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Eskymo Girls Overcome Mistakes To Win Regional
 GLADWIN---The Escanaba High School girls softball team scored almost at will Saturday in their two MHSAA Division Two regional tournament games in Gladwin. And they needed those runs to make up for some shaky defense along the way. Escanaba returns to the state quarterfinals after beating Whitehall, 13-3, and Muskegon Oakridge, 10-6, to win the regional championship. The Eskymos are now 35-2-1 on the season.  In the opener, Escanaba took a 2-0 lead over Whitehall in the first inning on RBI hits by Taylor Gauthier and Kayla VanPortfliet. But in the second inning, a sinking shot to right field by Kennedee Semans got past right fielder Emily LaFave, allowing the first run to score for the Vikings. Then, in the third inning, the Vikings tied the game when Madison Bond put down a bunt and Gauthier's throw back to second base went all the way to the outfield wall. Whitehall, with a record of just 18-13, was in it. But the Eskymos regained the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Katie Ross got a one-out double, and then with two out, VanPortfliet got a base hit to center. The ball got away from the center fielder, so VanPortfliet kept running, eventually making it to third base with an awkward slide. The ball went into the dugout on the throw, so VanPortfliet was awarded home plate, along with Claire McInerney, who had run for Ross as a courtesy runner.  Escanaba added an unearned run in the fifth inning, then ended the game with four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Aubree Saunders had an RBI single, and then she scored on a base hit by LaFave for the 13th run. Ross earned the pitching win. The next game was a classic, with Muskegon Oakridge beating Cadillac, 1-0. That set the Eskymos up with a regional final against the Oakridge Eagles, and they jumped to a huge 6-0 lead in the first inning. Heller, Taylor Rathe, and JJ Laviolette all had RBI singles in that inning, and then Bruntgens had a two-run double. Another Escanaba error...this time at third base...and a passed ball...allowed the Eagles to score twice in the second inning. But Escanaba got those runs back in the bottom of the third on an infield hit by Bruntgens, making it an 8-2 Eskymo lead.  The Eskymos, though, kept tacking on runs. Taylor Segorski's RBI double scored VanPortfliet in the fifth inning, and after Oakridge scored another unearned run on a bad throw by Segorski from behind the plate, Escanaba played small ball in the sixth inning to score its tenth and final run. The defense wasn't all bad. Mackenzie Leisner made two outstanding crunning catches into foul ground in left field. And Segorski fought off three of her own teammates to catch a pop fly...over her shoulder...a few feet away from home plate. Rathe pitched all seven innings to get the win, allowing just two earned runs. She stuck out the side in the seventh inning to put an exclamation point on the win. Bruntgens had seven base hits in the two games; Callie Heller had four hits on the day. UP NEXT FOR ESKYMOS---Escanaba advances to the Division Two state quarterfinals on Tuesday against Saginaw Swan Valley, on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University. It is the third meeting in the last five years for these two teams, with Swan Valley winning the first two.The game between the third-ranked Eskymos and the top-ranked Swan Valley is scheduled for 2:00 on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com, starting with the pre-game show at 1:30 Tuesday. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Mike Dagenais, hear interviews with Coach Segorski, VanPortfliet, Bruntgens, and Rathe, and to hear radio replays.  |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Score | Record |
3/25 |
4:00 PM |
Gladstone Braves
|
5 - 2 (W)
|
1-0
|
3/25 |
7:00 PM |
Negaunee Miners
|
15 - 0 (W)
|
2-0
|
3/26 |
12:00 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
2 - 2 (T)
|
2-0-1
|
3/26 |
12:00 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
2 - 2 (T)
|
2-0-1
|
4/15 |
5:00 PM |
at GTE, Wis.
|
14 - 6 (W)
|
3-0-1
|
4/16 |
1:00 PM |
LaCrosse Logan, Wis.
|
7 - 2 (W)
|
4-0-1
|
4/16 |
4:00 PM |
Merill, Wis.
