Photo courtesy of Kimberly Erickson. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear a replay of the radio broadcast.

NORWAY---It was another Escanaba vs Norway baseball battle that went right down to the wire, and then some. The Escanaba Cubs and Norway Vikings met Wednesday night at Mike Maule Field, and seven innings weren't enough to decide it.
 

For the second time this season, the two teams went to extra innings, and this time, the Cubs pulled through with a 6-4 win. Norway had won the previous match-up.
 

Both teams were cautious with their pitching as both are playing in multi-game tournaments this weekend. Norway was shorthanded with numbers, so the Vikings borrowed Mason Richtig and Ryan Erickson from the Niagara team, giving those two kids a homecoming after they played with the Norway boys during Little League years.
 

Escanaba scored the first run on an RBI single by Ashton Rymkos in the first inning, but Norway took a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Third baseman Eli Gardner made an error on Richtig's grounder, with Richtig going to second base as Cole Baciak scored.
 

Carsyn Moore's RBI single gave Norway a 2-1 lead.
 

It stayed that way until the fifth inning, when Rymkos drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. And then Bryce Blixt was hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. A Matt Kaven run-scoring hit gave Escanaba a 4-2 lead.
 

Norway, however, got even in the bottom of the sixth inning when shortstop Adrian Merier committed an error, allowing Alex Ortman to score, and the Niaraga boy, Erickson, to also cross the plate.
 

The game went to the eighth inning, and the international tiebreaker was used, putting a runner at second base to start each half-inning. With Ortman pitching, Nick Chiu hit a grounder that Ortman missplayed, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Then Bon LaChance came through with a pop fly single to center field, making it a 6-4 game.
 

In the bottom of the eighth, Gardner, now pitching, more than made up for his two defensive errors. He blew through the top of the Norway lineup, striking out Carson McLean, Ortman, and Bryce Adans. Gardner threw the final two innings and earned the pitching win. Ortman took the loss, throwing the final 2 2/3 innings.
 

Norway (8-3 overall) had seven hits, with Cole Baciak and Moore each getting two of them. Jacob Deuter walked three times and had a hit, but did not score a run.
 

Escanaba (7-4 overall) had seven hits, and Matt Kaven had two of them.
 

The Vikings will face some tough teams this weekend at a tournament in Antigo, and the team again will be struggling with low numbers. Norway faces Medford, Wis., at 1:00 CT on Friday, before playing two more games on Saturday.
 

The Cubs will travel to Sault Ste. Marie to play in the EUP tournament this weekend. The Cubs open with a game Friday afternoon at 1:30 against Ishpeming, and will play another at 6:00 against the Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox.