Escanaba senior Lennox Peacock delivers a pitch against Negaunee on May 30, 2026. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

ESCANABA — A pair of nail-biting performances helped the Escanaba Eskymos to a district championship as they defeated Negaunee 3-2 and rallied from behind in the seventh inning to defeat Kingsford 5-4 in the championship game.

Escanaba senior Graham Johnson started the seventh inning against Kingsford with a lead-off single and Ashron Rymkos drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Mikaiden Hughes reached on an error by the center fielder to load the bases. Lennox Peacock grounded into a fielder’s choice to score a run and cut the deficit to 4-3. Brian Boutilier singled to load the bases again. Escanaba sophomore Bryce Bichler came through with a two-run walk-off double to send the Eskymos to the regionals.

“We struggled early in both games,” Bichler said. “We kept trying to get runners on and get runs. In the last at bat they were throwing outside fastballs and I practiced against it all the time and just drove it in to the gap to get the win.

The Eskymos got to the championship game by defeating Negaunee. Lennox Peacock went the distance on the mound allowing two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.

“This is a group of guys who never give up,” Peacock said. “We stepped up and there is no feeling like walking-off the team that knocked us out last year.”

The Miners led 1-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning as Mikaiden Hughes brought in two runs and Peacock singled to score another run to put the Eskymos up 3-1.

“We did just enough to win today,” Eskymos coach Scott Hanson said. “We taled about the suicide squeeze and he said absolutley not, so I told him he could swing away and he came up with the biggest hit of his career.”