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Eskymos Take Two Out of Three In Sault Ste. Marie
 SAULT STE. MARIE---The Escanaba Eskymos know that they need to start playing their best baseball, with the start of the district tournaments just a week away. And for the most part, the Eskymos took a step forward as they competed in the Sault Varsity Baseball Invitational at Laucks Field in Sault Ste. Marie Saturday afternoon. The Eskymos beat the Shepherd Blue Jays, 3-2, and then turned back the Alpena Wildcats, 11-4. The final game against Sault Ste. Marie saw the Eskymos carry a 4-1 lead late into the game before the host Blue Devils won it at the end, 5-4. 
Eskymo junior Bailey Lamb (34) is on first base Saturday against Alpena in the Soo.
In the game against Alpena, Sean Bissell smacked a two-run homer in the first inning to put the Eskymos in front. The Wildcats tied it with two runs in the second inning, but the Eskymos answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, and then scored three more runs in the fourth inning. Eskymo junior pitcher Devin Olsen had a 7-2 lead at that point, but the defense sprung a leak in the fifth inning and the Wildcats (19-7 overall) got two unearned runs. But the Eskymos added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth and won going away, 11-4. Olsen pitched a complete game to earn the victory on the mound. After a quick break, the Eskymos packed up the gear and walked over to the big James Field to face the host Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils. The Soo scored first, but the Eskymos had a four-run third inning. Two of the runs scored when Jeffry Lyle hit a fly ball with the bases loaded and it was dropped in left-center field. 
Brandon Punzel puts the tag on an Alpena runner, but the pick-off throw was late.
The Blue Devils scored two runs in the bottom of that inning to steal the victory away from the Eskymos. Escanaba has lost six games this season, and this was the fourth one-run loss. Also at Saturday's tournament, Shepherd beat Sault Ste. Marie, 6-1, and Alpena pounded Shepherd, 16-1. Still, it was 18 innings of mostly-good baseball for the Eskymos, who now have just one regular season game left before the playoffs begin. Escanaba (16-6) travels to Gladstone for a make-up game Tuesday night at 6:30, and then plays in the MHSAA Division Two District Tournament next Saturday in Cheboygan, against the Petoskey Northmen. That game starts at 12:30. WCHT-AM (600) will broadcast both games live. And the Eskymo games will be broadcast over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos. Jeffry Lyle gets a fly ball in the top photo. Thanks again to Sheila Olsen! 
Escanaba's Alec Slaga pitches in relief Saturday afternoon against Sault Ste. Marie. (Sheila Olsen photos)
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| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
4/20 |
10:45 AM |
at Whitehall Vikings
|
4 - 2 (W)
|
1-0
|
4/20 |
6:00 PM |
at Remus Chippewa Hills
|
12 - 3 (W)
|
2-0
|
4/26 |
5:00 PM |
at Kenosha Tremper High School
|
3 - 14 (L)
|
2-1
|
4/27 |
1:00 PM |
University School of Milwaukee
|
12 - 2 (W)
|
3-1
|
4/27 |
7:00 PM |
Prairie Du Chien Blackhawks
|
12 - 1 (W)
|
4-1
|
4/29 |
5:30 PM |
at DePere Redbirds
|
1 - 5 (L)
|
4-2
|
5/4 |
12:30 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
16 - 0 (W)
|
5-2
|
5/4 |
5:45 PM |
Gladstone Braves
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5 - 1 (W)
|
6-2
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5/5 |
12:00 PM |
Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
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14 - 4 (W)
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7-2
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5/5 |
3:00 PM |
Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
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13 - 3 (W)
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8-2
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5/7 |
5:30 PM |
Marinette Marines
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2 - 0 (W)
|
9-2
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5/8 |
6:00 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
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11 - 2 (W)
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10-2
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5/9 |
6:00 PM |
Gladstone Braves
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14 - 8 (W)
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11-2
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5/17 |
5:00 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
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3 - 4 (L)
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11-3
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5/17 |
7:30 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
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10 - 9 (W)
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12-3
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5/18 |
12:30 PM |
Gladstone Indians
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5 - 0 (W)
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13-3
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5/18 |
5:30 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
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3 - 4 (L)
|
13-4
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5/21 |
4:30 PM |
at Shawano Hawks
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1 - 2 (L)
|
13-5
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5/21 |
6:30 PM |
at Shawano Hawks
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3 - 2 (W)
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14-5
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5/25 |
10:00 AM |
Shepherd
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3 - 2 (W)
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15-5
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5/25 |
12:30 PM |
Alpena Wildcats
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11 - 4 (W)
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16-5
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5/25 |
2:30 PM |
at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils
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4 - 5 (L)
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16-6
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5/28 |
6:30 PM |
at Gladstone Braves
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3 - 3 (T)
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16-6-1
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6/1 |
12:30 PM |
Petoskey Northmen
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0 - 2 (L)
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16-7-1
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