Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Escanaba Manager Andy Fields.

GAYLORD---The Escanaba High School softball team knew it was facing an up-hill battle Saturday when the Eskymos faced the Gaylord Blue Devils in the district tournament opener. But when the Eskymos woke up in their hotel and saw how windy it was, and which direction the wind was blowing, they knew it would be even tougher.

The battle between the state's top-ranked Divison Two team (Gaylord) and the state's second-ranked team (Escanaba) was not close, as the Blue Devils hit three home runs and rolled to a mercy-shortened victory, 13-1, at Gaylord High School.

It was a rematch of last year's regional championship game that the Eskymos won in dramatic fashion on the way to a trip to the Final Four at Michigan State University.

But this time, thanks to changes to the brackets by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, this was a game in the earliest possible round: districts.

And with the wind howling in the “wrong” direction from Escanaba's point of view, this game ended quick as sophomore pitcher Grayson LaMarche was tagged for five runs in the third inning and four more runs in the fourth inning.

“Weather conditions did play a factor in this game,” Fields said. “Grayson's best pitch is her rise ball. With the wind blowing out (at 18 miles per hour), that rise ball became a meatball. Because the pitch slowed down. Then you get a couple of errors here and there, and it just got away from us.”

But Fields was not blaming the loss on the weather.

“I believe this (Gaylord) is the best team in the entire State of Michigan, from Divisions One through Four,” Fields said. “And their best player didn't even play today (due to injury). They're a team that if you miss your location on a pitch, if you have a throwing error, they're going to take advantage of it. And that's exactly what they did today.”

LaMarche got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, and then she struck out all three batters in the second inning.

But the third inning started with a walk to Braleigh Miller, and with one out, Alexis Kozlowski crushed a two-run homer over the right field fence. Clean-up hitter Aubrey Jones followed with a long solo home run over the left field fence, and then in the fourth inning, Kozlowski smashed another home run, this one over the center field fence.

Escanaba also committed eight errors in the game, which led to seven of the 13 runs allowed by LaMarche to be unearned runs. She struck out seven and walked four.

Escanaba's only run came in the bottom of the third inning when Carley McInerney ripped a double off the center field fence and eventually scored on a throwing error. The Eskymos managed only two base hits, and three total baserunners, off of Jones, who earned the win in the circle.

The other semifinal saw Cheboygan eliminate Kingsford, 7-1, and then the district championship game went to Gaylord over Cheboygan, 10-0. The Blue Devils had eight doubles and a home run in that championship game.

For the Eskymos though, Fields says this loss does not cast a bad shadow on the success of his team, which finished 33-5-1 for the spring.

“We had a school record for regular season, 33 wins,” Fields said. “This is one of the best teams we've ever had. This group of seniors is smart and savvy on the field. We didn't quit until the final out. The dugout was loud until the very end. That's really what defines this group. They just never quit. This was a successful season. It's a bummer losing in the first playoff game, but we lost to the best.”