• HS Baseball 5/1: Escanaba 6, Negaunee 5
  • HS Baseball 5/1: Norway 5, Iron Mountain 1
  • HS Softball 5/1: Escanaba 15, Menominee 0
  • HS Softball 5/1: Gladstone 13, Kingsford 3
  • HS Baseball 5/1: Marquette 9, Gladstone 3
5916 articles
Thursday May 2, 2024
Bad Inning Costs Cubs In Sault Tourney Semifinals

SAULT STE. MARIE---For a while there, it looked like the Escanaba Cubs might be able to sneak into the championship game of the Sault Invitational Sunday morning.

The Cubs were in a 1-1 tie with the host Eastern U.P. Travelers in the fifth inning.

Dane Messersmith caught on Sunday.
But then the wheels fell off, and in a matter of minutes, not only did the Cubs lose the game, they ended up losing it on the eight-run mercy rule, 9-1.

Ben Kleiman continued his strong pitching by going three innings, but he already threw on Saturday and couldn't go the rest of the way.

David Falish and Brandon Punzel came to the mound in the middle innings, and the Soo team took advantage to beat the Cubs for the second time in the tournament.

Escanaba led, 1-0, in the second inning when Tyler Skufca doubled home Bailey Lamb.

The Cubs went on to load the bases as Sean Bissell singled and Hunter LaMarch and Lucas Barnhart both drew walks. But the Cubs couldn't get the big hit.

On Saturday, the Cubs pounded Alpena, 14-0, before losing to Petoskey, 4-2.

In the opener, Ben Kleiman threw another shutout (with relief help from David Falish). It is Kleiman's fourth shutout of the season.

Vandermissen on his way to a double.
In the second game, Escanaba led, 1-0, in the third inning. But infield errors on two consecutive plays helped Petoskey to plate three runs, all of them unearned.

The Cubs tried to rally in the final inning when Tim Lueneburg doubled home Bissell, but Devin Olsen and Falish each flew out to end the scoring threat.

Escanaba with a 2-2 record, which was good enough to get them into Sunday's semifinal round.

It is the third time this season that the Cubs have made it to Sunday for a tournament.

The Cubs also had a split in Friday's action in the Soo, beating Sudbury (Ont.), 7-3, but then losing the second game to the Travelers, 8-2.

Tyler Skufca pitched Friday for the Cubs.
Skufca got the ball in the opener for the Cubs, and he got some offensive help in the fourth inning when his teammates scored three times to build a 6-2 lead.

Falish had a double off of the center field fence to score Dane Messersmith, who had singled in Lamb on the play before. Falish had two hits in the contest.

That game was played on the Soo's small Laucks Field, and the boys used wooden bats.

Later, Escanaba moved over to the big James Field to face the EUP Travelers. Olsen started on the mound, but gave up two runs in the first inning and there were several errors behind him.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from this weekend's games, taken by Sheila Olsen.

Escanaba second baseman Nick Vandermissen camps under a pop fly as Bailey Lamb (34) trots away.




Choose team:
Date Time Opponent Score Record
6/14
1:00 PM
at Green Bay Shockers
1 - 11 (L)
0-1
6/14
3:30 PM
at Marinette Marines
3 - 0 (W)
1-1
6/15
12:30 PM
at Ash-Port, Wis.
1 - 9 (L)
1-2
6/15
3:00 PM
at Green Bay Shockers
8 - 17 (L)
1-3
6/21
5:30 PM
Chief Pontiac
1 - 5 (L)
1-4
6/21
8:00 PM
Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
10 - 2 (W)
2-4
6/22
4:45 PM
Marquette Blues
5 - 0 (W)
3-4
6/22
7:00 PM
Midland Berryhill
0 - 9 (L)
3-5
6/23
10:00 AM
Plover, Wis.
1 - 2 (L)
3-6
6/25
8:00 PM
Gladstone Indians
0 - 3 (L)
3-7
6/29
12:00 PM
Green Bay Blue Jays
6 - 7 (L)
3-8
6/29
6:30 PM
Watertown Legion
1 - 0 (W)
4-8
6/30
11:30 AM
Manitowoc Legion
1 - 11 (L)
4-9
7/3
6:00 PM
at Gladstone Indians
1 - 3 (L)
4-10
7/5
6:30 PM
at Marquette Blues
6 - 9 (L)
4-11
7/8
8:00 PM
Menominee Red Wave Legion
10 - 0 (W)
5-11
7/12
2:00 PM
Sudbury Ontario Legion
7 - 3 (W)
6-11
7/12
6:00 PM
at Eastern U.P. Travelers
2 - 8 (L)
6-12
7/13
10:00 AM
Alpena Wildcats
14 - 0 (W)
7-12
7/13
1:00 PM
Petoskey Legion
2 - 4 (L)
7-13
7/14
10:00 AM
at Eastern U.P. Travelers
1 - 9 (L)
7-14
7/20
2:00 PM
Kingsford Legion Blues
10 - 3 (W)
8-14
7/24
1:00 PM
Ishpeming Blue Storm
5 - 3 (W)
9-14
7/24
7:00 PM
at Menominee Red Wave Legion
1 - 2 (L)
9-15
7/25
2:00 PM
Eastern U.P. Travelers
2 - 1 (W)
10-15
7/27
11:00 AM
Marquette Blues
7 - 5 (W)
11-15
7/27
1:00 PM
Kingsford Legion Blues
4 - 1 (W)
12-15
7/27
5:00 PM
Hancock Legion
5 - 2 (W)
13-15
7/28
12:00 PM
Gladstone Indians
0 - 15 (L)
13-16
8/1
4:00 PM
Ida Legion
7 - 0 (W)
14-16
8/2
6:00 PM
at Hudson Legion
0 - 4 (L)
14-17
8/3
10:00 AM
at Gladstone Indians
1 - 0 (W)
15-17
8/3
12:00 PM
Hudson Legion
3 - 4 (L)
15-18



