SEASON OVER: Bay Norse Baseball Drops Twinbill
Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos taken by Brad Landis, and to hear post-game comments from Bay College Manager Mike Pankow.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse baseball team closed its 2022 season Saturday with a pair of losses to Dakota County (Minn.) Technical College, 8-3 and 11-0, at the Wells Sports Complex. Bay ends its season with a 7-28 record, and DCTC moves on to the regional tournament.
"Despite the results, this is kind of a special group," an emotional Bay College Manager Mike Pankow said. "I don't usually get super-emotional at the end of a season, but for some reason, this group is getting to me. This group of guys has been a special group in that they're just super-great people. Guys that you want to see succeed. That's what's making this moment so hard. Knowing that come Monday, I'm not going to be around this whole group, and it's tough."
During the sixth inning of the second game, Pankow subbed out each of the two-year players, one by one, in sort of a ceremony to allow them to be cheered by the small group of family and friends watching on a sunny, mild Saturday afternoon. He also subbed in a couple of guys who had been "pitchers-only" (Austin Burnside and Nick Goebert) and let them get at-bats.
As for Saturday's twinbill, it was controlled almost entirely by DCTC, which won only five of its 18 regular season games, but took six of seven games from tthe Norse to finish at 11-14.
In the first game, the Blue Knights scored three runs in the first inning, and two more runs in both the second and fourth innings, against starting pitcher Austin Burnside. The Norse got two runs off of DCTC starter Gunnar Benson in the second inning on an RBI double by Hector Araguayan, and a hit batsman and passed ball, and wild pitch.
But the Norse hit into two inning-ending double plays and managed a total of four hits (two by Aragauyan and one each for Dante Sartorelli and Grant Craft).
DCTC got four hits and three runs batted in from Tyler Steimer.
Parker Maki threw the final three innings for Bay, allowing one run on three hits.
In the second game, DCTC took a 7-0 lead after two innings and cruised from there. Seth Goplen was 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Garrett Miehoffer had two hits and drove in four runs. Dalton Graham took the loss for Bay, throwing three innings and allowing eight runs on ten hits. Xavier Whittle and Riley McElfresh relieved him.
Tommy Gupton earned the win on the mound for DCTC.
Jared Crow, Drake Forrest, and Johnnie Robinette all had hits for the Norse
