Black Sox drop Great Lakes opener

After a lengthy delay the Soo Cambrian Mazda Midget Black Sox and Escanaba Cubs opened up the Great Lakes Baseball League season on Monday night. In what was supposed to be a double header, the two teams had to battle a delay that saw just one game played on the night.

Heavy rainfall caused the delay as the field had to be cleared of excess water, specifically around the base paths and pitcher's mound, before any play could begin.

The Black Sox began assisting with the cleanup around 5 p.m. and with the assistance of many of the Cubs players and staff managed to get things cleaned up enough to get one game underway just before 9 p.m.

The locals got into a jam early on in the game as the first two Escanaba hitters reached base and both scored as the Cubs opened up an early 3-0 lead.

The lead was cut by the Sox in the bottom half of the inning as the homeside loaded the bases and received a key double by Kyle Lafreniere which brought home two runs to cut the lead to one. The Sox added two more runs to take a 4-3 lead.

Things became unravelled for the Sox in the top of the fifth inning though as Sox starter J.J. Bergamin, who settled into a groove after giving up the three early runs, threw a wild pitch with a runner on first.

The runner advanced to second, then moved to third when the Sox catcher lost track of the ball. The throw to third was off target which allowed the Cubs to tie the game up at four and they never looked back.

The seventh inning was where the Cubs managed to really break things open. Already holding an 8-4 lead, the Cubs started a rally and, with the help of a number of Soo errors and walks, the Cubs capped off the inning with nine runs to open up a 17-4 lead.

The Black Sox had a rally of their own going in the bottom half of the inning but could not sustain it as they dropped a 17-8 decision to the Cubs.

With the decision to play just the one game instead of the scheduled two, the Cubs and Black Sox will play the game, which has been re-scheduled, in late June.

With game one behind them, the Cubs have little time to rest as they will face the Eastern Upper Peninsula Travellers on Tuesday in a double-header in Sault, Michigan, beginning at 4 p.m.

Next action for the Black Sox will be on Wednesday evening when they are in Sault, Michigan to take on the Travellers in a 6 p.m. Start.

The Travellers will provide the opposition when the Black Sox see their next home action on June 22 at 7 p.m.