcher Montgomery Pepin kept the Eskymo bats in check, scattering seven base hits in a complete-game pitching effort. She strick out six and allowed four earned runs.

"She pitched with great confidence tonight," Pepin said of his daughter. "That's the best that she's pitched all year. The Escanaba game brings out the best in everybody."

For as well as Pepin threw, however, Escanaba's two young pitchers, LaMarche and Mott, were even better. They combined for 12 strikeouts, and Tia Schone's pop fly double in the fourth inning was the only Gladstone base hit.

"We've played a lot of games in the past few days and we haven't had a day off," Fields said. "And we're fortunate to have the arms. And our senior pitcher, Emily Moore, gor into a car accident on Monday. So she's a little banged up right now. But McKayla and Grayson are both at the top of their games right now."

Escanaba grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning on hits by Paxton Bullen and Carney Salo, and a sacrifice fly by Lizzy Sliva. In the third inning, a dropped fly ball in center field led to asqueeze bunt for an Eskymo run by Salo, and Sliva followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0.

Then in the fifth inning, Pepin issued three walks to load the bases and Bullen came through with a single to center field to bring home two runs, making it a 5-0 Eskymo lead.

"That was an accident," Bullen said with a laugh. "I did not mean to hit it there. But it was an inside pitch and I felt a lttle pressure there and I just swung the bat like usual. They left the gap in between right and center, and so I was like, I've got to hit it right there, but they (outfielders) moved over, so sometimes I like to spice it up and hit it where they aren't!"

Erica Moore added an RBI single in the sixth inning to close the scoring.

Gladstone fell to 14-4 on the season, with two of the losses coming to Escanaba, and another to the top-ranked team in the state in Division Three, the Millington Cardinals.

The Eskymos are on the road Wednesday for a doubleheader at Negaunee, while the Braves are also on the road with a twinbill in Menominee. The two Delta County teams will face each other in a doubleheader next Tuesday afternoon in Gladstone.