ESCANABA---It was a raw, nasty evening at Al Ness Field as cold winds and heavy rain converged on the area Thursday night. But the Eskymos fought through the conditions, and a tiny strike zone, to beat the Kingsford American Legion Blues, 14-7.
Escanaba trailed, 6-3, entering the bottom of the fourth inning as pitchers Devin Olsen and Andrew Sedlar struggled with the umpire's strike zone...and the elements. The two right handed pitchers combined to walk eight batters in the first three innings, and hit two others, and Kingsford took advantage by scoring six runs on just two base hits.
But the Eskymo offense compensated for the pitching woes as Nick Vandermissen and David Falish each had three hits and the Eskymos took control of the game by scoring at least one run in every inning. But it was not a comfortable night at the stadium.
"Cold. Miserable," Vandermissen said about the conditions. "That's about it."
Eskymo Manager Kirk Schwalbach tried t0 make the most of it, but he agreed.
"I didn't get real cold until the last couple of innings," Schwalbach said. "I wish we had a heater in the dugout. But then nobody would want to go out of the dugout. I was hoping to get some kids some at-bats at the end, but it didn't work out that way."
Kingsford, playing just its second game of the baseball season, scored two runs in the first inning on two walks, a hit-battsman, and several stolen bases.
O'Brien Johnson's single drove in one run, and a second run scored when a runner got caught in a pickle between second and third base. Escanaba tied the game in the bottom of the inning on RBI hits by Alex DeHaan and David Falish.
Escanaba got an unearned run in the second inning when two errors put men on base and Austin Young just missed a home run, setlling instead for an RBI double. But in the top of the third inning, Kingsford took advantage of six walks, including two with the bases loaded, to take a 6-3 lead. Shawn Sexton had an RBI single in that inning.
The Eskymos tied the game in the bottom of the third inning on RBI singles by Bailey Lamb and Tim Lueneburg. Another run scored on a double steal. Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Eskymos br0ke the 6-6 tie, helped along by Mother Nature.
Ben Kleiman drew a one-out walk, and scored on a double by Vandermissen. That gave the Eskymos a 7-6 lead, and at the time, it was Vandermissen's sixth straight hit in six at-bats, going back to Tuesday night's win over the Norway Knights.
Vandermissen says that he's been working on his hitting this early season, and it has paid off, with a .609 batting average so far this season (14 hits in 23 official at bats).
But the not-so-talkative Vandermissen added with a grin: "Dave (Falish) is a great cage pitcher. That's probably it."
"It's scary," Schwalbach said. "Everything he hits is hard. It's amazing. I don't know how he does it with the cold weather and everything. He's freezing up there, but he just finds the sweet spot. He just drives the ball. It's fun to watch."
After DeHaan drew a walk, Falish put a bunt down the third base line. With the rains pouring down, Kingsford third baseman Andrew Kurth fielded the ball, but he had no chance to get the speedy Falish at first base.
Kurth threw it anyway, and the wet ball sailed over the first baseman's head. Two runs scored to make it 9-6 and Falish went to second base.
Things got worse for Kingsford as Bailey Lamb was safe on an error by the second baseman, then another error scored both Falish and Lamb to give Escanaba an 11-6 lead.
Escanaba added three more unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, with the rain squalls continuing off and on. Two walks and two Kingsford errors helped, and Lamb's double scored one of the runs. Kingsford got a run on a Sexton single in the sixth inning to make it a 14-7 final. Sexton had three hits and a walk to lead the Blues.
Olsen pitched into the third inning for the Eskymos, allowing six earned runs on two hits, six walks, and a hit-battsman. He got a "no decision". Sedlar pitched the final four innings, allowing one run on three hits.
Nick Swieg started on the mound for Kingsford and gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Mike McCole pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and took the loss, allowing eigtht runs (only one earned) on three base hits.
"They played us tough," Schwalbach said. "They had some kids missing, and we started out sluggish. Devin struggled to find the strike zone, and that's gonna happen. You're gonna have days like that. Andrew came in and picked him up. I'm happy with the win."
Escanaba (6-2) travels to Wisconsin on Saturday to face the highly-rated Appleton North Lightning in a doubleheader. WCHT-AM (600) will broadcast both games, starting at 1:00 ET. The games will be streamed on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Escanaba trailed, 6-3, entering the bottom of the fourth inning as pitchers Devin Olsen and Andrew Sedlar struggled with the umpire's strike zone...and the elements. The two right handed pitchers combined to walk eight batters in the first three innings, and hit two others, and Kingsford took advantage by scoring six runs on just two base hits.
But the Eskymo offense compensated for the pitching woes as Nick Vandermissen and David Falish each had three hits and the Eskymos took control of the game by scoring at least one run in every inning. But it was not a comfortable night at the stadium.
"Cold. Miserable," Vandermissen said about the conditions. "That's about it."
Tim Lueneburg base hit.
"I didn't get real cold until the last couple of innings," Schwalbach said. "I wish we had a heater in the dugout. But then nobody would want to go out of the dugout. I was hoping to get some kids some at-bats at the end, but it didn't work out that way."
Kingsford, playing just its second game of the baseball season, scored two runs in the first inning on two walks, a hit-battsman, and several stolen bases.
O'Brien Johnson's single drove in one run, and a second run scored when a runner got caught in a pickle between second and third base. Escanaba tied the game in the bottom of the inning on RBI hits by Alex DeHaan and David Falish.
Alex DeHaan drives home Nick Vandermissen.
The Eskymos tied the game in the bottom of the third inning on RBI singles by Bailey Lamb and Tim Lueneburg. Another run scored on a double steal. Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Eskymos br0ke the 6-6 tie, helped along by Mother Nature.
Bailey Lamb ets a clutch RBI hit.
Vandermissen says that he's been working on his hitting this early season, and it has paid off, with a .609 batting average so far this season (14 hits in 23 official at bats).
But the not-so-talkative Vandermissen added with a grin: "Dave (Falish) is a great cage pitcher. That's probably it."
Nick Vandermissen RBI double.
After DeHaan drew a walk, Falish put a bunt down the third base line. With the rains pouring down, Kingsford third baseman Andrew Kurth fielded the ball, but he had no chance to get the speedy Falish at first base.
David Falish bunt single and error.
Things got worse for Kingsford as Bailey Lamb was safe on an error by the second baseman, then another error scored both Falish and Lamb to give Escanaba an 11-6 lead.
Andrew Sedlar got the win on the mound.
Olsen pitched into the third inning for the Eskymos, allowing six earned runs on two hits, six walks, and a hit-battsman. He got a "no decision". Sedlar pitched the final four innings, allowing one run on three hits.
Nick Swieg started on the mound for Kingsford and gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Mike McCole pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and took the loss, allowing eigtht runs (only one earned) on three base hits.
"They played us tough," Schwalbach said. "They had some kids missing, and we started out sluggish. Devin struggled to find the strike zone, and that's gonna happen. You're gonna have days like that. Andrew came in and picked him up. I'm happy with the win."
Escanaba (6-2) travels to Wisconsin on Saturday to face the highly-rated Appleton North Lightning in a doubleheader. WCHT-AM (600) will broadcast both games, starting at 1:00 ET. The games will be streamed on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
