ANOTHER BATTLE: Indians Hold Off Cubs Again

Click the thumbnails to see photos taken by Jayger Quinn. Also click to see video highlights, and to hear post-game comments from Trevor Thorbahn.

ESCANABA---The Escanaba Cubs and Gladstone Indians battled in another tight game Thursday night as the Gregg Johnson Memorial Tournament got under way in Delta County.

The Indians pulled out a 7-6 victory as the Cubs lost a one-run game for the third straight time, losing a lead in all three of the losses.

The tournament has been around since the 1990's, and this year's event, normally held on Father's Day weekend, will see ten teams play games in both Gladstone and Escanaba. Five of those teams are from the Upper Peninsula, and the other five are from Wisconsin.

In Thursday's opener, the Cubs carried a 5-4 lead into the fifth inning before the Indians scored three runs to take the lead. They held on from there behind the relief pitching of Isaiah Brow, and the Indians put themselves a leg up on the competition in the tournament standings.

Trevor Thorbahn smacked a two-run double in the fifth inning to give Gladstoe a 6-5 lead, and then Casey Alworden followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5. The Cubs came back with one run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Ashton Rymkos, but could not push across the tying run against Brow. Brow is a Manistqiue High School student who played for the Cubs last summer, but now is a member of the Indians.

Early in the game, Escanaba pitcher Bon LaChance retired the first four men he faced, but struggled with walks and hit batters as he labored through four innings before being lifted from the mound. LaChance struck out eight of the 12 outs that he recorded, but he also walked four batters and hit two others. The Cubs also made four errors, two of them in the outfield.

Gladstone was clean on defense, making no errors in the game. And the Indians jumped on Cubs relief pitcher Lucas Hall for three runs on three hits in that fifth inning that turned the game. Hall ended up taking the loss, while Brow got the win in relief of Isaac Ketchum.

Ketchum, meanwhile, had three hits at the plate to lead the Indians on offense, including a double that jump-started that fifth inning rally. The Cubs had eight different players get base hits, but they again could not get the big one at the end after giving up the lead.

The tournament continues on Friday with a full slate of games in both Escanaba and Gladstone as all of the teams arrive in town for the event. Gladstone will face Niagara, Wis. Friday night at 7:30 ET in Gladstone. That game will be broadcast on FM-93.5 and AM-600. Escanaba will take on Plover, Wis. at 8:30 Friday night in Escanaba.