ESCANABA----If the Alpena Wildcats and Escanaba Eskymos played each other in baseball 100 times, it's likely that both teams would win 50 games.
The two teams faced off three times this weekend, and all three were one-run games. But the Wildcats will take some hardware below the Mackinac Bridge after posting a 4-3 win in Saturday's Binks Coca-Cola Invitational championship game at Al Ness Field.
"We had ten, twelve guys left on base, and they only left two guys on base," Escanaba Manager Kirk Schwalbach said. "They took advantage of their opportunities and we didn't.
"It's the little things. A couple little mistakes. Good teams take advantage of that. In close games, all the little things add up."
After the team's split Friday night's doubleheader (see story by clicking here ), Alpena jumped on Eskymo starter Ben Kleiman in Saturday's tournament title game.
In the first inning, Zach Nash got a one-out single and then rode home on a double by Tim Atkinson. Guilio Fantasia followed with an RBI double of his own, then Dylan Glennie ripped an RBI single to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead before the Eskymos even picked up a bat. But Kleiman settled down from there, allowing only two more base hits the rest of the way.
"I think he got his confidence back," Schwalbach said. "He trusted his pitches a little more. He hadn't been hit like that (this season). They came out and they were attacking, swinging at first pitches. So, he mixed it up more and threw more curveballs on the first pitch. After that, he settled down, and threw a really nice game, I thought."
Escanaba did manage to score a run in the third inning on doubles by Sean Bissell and Brandon Punzel, but the next two guys made outs with two runners still on base.
In the fourth inning, Escanaba tied the game on a Kleiman RBI single and a fielder's choice play on a ground ball by Bissell.
But Vandermissen struck out and Punzel grounded out, leaving two runners on base.
In the fifth inning, Bailey Lamb led off with a double and was bunted to third base by Hunter LaMarch.
But Tim Lueneburg and Cam Beversluis each grounded out.
The Wildcats took the lead in the top of the sixth inning with an unearned run. Nash got knicked by a pitch, then Atkinson was safe on an error by LaMarch at shortstop.
Two stolen bases later, Fantasia continued to be a pain in the Eskymos' side by hitting a sacrafice fly to drive home the go-ahead run. It was Fantasia's second RBI of the game, and it came after he reached base in nine of ten plate appearances on Friday.
Escanaba had another chance in the bottom of the sixth as Bissell doubled and Vandermissen singled with two out. Punzel then took an Andy Marwede pitch for a long ride to center field, but Glennie tracked it down in the deepest part of the park.
"That was a great catch because he took a bad angle to the ball," Schwalbach said. "Then he kind of caught it on the side of his back shoulder. If he drops that, maybe we score a couple. But give them credit. They made plays when they had to."
In the seventh inning, the Eskymos again made a bid to tie the game when Lamb was safe on an error to start the inning. Alpena brought Atkinson in to pitch, and LaMarch was able to bunt pinch runner Jake Rodman into second base. Rodman kept on running, though, and ended up at third base with only one out.
Lueneburg smoked one to right field, but right at the outfielder, and it was too shallow to send Rodman home. Tyler Skufca pinch hit, and bounced out to end the game.
"I'm proud of the way the kids hit the ball," Schwalbach said. "We had a great weekend. We just came up a little short."
The winning pitcher was Marwede, who allowed three runs on nine hits in six innings of work, and always seemed to make the big pitch when it was needed. Atkinson earned the save. Kleiman took the loss, throwing a complete-game five-hitter.
Alpena (18-3) had won earlier in the day over Negaunee, 5-0, and Escanaba (13-4) defeated the Gladstone Indians American Legion team, also 5-0.
Escanaba travels to Shawano, Wis., for a doubleheader on Tuesday. Game time is 4:30 ET.
The games will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos.
NOT TOO SHABBY FOR YOUNG INDIANS---The Gladstone Indians American Legion team was the "fourth" squad entered in the tournament, and not many people expected the Indians to make much noise. After all, most of Gladstone's top baseball players are playing for the Braves high school team this spring.
