MIDLAND, Mich.---The American Legion Baseball Class Double A state tournament got under way on Thursday under scorching heat at Northwood University in Midland
The Escanaba Cubs beat Big Rapids, 14-2, in their first game, but suffered a power outage in the second game, losing 5-0 to Bay City.
That drops Escanaba into a win-or-die game Friday morning against Adrian, and now, the Cubs are five wins away from a state championship instead of two.
Against Big Rapids, Bon LaChance hit three doubles and drove in five runs.
“I was just being aggressive out there,” LaChance said. “The last couple of games, I wasn't really being aggressive. I've been waiting for 'my pitch'. But I took the ball to right field on the one, and just fighting off. Good things happen when you put the ball in play.”
On the mound, Isaiah Brow threw a complete game, giving up only three base hits. He battled the elements, especially toward the end as he tried to finish the game.
“It was getting hot, for sure,” Brow said. “The ball was slipping off my fingers. The sweat was coming to my hands, and it was getting hard to throw strikes a little bit. I was just trying to get it over the plate and throw strikes. There was a little bit of a breeze at the end there, but it started getting hot, for sure.”
The Big Rapids Post 98 Ducks fell to 9-19-1 on the season.
After Blissfield beat Adrian, 8-3, in a backyard brawl of two rivals, the Cubs were back on the field to face Bay City.
But as the teams got set to throw out the first pitch, lightning was seen in the distance, and moments later, heavy rain pelted the Gerace Stadium playing surface. The grounds crew worked hard to clean up the mess once it stopped, and the rain delay ended up being only about 90 minutes.
The game was a pitchers duel between Bay City's Cam Parker and Escanaba's Cannon Arnt. It was a 0-0 game after four innings as Arnt was able to get off the hook several times, with Bay City stranding twelve men throughout the game,
They finally broke through with a three runs in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Brady Vannest and an RBI single by Isaac Plave. Bay City (16-8-1) added two more runs on a hit by Ben Briggs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach.
Escanaba (16-8-2) managed only three hits: by LaChance, Arnt, and Owen Fields.
Friday morning's game against Adrian will be broadcast on FM-93.5, AM-600 and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
