ESCANABA, MI – The Bay College Norse (16-17, 12-9 MCCAA) split their final homestand of the season. They took three of four from conference foe Muskegon Community College (14-30, 11-14 MCCAA) before dropping a pair to #13 Lansing Community College (34-10, 17-4 MCCAA) on Sophomore Night.
The Norse started the weekend needing to keep pace to have a shot at a postseason berth and started off the series by keeping the pressure on the Jayhawks with their offense. Back-to-back doubles by Michael Rey (SO, Dunnellon, FL) and Erik Johnson (SO, Marquette, MI) plated the first run of the game. Bay followed that up with consecutive singles from Bon LaChance (FR, Escanaba, MI) and Austin Samanske (SO, Eagle River, WI) to lead off the second. A bunt for a hit from Tyler Darmogray (SO, Gladstone, MI) loaded the bases with no one out. The Norse scored one with a sacrifice fly from Rey, but would only get one out of the opportunity.
Muskegon answered back in the top of the third with a two-out RBI single from Brock Thornton (SO, Coldwater, MI).
Bay answered in the bottom half with an RBI from Elian Tortoledo (FR, American Fork, UT) and added another on an error in the fifth. George Cooper (SO, Skenners Head, Australia) followed that up with a two-out RBI single.
The Norse opened up the game in the sixth. Johnson walked with the bases loaded then Cooper followed that with a two-RBI double. Zach Gibson (SO, Nassau, Bahamas) singled to center to drive in another and Tortoledo followed that up with an RBI single. Samanske ended the game via the ten-run rule with a single to right, giving the Norse an 11-1 victory.
Rey, Cooper, Gibson, Samanske, and Darmogray each picked up two hits in the game as Bay pounded out 13 hits.
Cohen Thompson (SO, Chapin, SC) picked up the win going six innings and giving up just one run. He gave up just five hits and walked two.
In game two the Jayhawks got the earlier lead. Sean Shooltz (SO, Grand Rapids, MI) drove in a run with a single in the top of the first.
Bay responded in the bottom half. After a leadoff error Rey tripled to center to tie the game. Cooper followed that with a double and scored on Gibson's line drive single to center. Darmogray drove him in with a single later in the inning, and the Norse scored one more on a wild pitch to put up five in the first inning.
A pair of errors in the third gave Jayhawks an opportunity. They plated a run on one of the errors and got an RBI single from Carter Hughes (SO, Zeeland, MI), cutting the lead to 5-3. They pulled to within one in the fourth with an RBI groundout.
The Norse responded in the bottom of the fourth. Rey belted his second triple of the game, driving in a run and scored on a wild pitch. The Norse added one more in the sixth after Rey's third triple of the game and he would score on a throwing error.
Lorenzo Feliciano (SO, Deerfield Beach, FL) finished the game off and picked up his team leading sixth win of the season. He gave up five hits, four runs, two earned runs, one walk and struck out seven.
Rey led the way offensively in the 8-4 win with the three triples in four at bats. He scored three times and drove in two. Gibson was two for three with a walk and an RBI.
Bay started off the day Sunday by loading the bases with one out in the first. Johnson picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly, but the Norse just got the one and left two on.
Muskegon took the lead in the second with a sacrifice fly from Hughes and an RBI double from Jayden Brown (SO, Marrietta, MI). They added another run in the third on a wild pitch.
Bay finally responded in the fourth as Tortoledo doubled to left center to drive in a run. Darmogray tied the game with a two-out single later in the frame, but the Norse left two on again, leaving the game tied at three.
A two-out error in the fifth gave Muskegon the lead and the Norse put their first to on in the fifth, but would leave the bases loaded, squandering an opportunity. Muskegon added a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh when Thornton drove in two more with a single.
Bay had a rally started in the seventh with three hits, but a base running mistake resulted in the third out, giving the Jayhawks a 7-3 victory.
Bay left 12 on base in the game, and had four errors, giving up two unearned runs.
Darmogray, Gibson, Tortoledo, and Harrison Haigh (FR, Essendon, Australia) each had two hits for Bay, as they picked up 12 as a team.
LaChance went four innings on the mound to start, and gave up two hits, walked two, gave up three runs, and struck out four. Shane Lievsay (FR, Prescott Valley, AZ) picked up the loss on the mound, as he pitched the final three, giving up four hits, two earned runs, two walks, and struck out three.
Muskegon used the momentum to get a lead in the series finale. The put up three runs in the first, fueled by a Hughes two RBI single, putting the Norse in an early hole.
