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Cubs Do The Improbable; Indians Cruise Into Final
 MENOMINEE---Tom Ohman has been coaching baseball in Escanaba for more than three decades. But the veteran Escanaba manager had never seen happen what he saw happen to his Cubs team on Saturday at the U.P. Finals in Menominee. Ohman had never been the manager of a team that won three baseball games on the same day. That changed on Saturday as the Cubs beat Marquette, Kingsford, and Hancock in a span that all of a sudden sent Escanaba into the state tournament. Meanwhile, the Gladstone Indians cruised to a 10-0 win over Hancock to advance to the Upper Peninsula Zone Five championship game. There are six teams slated to compete in next week's state tournament at Adrian College, and three of them will be from the U.P. Escanaba was "behind the eight ball" after opening the U.P. Finals with a win over Ishpeming on Wednesday, but then losing a heartbreaker to Menominee. On Thursday, the Cubs stayed alive with a tight win over Sault Ste. Marie in a loser's bracket game. And then on Friday, Escanaba played two innings against Marquette before the rains came. So, on Saturday, Ohman had to figure out how to get five innings in against Marquette, and then hope to keep playing another 14 innings. The kids responded, eliminating Marquette, 7-5, in the completion of the suspended game. Later, Escanaba fell behind defending state champion Kingsford, 1-0, and almost went behind by two before a play at the plate cut down a Kingsford runner. Escanaba won that game in the end, 4-1, and that win officially put the Cubs into the state touranment. But the boys still had to play Hancock in a loser's bracket game. Escanaba scored three runs in the top of the first inning, with two of them coming home on a hit by Devin Olsen. But Cubs pitcher Brandon Punzel was wild, walking four batters in the bottom of the inning to help Hancock close to within 3-2. But then Escanaba scored an unearned run in the fourth inning and Olsen drove home another run in the sixth to give the Cubs three wins in one day, a first for Ohman. Punzel went the whole game on the mound, allowing just two base hits in those seven innings. He did walk seven batters, but also struck out six. Meanwhile, the Indians were still in the winners bracket after their dramatic comeback win Friday night against Menominee. On Saturday, it didn't take long for Gladstone to get in front as the Indians scored five runs in the top of the first inning. Christian Groleau had an RBI single and Jake Pearson had a two-run hit during that long inning. Christian Tackman added an RBI single and Lucas LaCosse had a sacrafice fly. In the second inning, the lead grew to 7-0 as Pearson doubled home two more runs. And then in the sixth inning, Gladstone put it away with three more runs...two on a Jake Peterson single, and the other on a hit by Hayden Hardwick. Hunter Garling tossed a complete-game three-hitter to earm the Gladstone win. |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
5/1 |
6:00 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
9 - 7 (W)
|
1-0
|
5/8 |
6:30 PM |
at Marquette Blues
|
3 - 8 (L)
|
1-1
|
5/18 |
12:30 PM |
at Escanaba Eskymos
|
0 - 5 (L)
|
1-2
|
5/18 |
3:00 PM |
Negaunee Miners
|
14 - 3 (W)
|
2-2
|
5/19 |
12:00 PM |
at Kingsford Legion Blues
|
1 - 5 (L)
|
2-3
|
5/19 |
2:30 PM |
at Kingsford Legion Blues
|
4 - 16 (L)
|
2-4
|
5/23 |
6:30 PM |
Marquette Blues
|
4 - 15 (L)
|
2-5
|
5/28 |
6:30 PM |
at Channing Railroaders
|
1 - 5 (L)
|
2-6
|
5/31 |
6:30 PM |
at Marquette Blues
|
4 - 14 (L)
|
2-7
|
6/6 |
6:30 PM |
Ishpeming Blue Storm
|
12 - 0 (W)
|
3-7
|
6/8 |
1:00 PM |
at Hancock Legion
|
17 - 5 (W)
|
4-7
|
6/8 |
3:30 PM |
at Hancock Legion
|
15 - 7 (W)
|
5-7
|
6/10 |
6:30 PM |
at Mid County Mavericks
|
8 - 3 (W)
|
6-7
|
6/13 |
6:30 PM |
Kingsford Legion Blues
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
7-7
|
6/15 |
2:00 PM |
at Oconto Falls Legion
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
8-7
|
6/15 |
4:30 PM |
at Oconto Falls Legion
|
14 - 2 (W)
|
9-7
|
6/18 |
5:30 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
7 - 4 (W)
|
10-7
|
6/18 |
8:00 PM |
Channing Railroaders
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
11-7
|
6/21 |
5:30 PM |
Eastern U.P. Travelers
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
12-7
|
6/21 |
8:00 PM |
Petoskey Legion
|
0 - 1 (L)
|
12-8
|
6/22 |
4:45 PM |
DePere Panthers
|
4 - 5 (L)
|
12-9
|
6/22 |
7:00 PM |
Plover, Wis.
|
3 - 8 (L)
|
12-10
|
6/25 |
8:00 PM |
at Escanaba Cubs
|
3 - 0 (W)
|
13-10
|
6/26 |
6:00 PM |
Newberry Warriors
|
4 - 3 (W)
|
14-10
|
6/26 |
8:00 PM |
Newberry Warriors
|
2 - 2 (T)
|
14-10-1
|
6/29 |
8:30 AM |
at Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
15-10-1
|
6/29 |
12:30 PM |
at Newberry Warriors
|
3 - 7 (L)
|
15-11-1
|
6/30 |
1:00 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
2 - 3 (L)
|
15-12-1
|
6/30 |
3:00 PM |
Onaway Cardinals
|
10 - 1 (W)
|
16-12-1
|
7/3 |
6:00 PM |
Escanaba Cubs
|
3 - 1 (W)
|
17-12-1
|
7/7 |
1:00 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
13 - 3 (W)
|
18-12-1
|
7/7 |
3:30 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
3 - 7 (L)
|
18-13-1
|
7/9 |
5:30 PM |
Mid County Mavericks
|
11 - 0 (W)
|
19-13-1
|
7/11 |
6:30 PM |
Marquette Blues
|
6 - 0 (W)
|
20-13-1
|
7/20 |
4:00 PM |
Kingsford Legion Blues
|
1 - 5 (L)
|
20-14-1
|
7/24 |
5:00 PM |
Eastern U.P. Travelers
|
6 - 4 (W)
|
21-14-1
|
7/25 |
7:00 PM |
at Menominee Red Wave Legion
|
5 - 4 (W)
|
22-14-1
|
7/27 |
6:00 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
23-14-1
|
7/28 |
12:00 PM |
at Escanaba Cubs
|
15 - 0 (W)
|
24-14-1
|
8/1 |
1:30 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
15 - 1 (W)
|
25-14-1
|
8/1 |
6:30 PM |
at Hudson Legion
|
0 - 2 (L)
|
25-15-1
|
8/2 |
11:30 AM |
Gladwin
|
10 - 3 (W)
|
26-15-1
|
8/2 |
3:00 PM |
Hancock Legion
|
5 - 0 (W)
|
27-15-1
|
8/3 |
10:00 AM |
Escanaba Cubs
|
0 - 1 (L)
|
27-16-1
|
