Todd Rose | Daily Press Escanaba’s Ben Johnson slides into second base as Norway’s Ian Popp (left) bobbles the ball Thursday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — Under the lights of Al Ness Field, the Escanaba Eskymos defeated the Norway Knights 12-2 Thursday night in Escanaba.

After a tight opening three innings that saw the score hold steady at 3-2 in favor of Esky — both teams scored runs in the first inning — the Eskymos put nine runs up over the course of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to end the game via the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth.

The game sealer came from Jared Hanson as he singled to centerfield to drive in the winning run from Kaiden Brown.

Hanson (11 strikeouts, two walks, one allowed hit for two unearned runs) and Hunter Lancour (four strikeouts, one walk, three allowed hits) split duties on the mound with Hanson going the first four and Lancour the last two.

“Obviously, we’re trying to get Hunter and Jared ready for districts, so this was a tune-up for them,” Escanaba coach Scott Hanson said. “The two runs they scored, we opened the door and gave them some opportunities, but we talked about that, as we get towards districts, we have to clean that stuff up. We don’t want to give whoever we play a two-run lead in the first inning and have to battle back.

“But, I thought both Hunter and Jared pitched awesome. So, that was awesome.”

The Knights drew first blood in the opening side of the first inning as Alex Ortman scored on a Chase Carlson double then Carlson crossed the plate on a steal.

Escanaba fired back as Bon LaChance fired a double to centerfield for a two-run RBI that scored Trent Lawson and Hunter Lancour.

Ben Johnson ushered Hiller home in the next at-bat with a single liner to center.

Isaac Lorenzoni started and pitched the first four innings. He had three strikeouts and five walks while giving up five hits for eight runs, six earned.

Nolan Amundson came in during the fifth and closed the game with four strikeouts, three walks, and two allowed hits for three earned runs, four total.

The win helped put a little momentum on the side of the Eskymos as they prepare for the big week ahead of them.

On Tuesday, the Eskymos host the Menominee Maroons for the resumption of a suspended game from May 12. That game came to a halt due to lighting in the bottom of the second inning before heavy rain forced a postponement.

As it stands, the Eskymos hold a 1-0 lead over the Maroons and should resume with Chase Cloutier in scoring position on third with Matt Kaven in the batter’s box with a 2-1 count.

However, finishing the game holds more significance than simply figuring out who wins the game as the Eskymos must beat the Maroons to earn a tie for the Great Northern Conference Championship with the Gladstone Braves.

Immediately following that game, the Eskymos host the Bark River-Harris Broncos as their final game prior to districts in Sault Ste. Marie next weekend.

“I’m very happy, and we’re pointing in the right direction,” coach Hanson commented. “I’m looking forward to a lot of practice time. It looks like what we thought was going to be pretty poor weather looks like it cleaned up now. So, hopefully, we get some really good practice in.

“We’ve got to work on all the little things right now almost like a spring training situation again back to how we deal with all of our in-game situations and then see what happens next weekend.”