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FINALLY! Kingsford Wins 1st Baseball District Title
 Click the thumbnails to see video highlights and to hear the radio replay of the Esky-Houghton and Esky-Kingsford games. ESCANABA---For the past several years, the Kingsford High School baseball team has shown a lot of promise heading into the post-season, only to come up short in the districts every single time. There was the infamous walk-off balk in extra innings in Sault Ste. Marie. Then there was an error-filled loss with their star pitcher injured last year in Cheboygan. Just once, could the Flivvers get a trophy? Just once? Well this weekend, the Flivvers would have to do it the hard way, against the ace of the Escanaba pitching staff, Lenny Peacock, and on the Eskymos’ home field. And Flivvers star pitcher Gavin Trevillian had to wiggle out of trouble in the first two innings, throwing half of his maximum 105 pitches in those two innings. Trevillian and the Flivvers simply outwaited Peacock and the Eskymos, played clean defense, and made big plays when Escanaba had runners on base. The result: history for the Kingsford Flivvers in a 7-1 win over the Eskymos, sending the Maize and Blue into the regional semifinal this Wednesday afternoon in Cheboygan. It was Andres “Pablo” Finley who carried much of the load. He pitched the semifinal game earlier in the day in which the Flivvers pulled away for their first-ever playoff win. Then, in the championship game, Finley ripped a shot through a drawn-in infield to bring home Jack Kriegl with the first run of the game, breaking a 0-0 tie in the fifth inning. Then in the sixth inning, Peacock walked the first two men he faced, and then Joey Weber blooped a base hit into the outfield to make it a 2-0 Kingsford lead. That was all for Peacock, who maxed out at 107 pitches. Ashton Rymkos came into pitch, and Finley ripped a shot to right field, bringing home two runs, making it a 4-0 game. The Eskymos got one run back in the bottom of the sixth when Peacock singled and scored on a double by Rymkos. But Trevillian shut the door from there, and his teammates put three more runs on the board in the seventh inning. Weber had an RBI double for his third hit of the game, another run scored on a wild pitch, and Gavin Grondin’s sacrifice fly closed the scoring. Trevillian allowed only three base hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out ten batters. His five walks early on gave Escanaba some scoring chances, but the Eskymos could not take advantage. Grondin pitched the final out. An unsung hero for the Flivvers was Kriegl, who threw out two Eskymo batters who were trying to steal second base. Peacock struck out 12 batters, allowed five hits, and walked three. A good enough performance, usually. But Finley and Weber got the last laugh at the plate. Earlier in the day, Escanaba managed to get by Houghton, 1-0, in a well-played pitcher’s duel between the Eskymos’ Cannon Arnt and Houghton’s Jackson VonDoloski. The only run of the game came in the fourth inning on a Nolan Bink RBI single, scoring Bryce Bichler. Arnt struck out 12 batters, walked just two, and allowed only two base hits. VanDoloski allowed four hits and four walks in the loss, striking out seven batters. Houghton’s season ended with a 13-9 record. Escanaba closed a successful season with a 22-12 record, with many of those losses coming to good downstate teams. The Eskymos had good pitching and good defense most of the season, but struggled to score runs. Kingsford won its semifinal game over the Sault Blue Devils, 9-1, in a game that was scoreless until the fourth inning. A Trevillian RBI double, followed by a double steal of home and a Nolan Hendrickson RBI double gave the Flivvers all the runs they would need. Hendrickson had three hits and drove in three runs, while Trevillian and Flinley both had two hits. Finley threw 5 2/3 innings before reaching his pitch limit, allowing one unearned run on five hits and three walks. He struck out eight. Weber threw the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out three batters and walking one. For Sault Ste. Marie, Mack Kavanaugh had two hits and Carter Samuelson drove in the only run. Boo Hibbard took the loss on the mound as the Sault finished its season with a 14-22 record. Kingsford improved to 18-8 on the season, and after the years of frustration, finally has a baseball trophy to go along with the ones the school has won in football, soccer, and basketball. The Flivvers will face the Petoskey Northmen (27-5) in the regional semifinal Wednesday at 4:30 CT in Cheboygan. |
