Click the thumbnails to see videos and to hear post-game comments from Harrison Haigh, Isaac Sarles, and Norse Coach Mike Pankow.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse baseball team picked up its second win of the season on Thursday, beating the Delta College Pioneers from Saginaw, 15-8, in the second game of a doubleheader. The Norse lost the first game, 8-5, in extra innings, after almost overcoming making ten errors on defense.
The win, though, gave the team something to smile about for the first time since the team picked up a win in Myrtle Beach. That was over a month ago.
“We work hard, and sometimes, the results aren't what we like,” Norse Manager Mike Pankow said. “It's fun to finally get one here and to see the smiles on the kids' faces.”
“Baseball is so tough,” Norse sophomore pitcher Isaac Sarles of Marquette said. “We've been in so many close games this year. Now, getting it, all of our hard work has paid off. So, it's great to get, and it's just rolling from here. There's still a lot of baseball left to play.”
Bay trailed, 8-4, after Delta scored three runs in the fifth inning on a Mitch Randosa two-run single. Sarles came in to try to put out the fire, and he managed to get out of that inning without further damage.
The Norse got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double by Australian Harrison Haigh, and Sarles shut down the Pioneers 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth inning. The Norse went to work in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Bay scored nine runs in a bat-around inning. Escanaba native Bon LaChance had the two-run base hit that put the Norse in the lead, and Luis Warmack followed with an RBI single. The inning was capped by a two-run hit by Antonio Lopresti.
Sarles walked three batters with two out in the seventh inning, but got the final out, giving the Norse a satisfying home victory.
“Coming out of the bullpen, we were down at that point,” Sarles said. “So it was just trying to keep us as close as I can. And then as the game changed, your mindset shifts, and it's just time to adjust for the win.”
Haigh had a two-run homer earlier in the game, so he ended up with four RBI.
“That's the first one in a while,” Haigh said about the home run. “It was a low and inside slider, and I put a good swing on it. Home runs are mistakes. That was a great finish and the boys are hot. It was a good game to finally get the monkey off the back.
By all rights, the Norse should have had a sweep. But in the first game, they made ten errors to hand the Pioneers five unearned runs. Ben Misenar smacked a two-run homer in the second inning to give Delta a 2-0 lead. Otherwise, Jake Olson pitched a strong game for the Norse, allowing only one more run in the fifth inning,
The Norse trailed, 3-0, before coming up with three straight run-scoring hits by Avery Wilson, Jake Rolfe, and LaChance. That tied the game at 3, but Bay stranded the bases loaded,
In the sixth inning, Olson struck out the first two men he faced. But the Pioneers took advantage of a walk and two Norse errors to plate two runs and go up, 5-3. The runs both came on a play where the Norse threw the ball around several times.
“You can't turn into a soccer team and kick the ball around,” Pankow said. “The errors, the approach at the plate, baserunning, it's all mental. They need to work a little bit harder, and we (coaches) need to work with them on understanding the mental side of the game, so that we're not in the position that we are right now.”
Still, despite getting picked off bases and thrown out trying to steal several times, and despite all of the errors, the Norse had a great chance to win this game in the bottom of the seventh inning, Alex Wethington did his job by pitching a 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning, and the Norse rallied in the bottom half.
Bay scored two runs to tie the game on a couple of walks, an RBI hit by Haigh, and Warmack getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Norse had the winning run at third base with only one out, but Lopresti and Ayden Cromer both struck out.
Then in the top of the eighth inning, Delta scored three runs as the Norse committed two more errors, one batter was hit by a pitch, and Jack Berthiaume had an RBI single. The Norse got a walk to Wilson in the bottom of the eighth, but he was doubled off of first base on a fly ball to center field. That ended a frustrating game that was there for the taking.
“They're gonna battle,” Pankow said of his guys. “They're talented enough and they've got enough heart. The fact that they're putting themselves in a position to win when we don't have a good approach is a great sign. Can you imagine what happens if we do clean it up defensively and have a great approach at the plate?”
Delta College improved to 5-20 on the season, 2-11 in MCCAA North Conference play. The Norse improved to 2-21 overall, 1-12 in the MCCAA.
The teams will play another doubleheader on Friday, starting at noon.
