ESCANABA----The Escanaba High School softball team got off to a slow start on Friday, and by the time the fourth inning rolled around and his team was trailing the Cheboygan Chiefs, 1-0, Eskymo Manager John LaMarch came up with a radical idea.
"Maybe I should get myself ejected from the game to fire these girls up," he joked.
As it turned out, LaMarch didn't need to do something so drastic. His girls scored seven runs in the fourth inning to beat the Chiefs, 8-2, and then the Eskymos rolled in the nightcap, 10-0. That game was stopped by the mercy rule in the sixth inning.
Escanaba's rally in the fourth inning of the opener all happened with two outs. Kayli VanEffen got it going with a double to drive home pinch runner Ashley Cook, then Zoe Berquist hit a grounder that no one could handle, scoring VanEffen.
After Bre Belanger walked, Sydney Gafner smacked a two-run single to drive home two runs and make it 4-1. Then Mallory Zimmerman clubbed one to the fence to bring home two more runs, and it was 6-1. That was more than enough offense for Codi Jenshak, who earned the pitching victory for the Eskymos.
In the second game, the Eskymos again started slow, with the game scoreless in the fourth inning. But the girls scored ten runs over the next three innings to end the game on the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Mikayla Schuster and VanEffen shared the pitching duties in that second game.
Escanaba (16-10) will host the annual Esky Lions Softball Challenge on Saturday at Lemmerand Park. Seven teams from around the Upper Peninsula and northern lower Michigan will all play at least three games on three different fields. The games start at 10:00, and the Eskymos will face Petoskey first.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box at the top of the page to see pictures, and video highlights from that big fourth inning.
"Maybe I should get myself ejected from the game to fire these girls up," he joked.
As it turned out, LaMarch didn't need to do something so drastic. His girls scored seven runs in the fourth inning to beat the Chiefs, 8-2, and then the Eskymos rolled in the nightcap, 10-0. That game was stopped by the mercy rule in the sixth inning.
Esky catcher Emily Bogaudo looks for the sign.
After Bre Belanger walked, Sydney Gafner smacked a two-run single to drive home two runs and make it 4-1. Then Mallory Zimmerman clubbed one to the fence to bring home two more runs, and it was 6-1. That was more than enough offense for Codi Jenshak, who earned the pitching victory for the Eskymos.
In the second game, the Eskymos again started slow, with the game scoreless in the fourth inning. But the girls scored ten runs over the next three innings to end the game on the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Mikayla Schuster and VanEffen shared the pitching duties in that second game.
Escanaba (16-10) will host the annual Esky Lions Softball Challenge on Saturday at Lemmerand Park. Seven teams from around the Upper Peninsula and northern lower Michigan will all play at least three games on three different fields. The games start at 10:00, and the Eskymos will face Petoskey first.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box at the top of the page to see pictures, and video highlights from that big fourth inning.
