ALPENA — The Alpena Wildcat varsity baseball team surged past the Cheboygan Chiefs in a dominant 10-1 win on Saturday in Alpena, sparked by a six-run fourth inning. Alpena capitalized on defensive miscues and timely hitting to put the game out of reach. The big inning included an RBI single by Jase Kollen, two runs scored on errors, and a run-producing single from Michael Kreis.

Owen Kaiser got Alpena on the board in the second inning with a two-run single, and a sacrifice fly by Nathan Southard extended the lead to 3-1 in the third.

Eli Tessmer earned the win on the mound, allowing just two hits and one run over five innings while striking out nine. Landen Gagnon closed out the game with a scoreless inning of relief, striking out one.

Kollen led the team with two RBIs, going 1-for-3, while eight different Wildcats recorded a hit, including Kaiser, Kollen, Brady Chapman, Lucas Weir, Eddie Prue, Cam McEwen, Kreis, and Southard. Alpena was flawless defensively, with no errors and 10 chances handled cleanly by Weir. The team also swiped four bases.

News Photo by Leslianne Johns Alpena's Camden McEwen looks to steal third base on Saturday.

Cheboygan’s leadoff hitter, #26, went 2-for-3 and stole two bases, accounting for much of the Chiefs’ offense. Despite turning one double play, Cheboygan struggled to contain Alpena’s bats and aggressive base running.

Freeland 9, Alpena 1

In the second game of the day, Alpena was stifled by Freeland in a 9-1 loss. Freeland jumped out to an early lead in the first inning and continued to pile on, scoring six runs in the first three frames.

Alpena starting pitcher Connor Cameron gave up nine hits and six runs over three and one-third innings. Freeland’s McLaren was dominant on the mound, tossing five shutout innings while allowing just three hits.

Landen Gagnon drove in Alpena’s lone run, and Brady Chapman went 2-for-3 to lead the Wildcats offensively. Despite their efforts, Alpena couldn’t overcome Freeland’s 15-hit onslaught, with Clawson leading the charge with three RBIs and a triple. Freeland ran the bases aggressively with four stolen bags and played error-free defense.

With the split, Alpena demonstrated offensive strength against Cheboygan but struggled to match Freeland’s consistent hitting and clean fielding.

The Alpena Wildcats varsity baseball team is now 15-10-1 for the season.