The Indians, with new coach Andy Schwartz at the helm, has a handful of Rapid River boys and a slew of Gladstone middle schoolers on the roster.
The team had only played two games so far this spring, so naturally, the Indians would be overmatched. Well, not quite.
The Indians matched up with the Eskymos in Saturday's first game, and Escanaba did get the win...but not by the mercy rule. It was a 5-0 Escanaba win as Gladstone's only 19-year-old, Cody Frazer, scattered six hits over six innings.
Frazer may be 19 years old, but he was pretty much just as green as the rest of the bunch. That's because he has been a catcher for years, and was pitching for one of the few times in his life. But he did just enough to keep his team in the game.
Bailey Lamb had an RBI single in the first inning, Logan Lamb had a run-scoring double in the second, and Hunter LaMarch had a sacrafice fly in the second inning to make it 3-0. Tyler Skufca had an RBI single and Logan Lamb added another RBI double in the third inning, and the Eskymos had a 5-0 lead that would not be threatened.
Skufca walked the bases loaded with one out in the sixth inning, so Eskymo Coach Kirk Schwalbach brought Jeffry Lyle in to pitch. Lyle got Hayden Hardwick to pop up and seventh grader Braden Lamberg flew out to end the Indians threat.
Lyle then worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning, and he ended up sharing a no-hitter with Skufca.
After a bite to eat, the Indians were back on the field for the third place game against the Negaunee Miners. And it was the seventh grader Lamberg who got the pitching start for the Indians.
The boy who is barely five feet tall was bigger than that on the mound, as he frustrated the Miners with 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Lamberg struck out four batters in his Legion debut.
Jake Pearson came on to get the final out of the sixth inning, and then in the top of the seventh, the Indians scored nine runs to turn a 5-0 game into a 14-0 rout. And they did it with a bunch of infield hits and pop-fly singles, along with a couple of errors from the frutstrated Miners, who were playing without their best player, Tyler Jandron.
There was one loud hit during that big inning for the Indians. Pearson came up with the bases loaded against Negaunee reliever Grant Johnson.
The Rapid River boy clubbed one to the fence, clearing the bases and leading to big cheers from most of the fans. That was the final blow for the underdog Indians.
Pearson gave up three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the final score of the game was 14-3. Lamberg, Pearson, and Frazer were picked to the All-Tournament team.
The Indians improved to 2-2 overall and the boys will visit Kingsford for a doubleheader on Sunday.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box at the top of this page to see photos taken by Kym Frazer and Kevin Lyle.
The two teams faced off three times this weekend, and all three were one-run games. But the Wildcats will take some hardware below the Mackinac Bridge after posting a 4-3 win in Saturday's Binks Coca-Cola Invitational championship game at Al Ness Field.
Sean Bissell on base during Saturday's game against the Alpena Wildcats.
"It's the little things. A couple little mistakes. Good teams take advantage of that. In close games, all the little things add up."
After the team's split Friday night's doubleheader (see story by clicking here ), Alpena jumped on Eskymo starter Ben Kleiman in Saturday's tournament title game.
In the first inning, Zach Nash got a one-out single and then rode home on a double by Tim Atkinson. Guilio Fantasia followed with an RBI double of his own, then Dylan Glennie ripped an RBI single to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead before the Eskymos even picked up a bat. But Kleiman settled down from there, allowing only two more base hits the rest of the way.
"I think he got his confidence back," Schwalbach said. "He trusted his pitches a little more. He hadn't been hit like that (this season). They came out and they were attacking, swinging at first pitches. So, he mixed it up more and threw more curveballs on the first pitch. After that, he settled down, and threw a really nice game, I thought."
Brandon Punzel drops the bat as he gets a base hit Saturday against Alpena.
In the fourth inning, Escanaba tied the game on a Kleiman RBI single and a fielder's choice play on a ground ball by Bissell.
But Vandermissen struck out and Punzel grounded out, leaving two runners on base.
In the fifth inning, Bailey Lamb led off with a double and was bunted to third base by Hunter LaMarch.
