ESCANABA — It was an up-and-down day for the Kingsford varsity baseball team as it took its talents to Escanaba on Wednesday for a doubleheader with the Eskymos.

In the opening game, the Flivvers picked up a 9-1 victory. However, in the second game, Kingsford lost 12-2 to the Eskymos.

The Flivvers are 4-6 on the season.

“Esky is a difficult place to win at,” Kingsford head coach Joe Kriegl said, “so coming out ahead is big for us.”

Game One

It was all Kingsford from the opening pitch.

The Flivvers started with back-to-back singles from Garrett Brown and Jack Kriegl. Nolan Hendrickson singled to score their first run. A Joey Weber walk brought in another run. Then with two outs, Kingsford rattled off five straight runs. When the dust settled it held a 7-0 advantage.

“We were fortunate enough to jump out on Escanaba in the first inning by hitting the ball well and capitalizing on some errors,” coach Kriegl added. “Overall, I was extremely pleased with our performance. We hit the ball, ran the bases really well, pitched well and played great defense.

“An obvious great combination to beat a really good baseball team in Escanaba.”

Escanaba was held silent at the plate until the bottom of the fourth. It tallied one run before the side was retired.

A walk from Jacob Deuter and Gavin Grondin, started the Flivvers out on the right foot in the top of the fifth. Andres Finley recorded an RBI and they added two runs to the lead, 9-1.

Kingsford didn’t allow another run and that’s where the game would end.

Finley picked up the win for the Flivvers. He pitched a complete game (six innings) and struck out four.

“Andres (Pablo) Finley had really good command on the bump which was nice to see as we were struggling a bit with our pitching in the cold weather of the past week,” coach Kriegl added.

Kingsford drew 11 walks as a team. Gavin Trevillian, Weber and Deuter each drew two walks apiece. Jack Kriegl, Finley and Grondin all recorded two hits. Finley led the way with two RBIs.

Game Two

Looking to sweep the Eskymos, Kingsford went into the second game of the day with high hopes. However, Escanaba shook off its poor start and grabbed a 12-2 victory.

“The second game of the double header is extremely important for us as a program to continue to work on the development of our younger players, specifically our nine freshmen,” coach Kriegl said. “We are learning every game but struggling to put it all together. … But I continue to tell the kids it’s a process and the success of our program depends on them all getting meaningful time.

“It’s a great group of young men and they will be fun to watch develop and take over down the road.”

The Eskymos jumped ahead immediately as they tallied three runs in the first and four in the second inning to take a 7-0 lead.

Kingsford’s bats came to life in the top of the third. Bradlee Bottesi started things off with a single. Jack Spreen reached on an error and Jonah Doenier loaded the bases with a single.

A ground ball from Trulock scored two runs for the Flivvers as the Escanaba advantage was cut to 7-2.

The Eskymos added two runs to their total in the next half inning, pulling ahead 9-2. They tallied three more in the fourth to secure the four-inning win.

Doenier picked up the loss for Kingsford. He pitched 1.2 innings while fanning three batters and walking four.

Trulock led the Flivvers with two RBIs. Bottesi, Spreen and Doenier each recorded a hit.

Jake Lockhart notched Kingsford’s lone stolen base.

The Flivvers are back home on Monday for a doubleheader with Gladstone at 3:30 p.m.