Black Sox sweep Summercats

Just one night after struggling against the EUP Travelers, the Soo Black Sox got back to their winning ways on Wednesday.

The Black Sox picked up a pair of victories over the Alpena Summercats in a Great Lakes Baseball League doubleheader on Wednesday evening. The Black Sox scored a narrow 5-4 victory in the first game before blanking the Summercats 13-0 in game two. The victories run the Black Sox GLBL record to 10-2 and also puts the team in a solid position to take top spot in the GLBL standings. The Summercats sat in second spot coming into the doubleheader with a record of 6-4.

The Black Sox received a much better effort after dropping a 5-2 decision to EUP on Tuesday night.

"(Tuesday) night was kind of a disappointment on all parts," said Black Sox coach Ryan Johns. The players were disappointed in themselves and we weren't ready to play. We had a good long talk about being aggressive and being ready to play at all times."

Joey Lesage led the offensive attack in the first game with his third homerun in two games. The veteran shortstop also had a single and a walk in the win. Lesage singles in a run in the second game.

"Joey's been playing really well for us all season," said Johns. "He's started to get into a good groove when he's swinging the bat. He's hitting the ball hard and even his outs are hard. That's a great thing for him that he's coming down to the end of the year here and looking for a school to get into."

Lesage noted that he has changed his stance slightly of late, which may have played a roll in his recent fortunes at the plate. The shortstop changed the way he holds the bat slightly, which he said allows for more comfort at the plate.

The Black Sox also got solid pitching throughout both games as Jake Yukich and Tyler Binkley combined for the win in game one while J.J. Bergamin and Jake Lake combined for the victory in game two.

"In game one, Yukich threw the ball well. A couple of times he fell behind on hitters but he was able to keep us in the game," Johns said. "Tyler Binkley came in, in relief, in the fifth inning and shut the door down and did a great job. In the second game J.J. came out throwing strikes right away. He kept them all out on their front foot. Jake Lake came out to close the door and he did a good job. He threw strikes and got ahead of hitters."

Bergamin said that he was pleased with hi off-speed pitched in the second game. He wasn't as happy with his fastball but was still able to pitch solid throughout.

"I felt okat," Bergamin said. "I wish my fastball would have worked more. I just threw most of my off-speed stuff and bent it over for strikes."

The Black Sox now hit the road for their final four games of the Great Lakes Baseball League season. Saturday the Black Sox are in Traverse City for a pair of games while Sunday they cap off the GLBL season with a doubleheader against the Mancelona Orange Crush.