SAULT STE. MARIE---You just had to know that at some point, the Escanaba High School baseball team would put it all together and play a complete game in a pressure situation. After all, the team had lost eight games by one run this season, and had lost 13 baseball games in all, the most in modern school history.
But still, along the way this season, you saw flashes of the good ball that this collection of mostly underclassmen could play.
And on Monday, they finally accomplished what supporters have been waiting to see all season long. And what a time to do it!
Escanaba rallied from four runs down to beat the Cheboygan Chiefs, 9-7, and then upset the Petoskey Northmen, 9-2, to win the Division Two District Championship at Sault Ste. Marie's James Field. The games were played, at times, under bright sunny skies, and at other times, under dark clouds and heavy rainfall.
But when the boys got the final out against the Northmen....a fly ball to right fielder Jeff Lyle...it really didn't matter if it was sunny, or stormy. The trophy was coming home!
"I'm just so proud of them," Eskymo Head Coach Kirk Schwalbach said. "They deserve it. We've been talking about all year how we can't put it all together. But I told them (before tha game) that we had to go out and not worry about the other team. If we don't beat ourselves, we can play with anybody."
"We figured that one day, it was all gonna click," Eskymo senior Austin Young said. "Some days, we'd have good bats, some days we'd have good defense. But we figured that some day, it would all click, and it clicked today."
"I'm just speechless right now," Eskymo senior Ian DeMarse said. "I mean, I'm so happy with how we played. And, we're district champs!"
And it didn't look good early on in the semifinal game against Cheboygan.
The Chiefs jumped on senior pitcher Alex DeHaan for four runs in the top of the first inning, as DeHaan walked two batters, hit another, and gave up a two-run gap-shot to junior pitcher Damon Proctor.
Proctor, who silenced the Eskymos in a 6-1 district tournament loss last season, had helped to give himself a 4-0 lead with that hit that would end DeHaan's pitching day.
But the hard-throwing right-hander was just coming back from a severe knee injury, and he had problems as he went to the mound in the bottom of the first inning.
DeHaan had a two-run single, Bailey Lamb added a run-scoring double, and David Falish put down a perfect bunt that not only got him on base, but scored a run when Proctor threw the ball away.
And Cam Beversluis was later safe on an error that allowed Falish to score the go-ahead run, giving Escanaba a 5-4 lead after one inning.
Schwalbach had to make a pitching decision, and concluded that DeHaan just didn't have it.
So, he turned to sophomore Devin Olsen, and the move worked, as Olsen held the Chiefs off the scoreboard for the next three innings.
"I just found my curveball, sometimes, and my then my fastball was pretty good today," Olsen said. "I didn't throw any change-ups today."
Escanaba built a 7-4 lead in the fourth inning on RBI hits from Ben Kleiman and DeHaan. The Chiefs closed to within 7-5 in the fifth when Anthony Juillet doubled and scored on a hit byEryn Eustice. But Olsen got the next three outs to keep it 7-5.
The Eskymos played some "small ball" in the sixth inning, scoring a pair of runs on bunts that were not handled correctly by Proctor and his teammates.
Those runs came in handy because Cheboygan got a two-run hit from Stan Swiderek in the sixth inning that cut the Escanaba lead to 9-7.
And in the seventh inning, Jordan Yost and Zach Schley each got two-out base hits to give Cheboygan one last scoring chance. But Olsen got Proctor to ground out to end the game.
Escanaba got nine hits in that game, with DeHaan and Kleiman each getting three.
Olsen got the pitching win, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings of work.
So, after a break for a bite to eat and some field maintenance, the Eskymos went for a district championship against Petoskey.
The Northmen had beaten the Eskymos in a regular season game in Escanaba last month, and just like in that earlier game, the Eskymos got the upper hand early on.
Austin Young led off with a double and scored on a triple by Nick Vandermissen in the top of the first inning. Then in the bottom of the inning, Petoskey threatened with runners at the corners and one out against starting pitcher Ben Kleiman.
But the Eskymos turned a nice 6-4-3 double play to end that Petoskey threat.
Escanaba made its move in the top of the third inning, scoring five runs to break the game open. Vandermissen had a sacrafice fly to score one run, then Lamb ripped a two-run single to make it 4-0.
Later in the inning, Tyler Skufca lifted one into the right field corner for a two-run double. That gave Escanaba a 6-0 lead.
It was 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Northmen made their move. Kleiman gave up two walks and two base hits. Petoskey had a run on the board, and the bases were loaded with no outs. Young came in to pitch, and he stepped up. He got Nick Strobel to pop up and Dan Clancy hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Threat over.
Escanaba still had a 7-1 lead, and Young made it stand up over the final few innings, allowing a meaningless run in the Northman seventh inning. And after so many ups and downs throughout this baseball season, the Eskymos had their district title.
Escanaba had 11 hits in the game, giving the team 20 for the two wins.
