The LPGA Futures Tour returns to the Upper Peninsula in late June, with some of the world's best lady golfers comping to compete for money...and a possible spot on the main LPGA Tour next year. There will be 150 golfers representing at least 30 countries at the Island Resort and Casino Championship, which will be held June 29th through July 1st at the Sweetgrass Golf Course in Harris.
Click the above headline to read more, and to listen to audio soundbytes from one of the golfers who was in Escanaba on Thursday to promote the event.
The Gladstone Braves tennis team was a bit shorthanded on Friday, and that's not a good thing to have happen when the Kingsford Flivvers come to town. The Braves played without Dan Williams at #2 singles, and the Flivvers cruised to a 7-1 win at Pfotenhauer Park. Gladstone's only win was at #1 doubles, as Bryce Wolf and Cody Frazer (pictured above) beat Kingsford's Aidan Wienke and Dalton Allen. Click the above headline for the details.
The Escanaba High School baseball team scored four runs in the top of the first inning, but it wasn't enough as the Eskymos lost to the DePere Redbirds, 6-5, Friday in suburban Green Bay. The loss kept the Eskymos winless against Wisconsin teams this season (0-5). David Falish pitched a complete game five-hitter, but was hurt by three missplayed pop flies that led to three unearned runs. Click the above headline to read the whole story and to see photos.
The conditions were less than ideal, but four high school golf teams managed to get in a quadrangular meet Thursday at the Escanaba Country Club. In the girls meet, Escanaba edged Gladstone 207-208, with Marquette third and Kingsford fourth. In the boys meet, Marquette won with 316 strokes. Escanaba was second with 331.Kingsford was third and Gladstone was fourth as the boys shot the "back nine" twice in the rain. Click the above headline for all of the results.
The Rapid River Rockets won two more games on Thursday, beating the Manistique Emeralds, 18-5 and 14-2 in Manistique. In the first game, the Emeralds managed to keep it a 3-3 game in the fourth inning before the Rockets blew it open. Averi Kanyuh got the pitching win, with Neena Brockway throwing the last three innings. Brockway also had five hits (including three doubles) in the game. In the second game, Savannah Stenlund pitched all five innings to earn the win. Haley MacGregor took the pitching loss in both games for Manistique. Click the above headline for more details.
A 19-year-old Ishpeming High School student fighting for the right to play basketball next school year testified before a Senate committee on Wednesday.
Eric Dompierre has Down Syndrome, and is trying to convince the Michigan High School Association to waive a rule that forbids him to play because he is too old. The committee unanimously approved State Senator Tom Casperson's resolution on the issue, urging the MHSAA to change the rule for those students who have disabilities. Click the headline to read more.
Blake Ballard pitched a complete-game one-hitter and the Gladstone Indians smacked 13 hits and stole nine bases on the way to an 11-1 win over the Marquette Redmen Wednesday night at Don Olsen Field. The win on Opening Night was the first for Jim Groleau, who took over as manager of the team after Dennis Darling stepped down last fall.
Click the above headline to read more details from the game.
Devin Olsen tossed a three-hitter, stiking out 11 batters, to lead the Escanaba Eskymos to a 12-2 victory over the Stephenson Eagles Wednesday night in Daggett. Olsen threw 97 pitches over 6 1/3 innings before Andrew Sedlar got the final two outs.
Pictured above: Coach Kirk Schwalbach sends Ian DeMarse home, scoring all the way from first base on an Olsen hit. Click the above headline to read the story, and see more photos.
The Gladstone Braves won all four singles matches and pulled off a match-clinching win at second doubles to beat the Escanaba Eskymos, 5-3, in a dual Tuesday in Gladstone. Aaron Parmet, Dan Williams, and Neal Sabin all won in straight sets, while Hans Ahola needed three sets to beat Kyle Pinozek at #4 singles. Escanaba's Dave Fix and Jake Eastin won in straight sets at #1 doubles. Click the above headline to see more pictures and video replays from the match.
