ESCANABA — Firsts always come with a lot of lessons.
And, unfortunately in sports, those lessons come out of losses more than anything.
For almost everyone in a Petoskey baseball uniform Wednesday night, it came as a first-time experience playing in the Division 2 regional baseball round. What followed by the night’s end were lessons and clearer picture of what it takes to find success deep in the postseason.
Meeting Escanaba in Escanaba, Petoskey collected just four hits and couldn’t find a way out of long innings on the other side, eventually falling in a 10-0 game in five innings.
It ended a 24-9 season for the Northmen, one which came with a seventh consecutive district championship and close race for the Big North title.
But, a young team with eight new starters from last year’s regional squad struggled in the end.
Escanaba’s Lennox Peacock kept the Northmen off base with four hits allowed and no walks through four innings, then added five strikeouts.
On the other side, Escanaba mastered taking extra bags throughout the game, finishing the night with four doubles, three steals, three walks drawn, a pair of sacrifices to move runners and a base taken on a passed ball. The Eskymos also added a run on a Petoskey error.
At this point in the postseason, teams will find any little advantage they have, which is exactly how Escanaba (25-8) now advances to a regional championship game at Forest Hills Eastern against Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 6.
For Petoskey on the night, Dylan Aukeman signed twice, then Tyler Pool and Zach Wodek had the only other hits for the Northmen.
Aukeman started and took the loss, going 2 2/3 innings with seven hits and two walks issued, before Pool pitched 2 1/3, giving up six hits and a walk.
A good chunk of Petoskey’s team will return next season, including five starters from Wednesday’s regional, though six seniors will still depart, including Pool, Fred Hollerback, Elijah Young, Beckett Blake, Jonah Mattingly and Mateo Lange.
DIVISION 3
TC St. Francis 11, Harbor Springs 3
ELK RAPIDS — Entering the 2026 season, there was a pretty strong feeling that the Harbor Springs baseball team had what it took to make it a memorable one in Harbor.
And they eventually did just that.
The Rams collected both conference and district hardware, ending an extensive drought of a league title.
But on Wednesday night in Elk Rapids, the Rams eventually met a program in the midst of a special two-year run on the diamond, as reigning Division 3 state champion Traverse City St. Francis ended the Rams’ campaign in a D3 regional semifinal.
Behind 11 hits, St. Francis (29-6) put up 11 runs in an 11-3 final, advancing them to meet Sanford Meridian in a D3 regional final at home on Saturday, June 6.
Harbor Springs had just two hits, though took advantage of a couple St. Francis errors during the third inning to push a couple runs across the plate and make it a 4-2 game early.
Nick Lemieur singled in those two runs and Ben McShannock had the other hit.
The two also split the pitching duties, with Lemieur taking the loss after 3 1/3 innings and six hits allowed. Just three of the runs came earned, while McShannock gave up five hits and two runs across 3 2/3.
The Rams ended a 27-4 season that began 11-0 and included two other seven-game win streaks.
A mix of veteran talent and players that broke out this season, Harbor will return standouts like Lemieur, Thaddeus Cosens and JJ Spencer, though see the likes of Greyson Rife, McShannock, Caiden Phillips, Ryan Novak and Nolan Kennedy exit the program.
DIVISION 4
Hillman 6, Harbor Light 5
HILLMAN — This time of year comes with no shortage of heartache.
But the Harbor Light Christian baseball team got the worst kind possible on the diamond Wednesday night in Hillman.
Meeting Hillman in a Division 4 regional semifinal, the Swordsmen pushed a run across in the seventh inning on a passed ball to break a 4-4 game and take the lead heading to the bottom of the final frame.
But three outs never came, as a trio of one-out singles brought the Tigers a 6-5 walk-off victory.
It came as a crushing end to another promising Harbor Light season that closed in a 24-9 record.
The Swordsmen were first to put a couple runs on the board off a Will Paulus single in the third, until Hillman answered in the fourth to make it 2-2.
The Swordsmen again plated two in the fifth off an error and Lynus Cadarette single, but they were answered again by the Tigers in the sixth.
That’s how the night played out until the seventh, when there was no chance to answer for Harbor Light.
Cadarette singled and double with the RBI, Paulus had the two RBIs and Daniel Urman singled and scored two runs.
Paulus earned the start and went 5 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs, while striking out eight. Urman then went 2/3 of an inning, giving up three hits and two earned runs.
It was a second straight trip into the regional round for the Swordsmen, who will still have plenty of talent next season to try to make it three straight.
They did have to say goodbye to Paulus, Travis Rose and Ayden Burns as seniors.
Hillman (20-9) moves on to face Norway in a Rudyard hosted Division 4 regional final at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, June 6.
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Season runs out on Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Harbor Light baseball in regionals
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review | USA TODAY Network
