Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Bryce Bichler, Max LeDuc, and Marquette Manager Mark Pantti
ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School baseball team honored its Class of 2026 Wednesday night, and then beat the Marquette Sentinels, 11-1, at Al Ness Field. The seven seniors were recognized in the pre-game ceremony, which included the traditonal "passing of the torch", where the seniors throw a pitch to the underclassmen.
The Eskymo seniors: Mikaiden Hughes, Cannon Arnt, Lenny Peacock, Ashton Rymkos, Owen Fields, Brian Boutilier, and Max LeDuc have all played in the Escanaba baseball system since they were Little Leaguers. And they all feel like this is the last chance to make a deep run in the MHSAA playoffs, which will begin in three weeks at the district tournament in Kingsford.
On Wednesday, the Sentinels (6-12 overall) scored a run in the first inning on an RBI single by Easton Jezewski to take a 1-0 lead. But they could not score again against the pitching of Arnt, and the game eventually ended on the mercy rule in the fifth inning.
Hughes and Bryce Bichler both had two runs batted in for the Eskymos, while seniors Peacock, Fields, and LeDuc, all had two base hits on their sepcial night. Escanaba scored eight runs in the the third inning to put the game away.
Arnt, meanwhile, threw all five innings, allowing four hits, one run (unearned), strking out nine and walking one. Jameson Sandstrom took the loss for Marquette.
Escanaba improved to 17-5 on the season. The Eskymos have a make-up game in Kingsford Thursday night, and then will have two home games on Saturday against the Norway Knights and the Rudyard Bulldogs. The Escanaba-Norway game starts at 11 a.m. ET, and the Escanaba-Rudyard game starts at 3:00. Both will be broadcast live on FM-93.5, AM-600, and rrnsports.com.