It was a split decision on Tuesday as the Escanaba Eskymos and Kingsford Flivvers got together in a track meet at the Escanaba High School Track. The Eskymos won the girls meet, 101-36, while the Flivvers won the boys meet, 99-38. In the girls meet, Olivia Nash won the 100 meter dash and the high jump. Morgan Mathieson won the discus and the shot put. In the boys meet, Escanaba's Andrew Stenberg won both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs, while teammate Jake Walker won the 800. Click the headline for results.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is facing mounting public pressure to make changes to its rule that forbids kids who turn 19 years old after September 1st from playing varsity sports. This rule came to light with the case of Eric Dompierre, an Ishpeming High School student who has Down Syndrome and wants to play basketball for the Hematites in his senior year. Click the above headline to read the entire story, and to listen to our interview with Senator Tom Casperson.
The American Legion Baseball season gets under way for the Gladstone Indians this Wednesday night when the Indians host the Marquette High School baseball team at Don Olsen Field. The Indians will play a mixture of high school and Legion teams early in the season before ramping up the schedule this summer. Click the above headline for more about the team.
The Rapid River Rockets rolled to a pair of softball victories on Monday, beating the Negaunee Miners, 8-0 and 6-3, in the Iron Town. Neena Brockway earned the victory in the opener, pitching a complete-game shutout, striking out 12 batters along the way. Heather Sanderson had an inside-the-park two-run home run to break a 0-0 tie in the third inning of the opener.
The Escanaba High School baseball team turned in its two best performances of the year on Saturday as the boys competed in the Saginaw Baseball Showcase in Lower Michigan.
Escanaba pounded out 15 hits to beat the host Saginaw Heritage Hawks, 7-3, and then even more impressively, battled the highly-touted Mt. Pleasant Oilers down to the wire before losing, 5-2. Pictured: Austin Young steals second in the game against Saginaw Heritage. (Kevin Lyle photo). Read the full story, listen to audio, and see more photos by clicking the above headline.
The Gladstone Braves turned back the Rapid River Rockets, 9-3, in the championship game of the eight-team Boyne City Invitational on Saturday. Earlier, the Braves beat Cheboygan, 12-4 and beat the host Boyne City team, 6-2. Before playing Gladstone, Rapid River whipped Gaylord, 17-0, and edged Rochester Adams, 3-2, to make the final. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, the Escanaba Eskymos went 1-2 in the Ashwaubenon Invitational. Escanaba topped the host Jaguars, 4-1, in the opener. But the girls dropped the next two games, losing to Chippewa Falls, 9-3, and Kimberly, 7-1.
The Escanaba High School softball team split a doubleheader with the Alpena Wildcats Friday evening at Lemmerand Park. The Eskymos won the opener behind the pitching of Codi Jenshak, 1-0, before dropping the nightcap, 8-5 (in eight innings).
Pictured: Braedyn Bosilovatz gets a clutch base hit in the sixth inning for the Eskymos. (Lisa Dagenais photo). Click the above headline to read details and see more photos.
The Escanaba High School baseball team arrived by charter bus in Saginaw on Friday in preparation for their appearance in Saturday's Baseball Showcase at Saginaw Heritage High School. The Eskymos had a Friday afternoon practice, had a meal at Buffalo Wild Wings, and spent a little time in the hotel hot tub. Click the above headline to see pictures.
Track teams from across Delta County braved the cold, windy conditions to compete in the annual Delta County Track Invitational Thursday at the Escanaba High School Track.
The Gladstone Braves won the boys meet while the Escanaba Eskymos won the girls competition. Pictured: Gladstone's Kyle Closs throws the discus in Thursday's meet. Click the above headline for results and more pictures.
The Escanaba Eskymos managed just four base hits against three Negaunee pitchers, but used their speed and a couple of Miners errors to post a 6-5 win Thursday night at Al Ness Field. The Eskymos scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning after the Miners scored a run in the top of the inning to break a 4-4 tie.
Pictured: Eskymo junior Tim Lueneburg gets a clutch hit to bring home two runs in the sixth inning of Thursday night's game. Click the above headline to read the game story, and to see more pictures.
The Escanaba High School tennis team picked up its first win of the 2012 season on Thursday, turning back the Menominee Maroons, 8-0. The win came under sunny conditions, but there was a cold, gusty wind that made it very difficult to return the ball...or to serve...effectively.