But Tim Lueneburg and Cam Beversluis each grounded out.
The Wildcats took the lead in the top of the sixth inning with an unearned run. Nash got knicked by a pitch, then Atkinson was safe on an error by LaMarch at shortstop.
Two stolen bases later, Fantasia continued to be a pain in the Eskymos' side by hitting a sacrafice fly to drive home the go-ahead run. It was Fantasia's second RBI of the game, and it came after he reached base in nine of ten plate appearances on Friday.
"That was a great catch because he took a bad angle to the ball," Schwalbach said. "Then he kind of caught it on the side of his back shoulder. If he drops that, maybe we score a couple. But give them credit. They made plays when they had to."
In the seventh inning, the Eskymos again made a bid to tie the game when Lamb was safe on an error to start the inning. Alpena brought Atkinson in to pitch, and LaMarch was able to bunt pinch runner Jake Rodman into second base. Rodman kept on running, though, and ended up at third base with only one out.
Lueneburg smoked one to right field, but right at the outfielder, and it was too shallow to send Rodman home. Tyler Skufca pinch hit, and bounced out to end the game.
"I'm proud of the way the kids hit the ball," Schwalbach said. "We had a great weekend. We just came up a little short."
Tim Lueneburg scores against Alpena.
Alpena (18-3) had won earlier in the day over Negaunee, 5-0, and Escanaba (13-4) defeated the Gladstone Indians American Legion team, also 5-0.
Escanaba travels to Shawano, Wis., for a doubleheader on Tuesday. Game time is 4:30 ET.
The games will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos.
NOT TOO SHABBY FOR YOUNG INDIANS---The Gladstone Indians American Legion team was the "fourth" squad entered in the tournament, and not many people expected the Indians to make much noise. After all, most of Gladstone's top baseball players are playing for the Braves high school team this spring.
Seventh grader Braden Lamberg gets the MVP trophy as his older teammates cheer.
The team had only played two games so far this spring, so naturally, the Indians would be overmatched. Well, not quite.
The Indians matched up with the Eskymos in Saturday's first game, and Escanaba did get the win...but not by the mercy rule. It was a 5-0 Escanaba win as Gladstone's only 19-year-old, Cody Frazer, scattered six hits over six innings.
Frazer may be 19 years old, but he was pretty much just as green as the rest of the bunch. That's because he has been a catcher for years, and was pitching for one of the few times in his life. But he did just enough to keep his team in the game.
Bailey Lamb had an RBI single in the first inning, Logan Lamb had a run-scoring double in the second, and Hunter LaMarch had a sacrafice fly in the second inning to make it 3-0. Tyler Skufca had an RBI single and Logan Lamb added another RBI double in the third inning, and the Eskymos had a 5-0 lead that would not be threatened.
Yes, Frazers DO pitch. And Cody does here.
Lyle then worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning, and he ended up sharing a no-hitter with Skufca.
After a bite to eat, the Indians were back on the field for the third place game against the Negaunee Miners. And it was the seventh grader Lamberg who got the pitching start for the Indians.
The boy who is barely five feet tall was bigger than that on the mound, as he frustrated the Miners with 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Lamberg struck out four batters in his Legion debut.
Jake Pearson came on to get the final out of the sixth inning, and then in the top of the seventh, the Indians scored nine runs to turn a 5-0 game into a 14-0 rout. And they did it with a bunch of infield hits and pop-fly singles, along with a couple of errors from the frutstrated Miners, who were playing without their best player, Tyler Jandron.
Jake Pearson bats against Negaunee.
The Rapid River boy clubbed one to the fence, clearing the bases and leading to big cheers from most of the fans. That was the final blow for the underdog Indians.
Pearson gave up three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the final score of the game was 14-3. Lamberg, Pearson, and Frazer were picked to the All-Tournament team.
The Indians improved to 2-2 overall and the boys will visit Kingsford for a doubleheader on Sunday.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box at the top of this page to see photos taken by Kym Frazer and Kevin Lyle.
