Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Escanaba’s Nicole Kamin (4) slides home safely in front of Menominee’s Hannah Ries during Thursday’s doubleheader at Escanaba. Looking on for the Eskymos is Lexi Chaillier.

ESCANABA — After dropping two games in the last five days, the Escanaba softball team came out sharp and focused here Thursday evening, sweeping Menominee in Great Northern Conference play.

The Eskymos won the opener 12-0 behind another perfect game from Gabi Salo, then scored 20 runs in a 20-2 victory in the nightcap.

Esky (20-2) wasted no time jumping out to a lead in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead on RBI singles by Nicole Kamin, Jalin Olson and Maddy Block.

The Eskymos then erupted for nine runs in the second inning. After loading the bases with one out, Salo drove in two runs with a single to left field to increase the lead to 5-0. Salo, Olson, Rylee Kuehl, Carsyn Segorski, Lexi Chaillier and Kamin all picked up RBIs in the inning to make it 12-0 after two frames.

“The main thing I’m looking for is you got to square up balls, and you got to hit line drives,” Esky coach Gary Salo said. “70 percent of base hits come from line drives, so regardless of what style of pitching you’re seeing, you need to square up the ball and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Leading 12-2 in the bottom of the third, Chaillier helped Esky continue to pour it on with a grand slam to left-center field. She finished with four hits and seven RBIs.

After Kamin singled in another run in the fourth, Dakota Cloutier drove in three runs with a bases-clearing triple to make it 20-2 and end the game.

“Any time you play at home it’s great. The kids swing the bats better, they smile more and they just have fun. A game of softball is always nice when you’re at home,” coach Salo said.

Kamin earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out six and walking four.

The Maroons (1-7) scored their lone runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run single by Isabella Berger. Berger also pitched, taking the loss by surrendering 16 runs on 15 hits while walking three in 2 1/3 innings. Sarah Barrette pitched the final 1 2/3, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits while walking three.

Salo was once again dominant for Esky in the opener, fanning all 15 batters she faced in a five-inning triumph.

“We don’t ever want to take an opponent lightly. I always just try to focus, throw my best pitches and play my best game,” she said.

Chaillier was 3 for 3 with four RBIs and two home runs to give her three for the day. Salo had two hits and two RBIs and Block added two hits and an RBI. Cloutier had Esky’s other RBI.

Emma Laatsch took the loss for Menominee, surrendering 12 runs (five earned) on 10 hits while striking out one.

The Maroons didn’t do themselves any favors, committing four errors, which led to seven Esky runs.

“We need to cut down on our mental mistakes. We had so many mental mistakes and our defense was atrocious today. It was bad,” Maroons’ coach Jim Berger said. “The girls warmed up rough and they played rough. This is a couple games in a row now they’ve played like this. They’ve got to clean up the mental mistakes a little bit. They’ve got to want it more than the coaches want it.”

The Eskymos now turn their attention to the Ann Arbor Invitational tournament today and Saturday, where they will have a chance to go up against some of the premier teams in the state. They play South Lyon today at 3 and Saline at 5.

“Our key goal is to get into the bracket. There will be five teams and four different divisions, and if we can come out of that 3-1 we should hopefully get that free game and go from there,” coach Salo said.

Menominee visits Kingsford for a doubleheader today.