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Power surge lifts Esky to regional title

Mike Mattson | Daily Press

GAYLORD — Escanaba can hurt softball opponents in many ways.

The Eskymos’ strong pitching immediately comes to mind, but they added the long ball to the attack Saturday to sweep Muskegon Oakridge 10-0 and Remus-Chippewa Hills 12-0 for a convincing Division 2 regional championship at Gaylord High School.

“The bats were alive today, so it was certainly refreshing,” Esky coach Jamie Segorski said after the Eskymos’ fourth straight regional title. “It was certainly a perfect storm.”

Esky advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinal against Saginaw Swan Valley at Central Michigan University. The Eskymos eliminated Swan Valley 5-2 in the 2016 quarterfinals and 2-0 in last year’s quarterfinals.

The showdown between third-ranked Esky (28-3) and eighth-ranked Oakridge (32-6) never materialized in the regional semifinal. Esky hit five home runs — two each by seniors Taylor Gauthier and Maddy Griffin and one by senior Savannah Barron — en route to the six-inning victory.

Sophomore Gabi Salo also mowed down the Eagles with a one-hitter, 12 strikeouts and two walks with her 60 mph-plus fastball and other pitches. Sophia Wiard’s single in the sixth inning broke up Salo’s no-hitter.

Griffin launched a two-run bomb and freshman Nicole Kamin delivered an RBI triple to give Esky a 3-0 lead after two innings.

“We were pretty nervous coming in, but we mercied them,” Griffin said. “We really brought it today. That was the game.”

Gauthier’s first homer, a solo shot, built Esky’s lead to 4-0 after three innings and Kamin’s RBI single made it 5-0 after four innings.

The Eskymos broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by Gauthier’s solo homer and Barron’s two-run shot.

“I was really nervous going into the game because they are a really good team,” Gauthier said. “We had five home runs. I just felt we were on top of things today and it was great. The whole team was focused.”

Griffin’s solo homer ended the stunning 10-0 decision in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Griffin and Kamin each had three hits in Esky’s 13-hit attack against Oakridge ace Kayla Fessenden, who had six strikeouts.

“We knew t

hree was the threshold of runs to have a chance against (Salo) and we didn’t anticipate them hitting that many home runs,” said Oakridge coach Joe Coletta, who has just two seniors. “We knew to come up here and play Escanaba would be a tall task. There is no shame in losing to a team like that.

“They could very well win it all. I can walk away from this game knowing we lost to a class coach and program. Unfortunately, it’s three years in a row. I would just love to return the favor sometime. We know we just have to hit better.”

In the title game, the Eskymos picked up where they left off as leadoff hitter Peyton Gustafson belted a solo homer to start the contest against Chippewa Hills.

“It was nice to lead off that game with a home run,” Segorski said. “It just set the tone. And Gabi pitched 13 (innings) today and gave up two hits. Just an outstanding outing by a fantastic player. It’s very comfortable for her to throw when our offense is doing what they are doing. Hopefully the bats stay hot in the next two days and another week would be great.”

Esky built its lead to 4-0 with a three-run second inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Barron and Gustafson. Griffin’s RBI single made it 5-0 in the third inning.

Another three-run inning in the fifth stretched Escanaba’s lead to 8-0, highlighted by RBI singles by RBI singles by Gustafson and Barron.

Sophomore Jalin Olson knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and the Eskymos plated three final runs in the top of the seventh with the help of a walk, two hit batters, a single by Griffin and double by Olson.

Salo shut down the Warriors in the bottom of the seventh to end her outing with a one-hitter, 16 strikeouts and one walk. Sydney Wright broke up Salo’s no-hitter with a single in the seventh.

Chippewa Hills (16-17) downed Kalkaska 3-0 in the other semifinal, but could not get anything going against Salo.

“We played against Salo last year in the regional semis, so I knew what we were facing,” Warriors’ coach D.J. Newman said.

“We knew it would be a tough task. I have not seen anybody like her. She’s tough.”

Esky collected 17 hits off Warrior pitchers Teagan Dangler and Mya Koepf, led by Griffin’s four safeties and Gustafson’s three hits. Cassie Wisler, Claire McInerney, Gauthier and Barron each added two hits.

Esky will turn its attention to Swan Valley, which returns two starters from last year, including ace pitcher Callie Burgess. The all-stater signed with Northwood University.

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