|
7 - 6 (W)
|
5-0-1
|
4/21 |
4:00 PM |
Manistique Emeralds
|
10 - 1 (W)
|
6-0-1
|
4/21 |
6:00 PM |
Manistique Emeralds
|
11 - 0 (W)
|
7-0-1
|
4/23 |
9:00 AM |
Marquette Redmen
|
3 - 5 (L)
|
7-1-1
|
4/23 |
11:00 AM |
Kingsford Flivvers
|
15 - 1 (W)
|
8-1-1
|
4/23 |
1:00 PM |
Norway Knights
|
6 - 0 (W)
|
9-1-1
|
4/27 |
4:00 PM |
at Rapid River Rockets
|
4 - 0 (W)
|
10-1-1
|
4/27 |
6:00 PM |
at Rapid River Rockets
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
11-1-1
|
4/30 |
9:30 AM |
at Birmingham Seaholm
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
12-1-1
|
4/30 |
12:30 PM |
at L'Anse Creuse HS
|
1 - 0 (W)
|
13-1-1
|
4/30 |
4:00 PM |
at Livonia Ladywood HS
|
4 - 3 (W)
|
14-1-1
|
5/1 |
11:30 AM |
Alpena Wildcats
|
- (T)
|
RAIN
|
5/3 |
4:00 PM |
Kingsford Flivvers
|
9 - 4 (W)
|
15-1-1
|
5/3 |
6:00 PM |
Kingsford Flivvers
|
- (T)
|
RAIN
|
5/6 |
4:00 PM |
at Alpena Wildcats
|
10 - 2 (W)
|
16-1-1
|
5/7 |
10:00 AM |
at Grayling Vikings
|
4 - 0 (W)
|
17-1-1
|
5/7 |
1:00 PM |
Garden City High School
|
12 - 2 (W)
|
18-1-1
|
5/7 |
3:00 PM |
at Alpena Wildcats
|
1 - 0 (W)
|
19-1-1
|
5/10 |
4:00 PM |
at Kingsford Flivvers
|
15 - 1 (W)
|
20-1-1
|
5/10 |
6:00 PM |
at Kingsford Flivvers
|
12 - 0 (W)
|
21-1-1
|
5/13 |
6:00 PM |
Marshfield High School
|
9 - 1 (W)
|
22-1-1
|
5/14 |
9:30 AM |
Rapid River Rockets
|
1 - 6 (L)
|
22-2-1
|
5/14 |
1:30 PM |
Neenah, Wis.
|
13 - 4 (W)
|
23-2-1
|
5/14 |
3:30 PM |
Gladstone Braves
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
24-2-1
|
5/16 |
4:00 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
6 - 2 (W)
|
25-2-1
|
5/16 |
6:00 PM |
Marquette Redmen
|
3 - 2 (W)
|
26-2-1
|
5/17 |
4:00 PM |
Gladstone Braves
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
27-2-1
|
5/17 |
6:00 PM |
Gladstone Braves
|
6 - 0 (W)
|
28-2-1
|
5/19 |
4:00 PM |
at Negaunee Miners
|
4 - 0 (W)
|
29-2-1
|
5/19 |
6:00 PM |
at Negaunee Miners
|
7 - 0 (W)
|
30-2-1
|
5/24 |
4:00 PM |
at Gladstone Braves
|
- (T)
|
RAIN
|
5/24 |
6:00 PM |
at Gladstone Braves
|
- (T)
|
RAIN
|
5/26 |
4:00 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
- (T)
|
RAIN
|
5/26 |
6:00 PM |
at Marquette Redmen
|
- (T)
|
RAIN
|
5/31 |
5:00 PM |
Kingsford Flivvers
|
10 - 0 (W)
|
31-2-1
|
6/3 |
2:00 PM |
Cheboygan Chiefs
|
9 - 1 (W)
|
32-2-1
|
6/3 |
4:00 PM |
Petoskey Northmen
|
3 - 0 (W)
|
33-2-1
|
6/11 |
10:00 AM |
Whitehall Vikings
|
13 - 3 (W)
|
34-2-1
|
6/11 |
2:00 PM |
Muskegon Oakridge
|
10 - 6 (W)
|
35-2-1
|
6/14 |
2:00 PM |
Saginaw Swan Valley
|
- (T)
|
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