ESCANABA — The Marquette Blues American Legion baseball team won two of three games at the rain-shortened Escanaba Tournament over the weekend, defeating the host Cubs and Detroit-area team Milford while dropping a decision to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Travelers.

“After struggling through a few games with not a lot of hits, it was nice to see our bats come alive over the weekend,” Blues manager Derek Swajanen said. “As a young team, we committed a few costly errors in the loss to EUP, but we played solid defensively the rest of the weekend.”

On Friday afternoon, EUP banged out 11 hits against Blues starter Clay Smith, who also had three strikeouts. But Smith, who took the loss, was also hurt by four Marquette errors as EUP won 11-3.

The Blues’ Holden Shaneberger hit a solo home run and John Thomson singled twice with an RBI. Blake Henriksen doubled to drive in a run.

On Friday night, Marquette beat Escanaba 9-5 as Tyler Larson pitched a complete-game victory, giving up five hits and striking out eight.

Thomson, Shaneberger, Henriksen, Austin Wachnicki, Alec Beauchamp, Alec Gadzinski, Hunter Doucette and Jay Oberg all had hits, with Gadzinski collecting two RBIs and Oberg and Hogan Nemetz, who drew a bases-loaded walk, each had one RBI.

In a rain-shortened six-inning game Saturday, the Blues shut out Milford 5-0 behind a one-hit, one-walk and five-strikeout effort by pitcher Jacob Rogers. Doucette and Shaneberger each doubled with Wachnicki and Gadzinski adding a single. Shaneberger knocked in two runs.

The Blues come home for a pair of midweek dates at Haley Memorial Field. First Marquette hosts Gladstone in a single game at 6 p.m. Tuesday, then entertain Bark River-Harris for a 4 p.m. Wednesday doubleheader.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.