Olsen No-Hitter Blanks Indians; Cubs Finish Second
Saturday August 3, 2013
Indians Win Twice; Cubs Blanked At State Tourney
Friday August 2, 2013
Cubs Win State Tourney Opener; Indians Split Two
Thursday August 1, 2013
Gladstone Indians Win U.P. Zone Championship
Sunday July 28, 2013
Cubs Do The Improbable; Indians Cruise Into Final
Saturday July 27, 2013
Indians Earn Dramatic Win In 9; Cubs Stay Alive
Thursday July 25, 2013
Indians Win; Cubs Lose Heartbreaker At UP Finals
Tuesday July 23, 2013
Fireworks Come One Day Late As Blues Edge Cubs
Friday July 5, 2013
Tackman, Jurek Shut Down Cubs In Rivalry Battle
Wednesday July 3, 2013
Cubs Run Out Of Bodies; Mercied By Manitowoc
Sunday June 30, 2013
Kleiman Gem Helps Cubs Salvage Split In Marinette
Saturday June 29, 2013
Indians Outlast Cubs In Rivalry Pitcher's Duel, 3-0
Tuesday June 25, 2013
Skufca Leads Cubs To Near-Upset Of #1 Plover Sox
Sunday June 23, 2013
Cubs Split; Make Semis For First Time Since 2008
Saturday June 22, 2013
Cubs Lose Twice; Finish Green Bay Tournament 1-3
Saturday June 15, 2013
Errors, Lack Of Hitting Dooms Esky Baseball Team
Saturday June 1, 2013
Eskymos, Braves Close Season With A Friendly Tie
Tuesday May 28, 2013
Eskymos Take Two Out of Three In Sault Ste. Marie
Saturday May 25, 2013
Eskymos Honor Top Athletes In Awards Ceremony
Wednesday May 22, 2013
Young Eskymos Win; Salvage DH Split In Shawano
Tuesday May 21, 2013
Alpena Baseball Tops Eskymos; Indians Take Third
Saturday May 18, 2013
Eskymos, Wildcats Split Twinbill; Tourney Saturday
Friday May 17, 2013
Eskymos Hold Off Braves In Marathon Game, 14-8
Thursday May 9, 2013
Young Eskymo Line-Up Produces Win In Marquette
Thursday May 9, 2013
Eskymo Defense, Kleiman Shut Down Marinette
Tuesday May 7, 2013
Eskymos Beat Black Sox In A Rare Sunday Twinbill
Sunday May 5, 2013
Eskymos Finally Play At Home; Top Braves In Final
Saturday May 4, 2013
Eskymos Suffer Power Outage; Fall In Wisconsin
Monday April 29, 2013
Eskymos Bounce Back; Win Two At Waupun Invite
Saturday April 27, 2013
Eskymos Drop First Game At Waupun Invitational
Friday April 26, 2013
No Spring Sports? Eskymos Play Dodgeball Instead
Monday April 22, 2013
Eskymos Outlast Old Man Winter To Win Tourney
Saturday April 20, 2013
Despite Snow, It's Meet The 'Spring' Eskymos Night
Thursday April 11, 2013