Eskymos Rally For Baseball Win On Senior Night

ESCANABA---Sean Bissell's single in the bottom of the eighth inning capped a dramatic comeback as the Escanaba Eskymos rallied for a 16-15 win over the Marinette Marines Thursday at Al Ness Field.

Escanaba rallied from deficits of 13-6 and 15-13 in the victory. And the four Eskymo seniors came through in the clutch on Senior Night at the field.

"I'm proud of the boys," Escanaba Manager Kirk Schwalbach said. "We didn't play our best at times, but we never gave up. Even when we were behind, 13-6. We had 19 hits."

They did. But Marinette also had 15 hits, and the Eskymos committed six errors on the infield. Fortunately, in the end, that didn't matter, as Escanaba found a way to win.

Marinette (8-13) carried a 13-6 lead into the sixth inning, as the Marines battered Eskymo pitchers Tyler Skufca and Johnny Schlenvogt.

But in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Eskymos bounced back with two runs on RBI singles by Tyler Hardwick and Brandon Punzel. That closed the gap to 13-8.

In the seventh inning, the Eskymos went to work against Marinette reliever Luke Johnson. Lewis Ostrander was safe on an error and Parker LaMarch and Logan Lamb each drew walks. Hardwick followed with a two-run single, and Skufca had an RBI groundout. That brought Escanaba to within 13-11.

Bissell ripped a double to the fence that scored another run, and then, Punzel got his third hit of the game to bring home Bissell. That tied the game at 13-13. But C.J. Barron flied out to center field, and the game went into extra innings.

Marinette scored twice in the top of the eighth inning on walks to Chase Grabowski and Eli Krah. Both scored on a wild pitch and an Eskymo error, the sixth of the game.

But in the bottom of the eighth, Escanaba got a leadoff walk from senior Lewis Ostrander.

One out later, Logan Lamb got credit for an infield hit in front of the plate that was disputed by the Marines. The freshman Schlenvogt came through with a base hit on a 2-2 pitch that loaded the bases with one out, and Marinette leading, 15-13.

Hardwick came through with a base bit to left to score run. Then Skufca ripped a single to tie the game. Then Bissell, who had a home run and a double earlier in the game, worked from behind in the count and smacked a single to left to end the contest.

Bissell had four hits in the game: a home run, a double, two singles, and drove in three runs. He was also hit by a pitch.

Punzel had three singles and four runs batted in. Skufca had two hits and drove in two runs. Hardwick led the way with four singles in his six at-bats, and he drove in four runs.

Lamb had three hits, two of them on the infield.

Marinette got two doubles and two walks from the leadoff batter Johnson. Alex Nemetz had two singles and a double, and he drove in three runs.

Jimmy Jackimowicz had two singles and a double, and drove in two runs. Kevin Kunyn had two hits and two RBI. Alex Gressel threw six innings for Marinette, giving up eight runs on 11 hits. He got a no-decision.

Johnson took the loss, allowing eight runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings.

For Escanaba, Skufca got a no-decision, allowing eight runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. Schlenvogt earned the win, pitching 4 2/3 innings of relief. He yielded seven runs on nine base hits.

Escanaba (14-7-1) will host Kingsford in a doubleheader on Saturday at Al Ness Field. Game time is 1:00. Both games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos, taken by Sandi Young.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/7	4:30 PM	at Marinette Marines	15 - 0 (W)	1-0

4/11	12:00 PM	at Seymour, Wis.	10 - 5 (W)	2-0

4/11	2:00 PM	at Shiocton, Wis.	7 - 9 (L)	2-1

4/15	5:30 PM	Marquette Redmen	8 - 3 (W)	3-1

4/23	5:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	6 - 2 (W)	4-1

4/24	5:00 PM	at Beloit Turner, Wis.	10 - 5 (W)	5-1

4/25	1:00 PM	at Waupun, Wis.	rain - ppd (W)	rain

4/25	4:00 PM	at Prairie Du Chien Blackhawks	rain - ppd (W)	rain

4/28	4:30 PM	at Gladstone Braves	4 - 5 (L)	5-2

5/1	4:00 PM	at Bay City John Glenn	9 - 2 (W)	6-2

5/2	10:00 AM	at Bay City John Glenn	4 - 5 (L)	6-3

5/2	12:30 PM	at Coldwater High School	5 - 15 (L)	6-4

5/6	5:30 PM	at Marquette Redmen	3 - 4 (L)	6-5

5/7	4:30 PM	Gladstone Braves	5 - 4 (W)	7-5

5/9	10:00 AM	Bark River-Harris Broncos	14 - 5 (W)	8-5

5/9	3:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	13 - 3 (W)	9-5

5/13	5:00 PM	Norway Knights	10 - 1 (W)	10-5

5/14	5:00 PM	North Central Jets	9 - 1 (W)	11-5

5/14	7:30 PM	North Central Jets	17 - 6 (W)	12-5

5/16	10:00 AM	Negaunee Miners	11 - 0 (W)	13-5

5/16	3:00 PM	Shawano Hawks	2 - 13 (L)	13-6

5/18	4:00 PM	at Bay Port, Wis. Pirates	5 - 6 (L)	13-7

5/18	6:00 PM	at Bay Port, Wis. Pirates	0 - 0 (T)	13-7-1

5/21	5:28 PM	Marinette Marines	16 - 15 (W)	14-7-1

5/23	1:00 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	5 - 1 (W)	15-7-1

5/23	4:00 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	5 - 0 (W)	16-7-1

5/26	5:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	RAIN - ppd (W)	RAIN

5/30	10:00 AM	Petoskey Northmen	1 - 2 (L)	16-8-1