Todd Rose | Daily Press Escanaba’s Trent Lawson rounds third base as Esky coach Scott Hanson motions for him to keep going against Cheboygan Saturday in Escanaba.

The Escanaba faithful were treated to a district opener preview Saturday afternoon as the Cheboygan Chiefs — who swept Esky 12-1 and 7-4 — made the trip to play a doubleheader against the Eskymos in Escanaba.

If the twin bill — especially the second game — is anything to go by, that district opener could be quite the battle.

“I thought it went pretty well,” said Chiefs coach Kevin Baller. “Both teams played well. You come up here, and Escanaba is always tough. Always a tough baseball game, always a tough team.”

Game two of the doubleheader went into extra innings, ending in the eighth after Cheboygan pushed across four runs in the top half to take the win.

On the mound to start for the Chiefs was Cody Borowicz who crossed the century mark on pitches thrown. He had four strikeouts, three walks, gave up seven hits and three runs (1 ER). Tyler Balazovi — with two strikeouts, two walks and one hit for one earned run — closed the game and earned the win for Cheboygan.

The Chiefs had a total of nine hits with four defensive errors.

Baller, despite the wins, is unsure how much of a read the Chiefs have of the Eskymos after the games, citing Escanaba’s recent dealings with some injuries.

“I don’t think there is much of a read,” he said. “I think districts roll around, and it’s going to be a different ball game.”

Brett Schlenvoght pitched a complete game plus one inning for the Eskymos, doing an exceptional job to keep his composure at times and make some great plays — including a great throw to first baseman Adam Willette to get the pick and earn the third out of the fourth inning.

“He really had (an awesome game),” said Escanaba coach Scott Hanson. “He kept us in it. We put up that four spot in the eighth, but he probably shouldn’t have been pitching when we got to the eighth. That’s a testament to how he pitched the whole game and kept them in check through seven. I thought he pitched like a champ.”

Escanaba had eight hits in the nightcap. Jared Hanson was 2-4 with two RBIs, Trent Lawson went 2-5 with an RBI, while Tyler Lawson scored a run and went 2-4.

Hanson echoed Baller’s comments about the Eskymos’ injury situation.

“We’ve got a lot going on with different people out and different injuries and moving people around,” he said. “I think if we’ve got all of our best guys ready to go, and they’ve got all of their best guys. I think it’s going to be a good game.”

Cheboygan won the opener 12-1, ending the game in the sixth due to the mercy rule.

“The second game was better,” said Hanson. “First game, I didn’t think we put up too much of a fight, and we kind of hurt ourselves again with errors.”

Daniel Wilcome three all six for the Chiefs in game one and had eight strikeouts, and only allowed two hits and one run.

Hanson noted Wilcome’s performance as something to prepare for come districts.

“(Wilcome) wasn’t even throwing that hard today, but he was faster than what we’ve seen around here,” he said. “That’s something we’re going to have to adjust to towards districts.

“All in all, I’m glad that the second game was positive. I thought we had a chance to win it with a guy on third in the bottom of the seventh or eight. We had our chance, and I thought we played competitive baseball in the second game.”

Hanson added that this year’s Chiefs are the best Cheboygan team he has seen since he started coaching, citing their batting.

Hunter Lancour and Ben Johnson split pitching duties for Escanaba in game one.

“When it comes time for districts, though, anything can happen,” said Hanson.

“In reality, when you get to districts, it’s one game,” he said. “You never know how that’s going to go. It’s baseball. Anything can happen in one game.”

The Eskymos’ varsity squad is back in action Wednesday hosting Marquette.