Posen looks to improve winning streak

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Posen had a three-game winning streak heading into two league dates with Mio and Atlanta. The Vikings took a couple of impressive home victories Monday against Au Gres, before heading off to play Mio (past press time) Wednesday. They are at Atlanta today. The boys also snatched a sure-win from the jaws of defeat Saturday in the consolation game of their own tournament, in some of the worst playing conditions of the season. Posen?s record stood at 12-12 and 8-2 in the North Star League, which is good for second place in the standings. Hillman clinched the conference title Monday with only one loss. The Vikings? league losses came to Hillman and Hale.

Shane Hentkowski was the winning pitcher Monday in game one against Au Gres (6 IN, 3 H, ER, 6 K?s). His record is 4-3 on the mound. The final score against the Wolverines was 9-1. ?WE HIT the ball very well,? said head coach Pat Kowalski. ?We had 11 hits in the ball game.? Justin LaPointe (2B) and Jerome Ciarkowski were both 2-for-4, while Luke Bruski was 2-for-2 (2 R, 2 RBI). Nathan Lenard was 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Kowalski said Scott Couture pitched a gem in game two in an 11-0 mercy-shortened win. LaPointe was one of the hitting stars again with a 2-for-4 (2B, 3B, 3 RBI) game. Ciarkowski was 2-for-4 again, while Couture helped his own cause with a 2-for-2 (3 R, RBI) effort. ?They were nice clean ball games,? said Kowalski. ?In fact, we were finished at 7:15 p.m., which is very unusual for baseball.

LAST SATURDAY, as the Posen Invitational went late into the day, the weather conditions got worse. The Viking lost the first game of the tournament to Inland Lakes, 13-5, with Ciarkowski suffering his first loss, but against a quality team. The Viking bats were quiet with only three hits. Lenard was 1-for-2 (2 RBI).

Game two had a crazy finish against Superior Central, as the Vikes took a 7-1 lead into the final inning, with only three outs needed to seal the deal. The Cougars came back to tie the contest, 7-7, before Posen pulled it out. The game-winning rally was started on the freakiest play, too. Bruski was in the batter?s box

with a two strike count and noticed a curve ball from the Superior Central pitcher was going to be way out of the strike zone, but he swung at it anyway for an intentional strikeout and ran down to first as the ball went to the backstop.

?He knew the catcher wasn?t going to catch it,? said Kowalski. Bruski stole second and came home on a RBI base hit by Travis Hirschman and an 8-7 win. Aaron Romel got what was probably his last start of his career. His pitching line was kind of interesting, too. He went five innings, allowed only three hits and struck out seven. He also walked nine and hit two batters.

LAST THURSDAY, Hentkowski limited visiting Rogers City to four hits, but the visitors made them count. The Hurons won 5-3 in game one and 12-5 in game two. ?I?m looking forward to the two league dates and the tournament,? said Kowalski. ?The pitchers are pitching well and getting walks under control.? Posen plays Hillman May 30 in a district semifinal, following the Onaway vs. Rogers City game. The tournament is in Hillman.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.