Todd Rose | Daily Press Escanaba’s Hunter Lancour pitches against Gladstone in the opening game for the Gregg Johnson-Al Erickson memorial Legion baseball tournament Thursday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — A little bit of last-minute work paid off for the Escanaba Cubs here Thursday night as they squeezed past the Gladstone Indians 3-2 in the opening game of the Gregg Johnson-Al Erickson Memorial baseball tournament.

It was winning pitcher Hunter Lancour who helped his cause in the end with a game-winning RBI single to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Lancour tossed a one-hitter, struck out 12 and walked three in this season-opening match-up.

“The second and fifth inning were real long, but Hunter made pitches when he really needed to,” said Esky manager Jon Bintner. “With the energy of playing the first game, you’re thinking you’re ready when you’re not really ready. You don’t approach a game with Gladstone thinking it will be any different than it was tonight. The kids might think different, but it usually boils down to who gets the biggest hit or makes the biggest play or biggest error. This was a tough game.”

Lancour retired the Indians in order in five innings, including the fourth and sixth when he struck out the side.

“Our guys hit Hunter pretty good in high school ball, but he pitched well tonight,” Scott Kwarciany said shortly after his debut as Indians’ manager. “We also helped him out by taking too many pitches. We took seven strikeouts with runners in scoring position. They’re too good to give them that much help.”

Dylan Pepin got Gladstone’s lone hit on a pop fly which created a little miscommunication among three Esky infielders, then eventually gave the Indians a 2-1 lead on a throwing error in the fifth.

Lancour led off Esky’s sixth with a triple to right, then tied the score on Hector Araguayan’s single to right.

The Indians scored first on a miscue in the second frame before the Cubs tied the contest on a throwing error in the third.

“We had a couple timely errors,” said Kwarciany. “I thought Forrest (Drake) pitched a nice game, but the game was won by Escanaba because they got some timely hits.”

Drake fanned four, walked three and allowed nine hits.

Lancour and Araguayan had two hits apiece for the Cubs, who committed two errors. The Indians had three miscues but turned double plays to end the fourth and sixth.

“Drake did a good job keeping us off the bases,” said Bintner. “He kept us off-balance, and we didn’t square up on the ball. We weren’t communicating on an infield flyball, and their double plays came in critical situations.

“It’s a matter of knowing what to do in situational baseball. The first game of a tournament and our games with Gladstone are always important.”

Esky hosts the Sault Ste. Marie-based Eastern U.P. Travelers tonight at 6:30. Gladstone hosts Marquette today at 4.