News photo by Josh Jambor Zach Orban delivers a pitch against Petoskey Northmen on Tuesday. Orban struck out five batters in four innings of action.

ALPENA – The Alpena Wildcats boys varsity baseball team came up short in both ends of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Petoskey, falling 6-3 in the first game and 11-5 in the second, but showed plenty of resilience and solid individual efforts along the way.

In game one, Eli Tessmer battled on the mound for Alpena, throwing a complete seven-inning game. He struck out three and walked three while allowing three earned runs on eight hits. The Wildcats’ defense also turned two double plays to help limit damage.

Offensively, Alpena collected four hits, with Brady Chapman, Clark Weir, Tessmer, and Troy MacArthur each recording one. The Wildcats got on the board but couldn’t overcome Petoskey’s early scoring bursts.

In game two, Alpena showed strong fight. After falling behind early, the Wildcats tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on an Tessmer single and a wild pitch.

Zach Orban started on the mound and pitched four innings, striking out five while walking just one batter. At the plate, five different Wildcats recorded hits: Tessmer, Owen Kaiser, Gavin Ross, Blayze Most, and Bryson Collegnon. Aidan Aube led the offense with two runs batted in, and defensively the team turned one double play.

Despite the comeback effort, Petoskey pulled away with a big fifth inning.

Alpena Head Coach Eric MacKenzie spoke about the doubleheader, and the impact the weather had on fielding in game two.

“We had great pitching in both games and didn’t make the plays behind them on defense,” MacKenzie said. “Weather did impact some balls that were hit in the air, making them tougher to place, but we still have to play through that.”

The Wildcats are now 13-13 overall and will look to get back in the win column on Thursday when they travel to face Tawas Area.

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com.