Winning streak now at 12 with sweep of Onaway

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

In typical Posen baseball fashion, the Vikings came up with last inning runs in both ends of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Onaway to pull off a sweep and extend their current winning streak to 12. Travis Hirschman’s RBI-single brought in the game-winner in a game one, 5-4, victory. In game two, Nathan Lenard came home on a two-out wild pitch for a 2-1 win. ?Our goal is to start getting ready for districts,” said head coach Pat Kowalski. ?I was real happy with our play today.? The Vikings are 18-9-1, 11-3 in the North Star League. Kowalski was particularly pleased with the way his club rebounded from an early 4-1 deficit against the visitors. Three of the runs in the top of the third were unearned.

?IN THE PAST, what might happen after that is the kids’ heads would go down and all of a sudden we would get blown away,? said Kowalski. ?We came back strong.? Starter Shane Hentkowski bored down and got key strikeouts with runners in scoring position that allowed the offense to finally take it up a notch or two in the bottom of the sixth.

Lenard and Hentkowski got the inning going with walks. That was followed by an RBI fielder?s choice by Scott Couture to make it 4-2. Jerome Ciarkowski singled, and with runners on second and third, Hirschman delivered the first of two big hits to tie the game. The game was scheduled to go seven to simulate a tournament game, but this one needed eight to decide a winner. In the bottom of the eighth, Couture doubled to the fence and was followed by Hirschman?s third RBI of the game, a single to break the tie and give Posen the win.

Hentkowski went all eight innings, giving up only one earned run and five hits. He walked seven and struck out 11. THE SECOND game was scheduled to go five innings. Onaway had the early lead again, 1-0, heading into the bottom of the third. Luke Bruski doubled down the left field line and kept motoring home on a throwing error to tie the game. In the top of the fourth, Brandon Dietz made a nice running catch in deep left. It was one of two nice catches by the eighth-grader in the t

win bill, said Kowalski. Posen loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but couldn?t get Couture in from third. He led off the inning with a single.

Lenard relieved Ciarkowski in the top of the fifth, gave up a single to the first batter, but struck out the next two. Lenard got on in the bottom of the inning with a single to deep left center and advanced to third on a couple of stolen bases. With two down, the Onaway pitcher uncorked a wild pitch to bring in Lenard for a 2-1 win. Lenard and Ciarkowski combined to strikeout eight Cardinal hitters and walk only one. Lenard got the win and is 2-0.

LAST THURSDAY, in the last league games, Posen blasted Atlanta, 15-2 and 7-3. Dietz got the win in game one. Justin LaPointe crushed a pitch off the fence for a three-RBI triple, just missing a round-tripper by a few feet. Ciarkowski was 2-for-3, while Justin Paull was 1-for-1 with two RBI. Ciarkowski improved his record to 6-2 on the mound in game two against the Huskies. His pitching line follows: 6 IN, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 W, 4 K?s. Next up will be games today at home against Whittemore-Prescott and Alcona Tuesday for the final home tilts of the season. The district draw was May 19 and the Vikes are matched up with Hillman in the second game of the day on June 5.

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