The Eskymos had three players selected to the All-District Team: Young, DeHaan, and Vandermissen. And Schwalbach was chosen as the District Coach of the Year in his debut season.
Escanaba (21-13) advances to the regional tournament next Saturday in West Branch.
Details on that regional tournament will become known later on Tuesday.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box on the top of this page to see pictures, watch video highlights, and to listen to audio highlights and interviews from this district tournament.
Eskymo seniors Ian DeMarse, Alex DeHaan, and Austin Young with the district trophy.
And on Monday, they finally accomplished what supporters have been waiting to see all season long. And what a time to do it!
Escanaba rallied from four runs down to beat the Cheboygan Chiefs, 9-7, and then upset the Petoskey Northmen, 9-2, to win the Division Two District Championship at Sault Ste. Marie's James Field. The games were played, at times, under bright sunny skies, and at other times, under dark clouds and heavy rainfall.
But when the boys got the final out against the Northmen....a fly ball to right fielder Jeff Lyle...it really didn't matter if it was sunny, or stormy. The trophy was coming home!
"I'm just so proud of them," Eskymo Head Coach Kirk Schwalbach said. "They deserve it. We've been talking about all year how we can't put it all together. But I told them (before tha game) that we had to go out and not worry about the other team. If we don't beat ourselves, we can play with anybody."
Austin Young Post-Game Interview.
"I'm just speechless right now," Eskymo senior Ian DeMarse said. "I mean, I'm so happy with how we played. And, we're district champs!"
And it didn't look good early on in the semifinal game against Cheboygan.
The Chiefs jumped on senior pitcher Alex DeHaan for four runs in the top of the first inning, as DeHaan walked two batters, hit another, and gave up a two-run gap-shot to junior pitcher Damon Proctor.
Proctor, who silenced the Eskymos in a 6-1 district tournament loss last season, had helped to give himself a 4-0 lead with that hit that would end DeHaan's pitching day.
Devin Olsen pitches in a rainstorm.
DeHaan had a two-run single, Bailey Lamb added a run-scoring double, and David Falish put down a perfect bunt that not only got him on base, but scored a run when Proctor threw the ball away.
And Cam Beversluis was later safe on an error that allowed Falish to score the go-ahead run, giving Escanaba a 5-4 lead after one inning.
Schwalbach had to make a pitching decision, and concluded that DeHaan just didn't have it.
So, he turned to sophomore Devin Olsen, and the move worked, as Olsen held the Chiefs off the scoreboard for the next three innings.
"I just found my curveball, sometimes, and my then my fastball was pretty good today," Olsen said. "I didn't throw any change-ups today."
Escanaba built a 7-4 lead in the fourth inning on RBI hits from Ben Kleiman and DeHaan. The Chiefs closed to within 7-5 in the fifth when Anthony Juillet doubled and scored on a hit byEryn Eustice. But Olsen got the next three outs to keep it 7-5.
First baseman Ian DeMarse gets the out on Cheboygan's Damon Proctor.
Those runs came in handy because Cheboygan got a two-run hit from Stan Swiderek in the sixth inning that cut the Escanaba lead to 9-7.
And in the seventh inning, Jordan Yost and Zach Schley each got two-out base hits to give Cheboygan one last scoring chance. But Olsen got Proctor to ground out to end the game.
Escanaba got nine hits in that game, with DeHaan and Kleiman each getting three.
Olsen got the pitching win, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings of work.
So, after a break for a bite to eat and some field maintenance, the Eskymos went for a district championship against Petoskey.
Nick Vandermissen Triple vs Petoskey
Austin Young led off with a double and scored on a triple by Nick Vandermissen in the top of the first inning. Then in the bottom of the inning, Petoskey threatened with runners at the corners and one out against starting pitcher Ben Kleiman.
Eskymos Turn Double Play vs Petoskey
Escanaba made its move in the top of the third inning, scoring five runs to break the game open. Vandermissen had a sacrafice fly to score one run, then Lamb ripped a two-run single to make it 4-0.
Later in the inning, Tyler Skufca lifted one into the right field corner for a two-run double. That gave Escanaba a 6-0 lead.
It was 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Northmen made their move. Kleiman gave up two walks and two base hits. Petoskey had a run on the board, and the bases were loaded with no outs. Young came in to pitch, and he stepped up. He got Nick Strobel to pop up and Dan Clancy hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Threat over.
Austn Young on the mound vs Petoskey
Escanaba had 11 hits in the game, giving the team 20 for the two wins.
The Eskymos had three players selected to the All-District Team: Young, DeHaan, and Vandermissen. And Schwalbach was chosen as the District Coach of the Year in his debut season.
Escanaba (21-13) advances to the regional tournament next Saturday in West Branch.
Details on that regional tournament will become known later on Tuesday.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box on the top of this page to see pictures, watch video highlights, and to listen to audio highlights and interviews from this district tournament.
