#TBT: Escanaba Streaks into History
May 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Thanks in part by “lanky righthander” Harlan Breitzman and his 14 pitching wins over the 1954 and 1955 seasons, Escanaba entered the spring of 1956 having won 43 straight games.
Statewide news at the time, that streak ended in the season opener with a 6-4 loss to rival Marquette. But it remains one of the longest in MHSAA baseball history – and certainly the longest in terms of seasons, stretching over six during the early decades of high school baseball, when many teams played far fewer games than at present and with the start of an MHSAA Tournament for the sport still two decades away.
Escanaba won 43 straight beginning with its third game of 1950 through the end of the 1955 season. The team played eight games at most during those seasons – but strung together five straight perfect runs. According to a Detroit Times story previewing the start of Escanaba’s 1956 campaign, five of the team’s eight 1955 wins were shutouts. The Times also reported that Breitzman, a graduate the previous spring, had signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
At the time, the Eskymos’ streak would’ve ranked behind only that of Muskegon’s 1941-45 teams that won 55 straight. Homer owns Michigan’s longest (and the nation’s third longest) baseball winning streak: 75 games from opening day 2004 until a 7-6 loss to Saginaw Nouvel in the 2005 Division 3 Final.
(Research courtesy of MHSAA historian Ron Pesch.)
PHOTO: An Ironwood Daily Globe headline announces the end of the Escanaba baseball team's winning streak at the start of the 1956 season.
Performance of the Week: Fruitport's Ryan Bosch
May 8, 2025
Ryan Bosch ♦ Fruitport
Senior ♦ Baseball
Bosch is finishing up an all-state career at Fruitport this spring, and he led the Trojans to a historic accomplishment this past weekend. He struck out 15 batters Saturday as Fruitport defeated North Muskegon 9-1 to win its first Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament championship since 1991. Bosch also hit a solo home run to complete his team’s scoring.
Fruitport is 16-1 this spring and 12-1 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver, and finished last week ranked No. 19 in Division 2 while North Muskegon was ranked No. 4 in Division 3. The 6-foot-8 left-handed pitcher made the all-state second team as a first baseman in 2023 and contributed this past winter to a Fruitport basketball team that finished 17-6. He has signed to play baseball next at Wake Forest.
@mhsaasports ⚾️POW: Ryan Bosch #fruitport #baseball #15strikeouts #GMAAtournament #homerun #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports ⚾️POW: Ryan Bosch #aaronjudge #tacobell #laughingemoji #energydrink #baseball #family #sleep #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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Previous 2024-25 honorees
May 1: Jackson Lam, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix track & field - Report
April 25: Isabelle Horvath, Bangor - Report
April 18: Presley Jones, Sterling Heights Stevenson soccer - Report
April 11: Olivia Jasniewicz, Troy soccer - Report
March 27: Katie Spicer, Fowler basketball - Report
March 21: Moses & Markus Blackwell; Warren Lincoln basketball - Report
March 13: Keyshawn Summerville, Lansing Sexton basketball - Report
March 6: Maggie Buurma, Fowlerville wrestling - Report
Feb. 28: Maren Studt, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep skiing - Report
Feb. 21: Olive Krueger, Marquette swimming - Report
Feb. 14: Hunter Lemmon, Fraser swimming - Report
Feb. 7: Aubrey Hillard, Rochester competitive cheer - Report
Jan. 31: Wyatt Spalo, Reed City wrestling - Report
Jan. 24: Olivia Flynn, Harbor Springs basketball - Report
Jan. 17: Levi Rozema, Holland Christian swimming - Report
Jan. 10: McRecco McFadden, Burton Bentley basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Nash Leonard, Bay City Western hockey - Report
Dec. 11: Blake Cosby, Dundee wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Keaton Hendricks, Zeeland West football - Report
Nov. 29: Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids swimming - Report
Nov. 22: Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber volleyball - Report
Nov. 15: Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25: Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18: Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4: Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26: Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19: TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
(Photos by Angela Rusnak.)