Click the thumbnails to see video replays, and to hear post-game comments from Bryce Bichler, Lenny Peacock, Manager Scott Hanson, Kingsford Manager Joe Kriegl, and Negaunee Manager Jason Siik. Photos courtesy of Eskymo Athletic Director Nate Zaremba.
KINGSFORD---Their backs were to the wall for the entire district tournament, but somehow, someway, the Escanaba High School baseball team managed to battle back and keep their season alive.
The Eskymos trailed the Negaunee Miners by a run in the fifth inning but rallied to post a 3-2 district semifinal victory.
And then in championship game, the Eskymos trailed by two runs in the seventh inning, and were down to their final two outs, but came from behind to stun the Flivvers, 5-4, at Kingsford's Lodal Park.
The result moves the Eskymos into the regional semifinals against the Petoskey Northmen, who had late-game dramatics of their own to beat the Gaylord Blue Devils, 4-2, in Gaylord on Saturday.
“We were really bad today,” Eskymo Manager Scott Hanson said. “But we did just enough to win. We were not sharp. We did not hit the ball well. But district baseball is hard as heck. Very rarely does a team just come in and roll another team. It doesn't happen that way. We just weren't clean enough for this time of year. But, I'm not going to say anything negative today. We did just enough and we'll take it.”
And after a day full of missed opportunities, the Eskymo roster, filled with seniors, relied on a sophomore to finally get the victory. Center fielder Bryce Bichler came up with one out and the bases loaded, with Escanaba trailing 4-3, Bichler came through with a line drive to the center field fence, scoring two runs, and sending the Eskymos into the regionals.
“How else would you want it to go, I guess,” Bichler said. “We struggled early both games, but kept on being resilient, and just trying to get baserunners on any way we could.”
Before Bichler's dramatic walk-off double, Hanson called a time out and there was a huddle between the coaches, Bichler, and all three baserunners.
“We talked about having Bryce suicide (squeeze bunt), and tie the game,” Hanson said. “And he said absolutely not. So, I said, OK, I'll let you swing away. Obviously the biggest hit of his career.”
“I had a feeling, you know,” Bichler said. “I just wanted to hit it. I knew I could do it. Just be simple, and get bat on ball. Get those two runs!”
Eskymo senior Lenny Peacock, who hit a hard grounder to bring in the inning's first run on a fielder's choice play, was relieved.
“Talk about a group that really just doesn't give up,” Peacock said. “Down to our last two outs of the season, and, I mean, the way we stepped up as a group, there's no better feeling than coming in and walking off a team that beat you a year ago. It's so special.”
That inning started when Graham Johnson, one of the only guys to hit the ball well all day long, crushed a Jonah Doenier pitch to the center field fence for a double. Ashton Rymkos walked (again), and Mikaiden Hughes followed with a pop fly base hit to left field. Hanson held Johnson at third base.
With the bases loaded, Peacock's hard grounder scored Johnson to make it 4-3, and then Brian Boutilier battled for a base hit with two strikes on him to reload the bases. That's when Bichler stepped up with the biggest hit of his life, sending an Eskymo team that was left for dead into a wild celebration.
Peacock scored the winning run on a head-first slide into home plate.
“I did it for the aesthetics,” Peacock admitted. “But throwing the helmet up, running around with my guys, I mean, that's such a special moment that we'll take with us for the rest of our baseball careers,”
For Kingsford (15-12), it was a gut-wrenching loss in a game where the Flivvers did almost everything they needed to do to repeat as district champs.
“It sucks,” Flivvers Manager Joe Kriegl said. “It stings. It hurts bad. But we'll survive. We'll move on. We've got a young crew. We lost two seniors who played phenomenal in this tournament. We're gonna miss those two, for sure, But we'll have a young nucleus coming back. I think they're hungry. This one will sting for a while, which is not a bad thing, heading into the off-season. We've just got to get better.”
Kriegl's son, Jack, kept his team in the game by keeping the Eskymo hitters off-balance, but he ran out of pitches in the sixth inning. He left the mound with a 4-2 lead, but the Eskymos found a way against Doenier. Doenier was the winning pitcher in Kingsford's 8-5 win over Houghton in the semifinals.
Cannon Arnt pitched the whole way for the Eskymos (24-8), to earn the win.
SEMIFINAL: ESCANABA 3, NEGAUNEE 2
Escanaba very nearly lost to Negaunee in the semifinals, despite Peacock throwing a four-hitter on the mound. The Miners' Tristan Slater worked in and out of trouble on the mound, and carried a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning.
But that's when the Negaunee defense sprung a leak. Cannon Arnt's ground ball was misplayed at shortstop, and then Rymkos walked (again). With two out, Hughes hit a soft fly ball to right field. It was dropped. Two runs scored on the error, giving Escanaba a 2-1 lead. Peacock followed with a booming RBI double to the center field fence to make it a 3-1 game.
Slater got one run back for the Miners in the sixth inning with a crushed double of his own, bringing home Aiden Steele, who had singled right before him. But Peacock kept his team in the lead by getting Evan DellAngelo to pop up and Killean Ryan to ground out. Peacock then set the Miners down 1-2-3 in the seventh inning, ending the game on his 104th pitch.
It was a tough pill to swallow for Negaunee, which finishes its season with a 25-7 record. Four of those losses came to the Eskymos.
“I couldn't be more proud of our guys,” Negaunee Manager Jason Siik said. “It's sad when it's over, especially with the seniors. They really turned this program around in Negaunee, and put us on the map. They set a good foundation for the future. He (Slater) pitched his heart out. We knew he could do it. He gave us a chance to win and that's all we can ask for.”
PETOSKEY 4, GAYLORD 2
If the Eskymos were feeling a bit lucky on Friday, so were the Petoskey Northmen on Saturday. The Northmen had beaten the Gaylord Blue Devils rather easily in the regular season, but this is district tournament baseball.
Saturday's district championship game was tied, 2-2, in the top of the seventh inning, when the Blue Devils made back-to-back errors that gave Petoskey the lead. Then Northman pitcher Dylan Aukeman tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning to give Petoskey (24-8) its seventh straight district title.
UP NEXT: REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
So, just as it did two years ago, it will come down to the Escanaba Eskymos and Petoskey Northmen. Petoskey won a great battle in 2024, 3-0, at Turcott Field. This time, the game will be in Escanaba, this Wednesday afternoon.
“I'm super-excited about that,” Hanson said. “That's just a huge opportunity.”
Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on FM-93.5 and AM-600. The winner of that game will advance to the Super Regionals in Grand Rapids.
