Eskymos Finally Play At Home; Top Braves In Final

ESCANABA----Finally!

The Escanaba High School baseball team got to play at Al Ness Field on Saturday, and finally, they got to play under decent weather conditions. And the Eskymos had a successful start to their home season, beating the Marquette Redmen, 16-0, and then topping the Gladstone Braves, 5-1, in the Esky Lions/Crawford Funeral Home Invite.

Earlier in the day, the Braves came from behind to beat the Negaunee Miners, 4-2. And in the third place game of the tournament, Negaunee topped Marquette, 14-4.

Catcher Justin Jurek looks for a sign.

GLADSTONE 4, NEGAUNEE 2---The Miners took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Tyler Lajoie scored on a Tyler Jandron grounder, and Zane Radloff drove Dusty Goupille home with a sacrafice fly.

Gladstone scored a run in the fourth inning when Jandron was called for a balk with a man on third base. Then, in the sixth inning, Gladstone rallied.

With Blake Ballard on second base and Christian Groleau on first, Tom Bailey came through with a double down the right field line. Both runners scored, and Gladstone took a 3-2 lead.

Then in the top of the seventh inning, the Braves got an insurance run when Lucas LaCosse doubled and scored on a sacrafice fly by Hunter Garling. Sam Pouliot made it stand up.

Tom Bailey gets the game-winning hit for Braves.

Pouliot walked Hunter Ridley to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but got the next three guys to preserve the win. He pitched all seven innings, allowing just three base hits. Jandron threw well for Negaunee, striking out ten Braves batters and allowing three hits over six innings.

The Miners' Luke Hill pitched the seventh inning, yielding a run on two hits. It was Gladstone's third victory over Negaunee in less than one week's time.

ESCANABA 16, MARQUETTE 0---The Escanaba Eskymos' home-opener was a short one. The boys scored nine runs in the second inning and posted seven unearned runs in the third to beat the Marquette Redmen, 16-0.

The game was stopped after three and a half innings by the mercy rule.

Jake Rodman earned the win vs Marquette.

Sophomore Jake Rodman got the start on the mound, and allowed two base runners in all three innings that he worked.

He walked two batters in the first inning, gave up a hit (to Luke McAullife) and a walk in the second inning, and then gave up a walk and a hit (to Gabe Apple) in the third inning. But he got the outs that he needed every time.

Jeffry Lyle pitched the final inning, waking two batters but giving up no runs.

In Escanaba's nine-run second inning, several walks and wild pitches led to lots of traffic on the bases. Lyle had a two-run single and then added another RBI single later that inning.

Ben Kleiman got robbed of an extra base hit by a diving center fielder Jack Kochevar, settling for a sacrafice fly. Devin Olsen and Sam Bissell had RBI hits as well.

In the third inning, Marquette committed four errors as the Eskymos batted through their entire lineup again. Bissell's two-run double was the highlight of the inning.

ESCANABA 5, GLADSTONE 1---In the first-ever match-up between the two county rivals, the Eskymos got good pitching from Devin Olsen and took advantage of their opportunties to post the 5-1 win over the Braves in the tournament championship.

Escanaba's Tim Lueneburg was 3 for 3.

Escanaba scored in the second inning when Bailey Lamb walked and came home on a sacrafice fly by Olsen. Then in the third inning, the Eskymos scored twice after the Braves missed a chance for a double play.

With two men on, Brandon Punzel hit one up the middle and pitcher Blake Ballard wheeled around and threw to second base.

There was miscommunication between shortstop Justin Jurek and second baseman Christian Tackman, and Tackman went to the throw instead of Jurek. Tackman was able to touch second base for an out, but it was not the double play that Jurek could have had.

The next two batters, Sean Bissell and Tim Lueneburg, each got RBI singles.

That made it 3-0, and the Eskymos added to that lead in the fifth inning. Nick Vandermissen led off with a double, prompting Braves manager Don Lauscher to remove Ballard from the mound and put Jurek on in relief. Punzel and Lueneburg each came through with RBI doubles off of Jurek, making it a 5-0 game.

Gladstone's Tom Bailey reaches up to catch the throw at first base on Saturday.

Gladstone got its only run in the sixth inning when Jurek doubled and scored on a long double by Cristian Groleau. The Braves stranded at least one baserunner in every inning, except for the third and seventh innings, when Olsen retired the side 1-2-3.

Lueneburg led the way by going 3-for-3 with two RBI and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Hitter.

Vandermissen had a single and a double. Tackman led the Braves offense with a pair of singles, and Jurek was on base twice with a walk and a double.

Olsen tossed all seven innings for Escanaba, allowing four base hits, striking out three and walking three. He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Pitcher. Ballard took the loss for Gladstone, allowing four runs on five hits in just over four innings of work.

NEXT FOR THE ESKYMOS: Escanaba (6-2) hosts the Sault Ste. Marie (Ont.) Black Sox in a doubleheader Sunday at 12:00 at Al Ness Field. The games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

NEXT FOR THE BRAVES: Gladstone (8-3) hosts the Norway Knights in a doubleheader Monday at 4:30 at Don Olsen Field. The games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box above to see photos and videos, and to listen to audio highlights and interviews. Thanks to Ron Jurek and Shiela Olsen for taking these photos/videos.

Escanaba's Brandon Punzel (7) scores as Gladstone's Sam Pouliot (left) receives the throw on Saturday.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

4/20	12:45 PM	at Remus Chippewa Hills	0 - 4 (L)	0-1

4/20	3:00 PM	at Whitehall Vikings	4 - 6 (L)	0-2

4/26	4:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	4 - 3 (W)	1-2

4/26	6:30 PM	Negaunee Miners	5 - 0 (W)	2-2

4/27	12:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	11 - 1 (W)	3-2

4/27	2:30 PM	Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	10 - 1 (W)	4-2

4/29	4:00 PM	Superior Central Cougars	4 - 2 (W)	5-2

4/29	6:00 PM	Superior Central Cougars	12 - 1 (W)	6-2

5/2	4:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	10 - 2 (W)	7-2

5/4	10:00 AM	Negaunee Miners	4 - 2 (W)	8-2

5/4	5:45 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	1 - 5 (L)	8-3

5/6	4:30 PM	Norway Knights	4 - 3 (W)	9-3

5/6	6:45 PM	Norway Knights	7 - 1 (W)	10-3

5/9	6:00 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	8 - 14 (L)	10-4

5/10	5:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	5 - 10 (L)	10-5

5/10	7:30 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	13 - 3 (W)	11-5

5/15	4:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	5 - 7 (L)	11-6

5/15	6:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	4 - 2 (W)	12-6

5/18	10:00 AM	Cheboygan Chiefs	2 - 3 (L)	12-7

5/18	12:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	6 - 7 (L)	12-8

5/18	2:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox	13 - 3 (W)	13-8

5/20	4:00 PM	at Superior Central Cougars	9 - 4 (W)	14-8

5/20	6:00 PM	at Superior Central Cougars	8 - 0 (W)	15-8

5/24	4:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	10 - 4 (W)	16-8

5/24	6:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	7 - 0 (W)	17-8

5/27	6:30 PM	Kingsford Legion Blues	1 - 5 (L)	17-9

5/28	6:30 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	3 - 3 (T)	17-9-1

5/31	4:00 PM	Superior Central Cougars	8 - 0 (W)	18-9-1

6/1	1:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	2 - 3 (L)	18-10-1