Pictured: Eskymo junior Jake Eastin lunges after a ball during Thursday's match. Click the above headline to see all of the results and more photos from the match.
The Rapid River Rockets softball team swept a doubleheader from the Superior Central Cougars on Wednesday, winning by scores of 8-1 and 11-1. Neena Brockway and Heather Sanderson earned the pitching victories in the circle. The Rockets improved to 9-0.
Pictured: Sam Peterson is met by her teammates at home plate after hitting her first varsity home run. (Cara Brockway photo). Read more game details, the team's schedule/results, and see more pictures by clicking the headline above.
The Escanaba High School softball team played for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday, and the Eskymos turned in a good performance in sweeping a doubleheader from the Negaunee Miners. The Eskymos won the opening game, 4-0, as Codi Jenshak pitched the whole game and Bre Belanger had the winning hit in the fifth inning. The Eskymos also won the nightcap, 10-2, after scoring five runs in the first inning to get the upperhand.
Pictured: Eskymo pitcher Codi Jenshak fires a pitch during Tuesday's first game. Click the above headline to see more photos and video highlights.
The Manistique and Big Bay de Noc School Boards have approved having a co-op football program this fall. The decisions came at special meetings on Monday so that the schools could meet the Michigan High School Athletic Association's deadline for notification. The vote in Manistique was 4-3; it was 7-0 in Big Bay.
The Escanaba High School tennis team opened the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday with a tough battle against the West Iron County Wykons. Tyler Myrick won a tough battle at #2 singles, and the Eskymos' #3 and #4 doubles teams earned victories, but the Wykons won the team score, 5-3. Pictured: Tyler Myrick gets into position to return a serve. Click the above headline to read the full story and see pictures and videos from the match.
The Escanaba Eskymos and Stephenson Eagles met for the first time ever in high school baseball Tuesday night, and there was a mixture of good and bad in the match-up. The good: almost every kid on both rosters got into the game. The bad: 12 errors and 13 walks. In the end, the Eskymos scored 11 runs in the final three innings to post a 14-4 win over the Eagles at Al Ness Field.
Click the above headline to see more details, and more photos from the game.
Marquette won both the boys and girls track meets on Tuesday at the Escanaba High School Track. In the girls meet, Marquette was first with 79 points. Escanaba was second with 50, and Menominee was third with 35. In the boys meet, Marquette edged Menominee, 67-66, with Escanaba third at 38 points.
Escanaba hosts the annual Delta County Track Meet Thursday afternoon starting at 3:00. Click the above headline to see more details on Tuesday's meet.
The Gladsone High School boys tennis team opened the 2012 season with a 6-2 win over the Gwinn Model Towners Monday afternoon at Pfotenhauer Park. The Braves won three singles and three doubles matches to secure the win under chilly, windy conditions.
Pictured above: Gladstone's Bryce Wolf gets ready to serve during his doubles match. Click the above headline to see pictures, video highlights, and more details from the match.
The Escanaba High School kids had fun Monday night in their annual Dodgeball Tournament in the high school gym. Click the headline to see some pictures from the fun evening, courtesy of Lisa Dagenais.
The Escanaba High School boys golf team opened the 2012 season on Monday placing first in the eight-team Gladstone Invitational. The Eskymos had 317 strokes, five better than second-place Marquette. Menominee was third with 335 strokes.
Manistique's Mike Nagy and Nick LaFave were the medalists in the scramble format, shooting a 71. Escanaba's Kevin Gendron and Phil LaMarch were second with 73's. Gladstone's Drew Scheeneman and Jake Peterson were tied for second with 73's.
The Escanaba Eskymos lost both ends of their baseball doubleheader on Saturday, falling to the Appleton North Lightning, 7-3 and 12-1, in the Fox Valley.
Jeff Lyle and Tyler Skufca had run-scoring hits to give the Eskymos the lead in the opener, but the Lightning, featuring two Wisconsin All-State players in its lineup, smacked ten hits and pulled away late in the game. In the nightcap, Escanaba managed only one base hit and was mercied in five innings.
