Escanaba's Bon LaChance celebrates at home plate with his team after hitting a home run against Niagara on June 21, 2025 at Al Ness Field. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

ESCANABA — Victory was within Escanaba’s grasp, but Marinette had other ideas in the championship game of the Gregg Johnson/Al Erickson Memorial American Legion baseball tournament here Sunday.

Maverick Williams scored on a balk, lifting Marinette to a 6-5 victory over the Cubs on this sunny and warm afternoon at Al Ness Field.

The Cubs took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning.

A wild pitch enabled Marinette to shave its deficit to 5-4 and Caleb Klinek tied the score on a single to left field by Ethan Doubek, setting the stage for the team’s first Johnson/Erickson title.

“We’ve been here a few times before, but weren’t able to close the deal,” Marinette manager Brian Lesandrini said. “Escanaba has a nice team. We always like coming to this tournament. Most games were very competitive. These were very evenly matched teams.”

Esky opened the scoring on a single to right by Bon LaChance in the opening frame and took a two-run cushion on a double to right by Ashton Rymkos in the third.

A double to left by Teagan Anderson got Marinette on the board and Klinek’s double to right knotted the contest at two in its half of the third.

Marinette took a 3-2 lead on Chase MacGregor’s sacrifice fly to right in the fourth.

The Cubs tied the score when Isaiah Brow got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth.

Esky then regained the lead on a two-run double to right by Cooper Curtis.

“We didn’t strike out that much, but we were hitting the ball right to people or popping it up,” Esky manager Paul LaChance said. “Overall, we played well. For us this was the first time in 12 years we got to Sunday in this tournament.”

Both teams finished with nine hits. Anderson finished 4-for-4 for Marinette and Eli Gardner had two for the Cubs.

Williams took the win in relief of Jackson Schramm, who pitched 4â…” innings. He struck out three, walked three and gave up five runs on eight hits. Williams allowed one hit and walked one.

Adrian Mercier, the third of four Esky pitchers, took the loss. Mercier uncharacteristically surrendered three runs on three hits in the seventh.

“Adrian has been battling an arm issue, but wanted to do it,” LaChance said. “He has been with us for three years and helped our program a lot.”

The teams meet again Friday night in the opening round of the Firecracker tournament in Marinette.

In the semifinals, Esky edged Plover, Wis. 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel.

Esky’s Cannon Arnt threw a two-hitter, fanned 11 and walked none.

Ben Grube, who allowed just an infield single to Graham Johnson in the seventh, absorbed the loss. He fanned six and walked three in the third when Owen Fields scored on a throwing error.

“That was a well pitched game,” LaChance said. “I asked their pitcher what kind of voodoo he had on the ball. It wasn’t that he was throwing that fast, but like in the championship game we were hitting at people and popping it up.”

Marinette’s Justin Kruse fired a no-hitter, whiffed six and walked two in a 10-1 semifinal triumph over Sheboygan, Wis.

“I started with off-speed and had everything going,” he said. “A lot of people don’t like to hit off-speed and hitters think twice about swinging at that. The Sheboygan game gave us momentum and Teagan’s hitting got us going in the finals. When he gets hot, it kind of sets the tone for the team. They (Cubs) have a good team. We knew it’d be a dogfight.”

MacGregor collected three hits and Anderson and Klinek added two each for the winners, who finished with 10.

Sheboygan scored on Levi Miller’s sacrifice fly to center in the first.

The Cubs committed four errors in Friday’s 6-1 loss to Sheboygan, then defeated Niagara, Wis. 7-0 and DePere 3-1 Saturday.

All of Esky’s runs came on a home run to left by Bon LaChance in the opening frame against DePere.

The Redbirds scored on Gavin Geiser’s single in the fifth.

Rymkos, who came one batter short of a complete game, took the win. He struck out five, walked seven and allowed four hits.

Losing pitcher Max Zimmerman also fanned five and walked seven and gave up five hits.

Cooper Curtis fired a three-hitter, whiffed nine and walked two in Esky’s 7-0 conquest of Niagara.

Johnson ripped a two-run single and Rymkos had a two-run double in the third when the Cubs scored five times.

Rymkos added an RBI single and Johnson drove in another run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Mason Richtig absorbed the loss, striking out three, walking one and allowing seven hits.