Pitching, hitting fuel Cheboygan baseball in sweep over Newberry
CHEBOYGAN – It was a rough start to the season for the Cheboygan baseball team, but with the postseason just a few weeks away, the Chiefs are finally starting to find a groove on the diamond.
The Chiefs continued to build momentum on Monday, as solid pitching and hitting allowed them to sweep Newberry with 12-2 and 4-0 victories in a Straits Area Conference home doubleheader.
“The bats have come alive,” said Cheboygan coach Kevin Baller. “I think it’s kind of true that when the weather warms up, the bats have a tendency to heat up, and the boys have been playing some pretty good baseball. You know as well as I do that you want to be playing your best baseball as your season is winding down going into tournament time.”
Cheboygan (9-11-1, 8-2 SAC) saved its best offensive display for the opener, which saw Jacob Jankoviak finish with three hits and two RBI. Brennan Bradley, who tripled, also added three hits, while Dylan Balazovic had two hits, Sean Postula singled and knocked in four runs, Blake Blaskowski singled and knocked in two runs, and Jacob Seaman singled. Scoring four runs was Caden Gardner. Gavin Rose scored three runs.
Jankoviak had a strong outing on the mound, earning the victory with 12 strikeouts, two walks and no hits allowed in five innings pitched.
Blaskowski led Cheboygan’s offense in the nightcap, finishing with two hits, including a triple, and knocking in a run. Jankoviak tripled and had an RBI and Eli Couture added a hit.
Postula had a stellar pitching performance of his own, striking out 14, scattering just three hits and walking three in six shutout innings to pick up the win.
“Both of them did a great job,” Baller said of his pitchers. “Twelve strikeouts for Jacob and 14 for Sean – that's a great night on any stage. I thought both of them attacked the hitters and did a really nice job.”
In terms of the SAC standings, the Chiefs are currently in sole possession of second place behind Sault Ste. Marie, which has only one conference loss.
No matter what happens the rest of the way, Baller is thrilled by the turnaround of his squad in recent weeks.
“I have a ton of confidence in them – they show up and play their butts off,” Baller said. “Sometimes when things aren’t going their way, they don’t hang their heads, they get right back at it and continue to fight and claw. It’s fun watching them. We started slow, but the weather is starting to warm up, and so are they.”
With Thursday’s scheduled SAC doubleheader with St. Ignace postponed for another date, Cheboygan will next travel to Inland Lakes for a non-conference twinbill on Monday, May 22.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Pitching, hitting fuel Cheboygan baseball in sweep over Newberry
