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LATE-NIGHT WINNER: Cubs Slip Past Norway 4-1
 Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and hear post-game comments from Ben Johnson and Adrian Mercier.
 The result came after the Cubs lost earlier in the day to DePere, 7-3.
The Cubs entered late-night game, which started at 8:50 ET, having been eliminated from any chance of making the semifinals, while Norway only needed to win that game to make the Final Four. A Norway loss would send DePere, a team that has won this tournament several times before, into the semifinals.
It was a pitcher's dual between Norway's Isaac Lorenzoni and Escanaba's Ben Johnson. The Vikings scored the first run of the game in the second inning when Alex Ortman smoked a triple to the center field fence, scoring Nolan Amundson.
Norway appeared to take a 2-0 lead when Michael Peterson lifted a fly ball to left field which was caught, sending Ortman home on an apparent sacrifice fly. But the infield umpire ruled that Ortman had left early on the tag play, and he was called out.
The Vikings were angered by that call, but it stood, and it stayed 1-0.
Lorenzoni was on cruise control for most of the night. He carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the fourth inning when Bon LaChance got a one-out single. Then the Cubs caught a break when Jack McEvers hit a ground ball up the middle.  Third baseman Carson McLean threw it away trying to get the runner at second, so there were two men on base with only one out for Escanaba.
Lorenzoni struck out Matt Kaven for the second out, and had two strikes on Bryce Blixt. But Blixt choked up on the bat and pushed a base hit to center field, bringing LaChance home. McEvers also tried to score from second base, but Norway center fielder Evan Haferkorn threw a strike to catcher Chase Carlson, and McEvers was out.
Johnson pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning, but walked two men in the sixth inning, giving Peterson a chance to put Norway back in front. But Peterson hit a grounder and was barely thrown out at first base by second baseman Eli Gardner.
That brought up the bottom of the sixth inning, and Lorenzoni reached his 105-pitch limit. Adrian Mercier led off with an infield hit, and then three straight walks to LaChance, McEvers, and pinch hitter Reese Korhonen forced in the go-ahead run.
Then Nick Chiu lifted a fly ball to shallow center field. It was time for McEvers to get dirty again, as he tagged up and came home. This time, Haferkorn's throw was off-line, and McEvers scored to give Escanaba a 4-1 lead.
 The inning continued when reliever Riley Juneau hit Chase Cloutier with a pitch, and then Gardner flew out to end the inning. But that happened at exactly 10:50, and the game ended there on the two-hour time limit.
Johnson ended up throwing a complete-game three-hitter, striking out five batters and walking four. Lorenzoni took the loss, also allowing only three hits, and fanning nine.
Earlier, the Cubs lost to DePere in a game that was scoreless for the first three innings. Finally, DePere broke through with three runs in the top of the fourth inning against LaChance, as the Cubs made two errors, LaChance hit a batter, and Aaron Rottier had a line drive RBI single, the only hit of that inning.
The Cubs got two of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth inning. Chiu led off with a double, and with two out, Mercier singled him home to make it 3-1. LaChance then followed with an RBI double to bring the Cubs to within 3-2. McEvers, though, popped up to end that threat.
DePere put the game away in the sixth inning with four runs, as the Cubs made two more errors. August Gunn made the Cubs pay with a two-run double that out it out of reach. LaChance threw 3 1/3 innings to take the loss, walking three batters, hitting two others, and yielding three hits. Only one of the three runs against him was earned.
 Isaiah Brow threw the middle two innings and gave up four runs on three hits, but only one of those runs was earned. Cannon Arnt threw the final 1 2/3 innings,
Ryan Karbon got the pitching victory for DePere.
On Friday night, the Cubs played the Plover Black Sox, and fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning as they had six base hits against the Cubs pitcher, Mercier. He was able to get the third out of the inning with the bases loaded to keep it a 3-0 deficit.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Cubs scored twice on a hit batter, walk, error, and a fly ball RBI single to left field by McEvers.
The Black Sox added a run in the fourth inning on a Matt Glodowski double, Jackson Fox single, and sacrifice fly by Braylen Nystrom. But, again, Mercier was able to keep the Cubs close, even though they were struggling to hit pitcher Bryce Ehr.
Ehr allowed only that one McEvers hit over five innings of work, striking out eight batters and walking one.
 The Black Sox got an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning when Fonti singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Tim Sackmann sacrifice fly.
Kaden Thauer followed with a double, but Mercier again got off the hook, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh inning with the Cubs down just 5-3.
And they made a game of it against Fox, who was brought in to close it for the Black Sox. Two walks with two out to Chase Cloutier and Eli Gardner gave the Cubs a chance, and they both stole bases, putting the tying run in scoring position.
Mercier, though, flew out to left field to end the game.
Mercier threw a complete game and took the loss, allowing ten hits but walking only one batter. Ehr got the win, throwing five innings for the Black Sox.
The Cubs ended up finishing 2-2 in the tournament, which was tied with DePere. But DePere won the head-to-head tiebreaker and advanced to the semifinal round.
Escanaba returns to action next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with four games at the Firecracker Tournament in Marinette, Wis.  |