Bay responded in the bottom of the first, first scoring on a wild pitch, and then Gibson picked up an RBI. The Norse would not take the lead until the third when Tortoledo hit a bases loaded single to send two to the plate. They would score their fifth run of the game on a wild pitch in the third, and add to the lead when Logan Peterson (SO, Marquette, MI) singled to right.
The Norse added to built up their lead in the fourth. Tortoledo doubled to drive in a run and scored on Samanske's two-RBI single to left, giving Bay a 9-3 lead.
Two errors extended the fifth for Muskegon, allowing them to plate two runs, but stranded a runner in the sixth and two in the seventh, giving Bay the 9-5 victory.
Tortoledo was two for four with two doubles and three RBI. Rey was two for four with a pair of runs scored.
Cooper was the winning pitcher for Bay, going six innings and giving up six hits, five runs, two earned runs, two walks, and struck out three. Andres Franco (SO, Orenjestad, Aruba) pitched the final inning, giving up one hit, one walk, and striking out two.
The Norse were then scheduled for a Monday afternoon doubleheader against the Lansing Community College Stars. Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall put the Sophomore Day festivities in jeopardy as the home field at Wells Sports Complex was deemed unplayable. Fortunately for the Norse, Escanaba High School made Al Ness Field available, and the two teams were able to get games in under the lights, and the Norse got to celebrate the careers of their sophomore players.
Game one was a tight contest. Peterson drove in a run in the fifth and Samanske picked up an RBI with a single in the sixth, and Bay cut the score to 3-2. Lansing put up some insurance runs in the top of the seventh and Bay was unable to take advantage of a one-out single in the bottom half, and the Stars took game one 6-2.
The nightcap saw Lansing put up seven runs in the first two innings. Aedan Creten (SO, Gladstone, MI) picked up an RBI in the fourth, and the Norse got another run on a wild pitch in the same frame. LaChance hit a booming solo home run in the seventh, but Lansing was in control and won the final game by a score of 10-3.
For the Norse the focus of the night was the sophomore class. Sixteen student-athletes will be finishing up their Bay College careers and moving on after the season wraps up. They include: Tyler Darmogray, Logan Peterson, Kaleb Schroeder, Erik Johnson, Devon Flanery, Cohen Thompson, Zach Gibson, Cameron Street, Michael Rey, Austin Samanske, George Cooper, Aedan Creten, Bill Hosegood, Lorenzo Feliciano, Andres Franco, and Thijs Rijpstra.
In a prepared statement that was read in between games, Head Coach Mike Pankow had this to say about the class of 2025.
This year's sophomore class of 16 will leave the Norse with big holes to fill in more ways than one. It may be one of the more diverse classes in program history in many ways. The gentlemen before you comes from right here in the U.P., downstate Michigan, and throughout the US, representing the states of Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as a strong international flavor, hailing from the countries of Canada, The Bahamas, Australia, Aruba, and the Netherlands.
Continuing on the diversity theme, this class features guys that have been here for as many as three years, and some that were here for just one year, and many that fall in between.
Regardless of the road they have taken to get here, this class has left an undeniable and lasting mark on the program. This class has been a part of witnessed many firsts in the young Norse program, including the first winning season, joining the MCCAA Conference, the first time ever sweeping a series, as well as many other accomplishments. This year's team has a chance for another first, as they play next weekend for a chance to qualify for the Region 12 tournament.
Regardless of how this season turns out, the 2025 Norse Baseball Team has made history, led by these 16 young men. Their, commitment, hard work, dedication, and talent have helped lead the program to new heights, and as we continue to build towards being perennial championship caliber programs, the 2025 Norse Team will always be remembered for their role and it is their success we will be building off of, led by this sophomore class.
The Norse will wrap up conference and regular season play on the road on May 3 and 4. They will face the Mid Michigan Lakers in what is a makeup of a series that was originally scheduled for March 21 and 22. As fate would have it, weather moving the series to the final weekend sets up some drama. The Lakers currently sit at 14-7 in conference play, and in second place in the Northern Conference. Bay currently has a 12-9 record in conference play. The top two teams in each conference division gets a bid into the Region 12 tournament. If the Norse were to win three of the four games this coming weekend, the two teams would have identical 15-10 records in Northern Conference play. Since the Norse won the earlier matchup on March 29 in Ohio by a score of 8-0, Bay would win the tie breaker because they won the season series three games to two.
First pitch on both days is scheduled for 1 pm and games will be at Mount Pleasant High School. The games will be broadcast by RRN on 93.5 FM and AM 600 Newstalk Radio in Escanaba and AM 1450 in Iron Mountain.