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That all came to a halt in a weekend tournament when the Trojans suffered consecutive losses to Mesick and Marion, 8-3 and 4-3, respectively.

Before then, though, the Trojans seemed charmed.

They started the week by hosting arch-rival Bellaire for a doubleheader. They were down 2-0 in the bottom half of the sixth inning but scored twice to tie the game and force extra innings.

In the top half of the seventh, Bellaire exploded for four runs and built a comfortable cushion with the Trojans down to their final three outs once again.

But Central Lake rallied and scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the victory 7-6. Ryan Aenis plated Ryan Crawley for the winning run.

"It was nice to see we kept playing hard all the way to the end," Trojan skipper Adam Grybauskas said.

Crawley earned the win on the mound, striking out 10 Eagles. He also had two hits and two runs batted in.

Landon Waller had two hits, a walk, and scored twice for the Trojans.

The nightcap wasn't nearly as close, as Central Lake pounded the Eagles for a 15-0 win. Grybauskas, though, wasn't ready to praise his team.

"It wasn't a lot we did," he said. "Their pitching gave up a lot of walks."

Tyler Strange picked up the win in game two. He recorded seven strike outs.

Waller led the offense with two hits, a walk, four stolen bases and four runs scored.

The very next day, April 15, Central Lake hosted Lake City and picked up a pair of wins.

Brian Cannon struck out five in the early game, and he also had two hits, one run, and one RBI to lead the Trojans to a 5-3 victory. Crawley contributed with two hits, a walk, and an RBI.

Aenis picked up the victory in the nightcap, striking out seven in a 5-2 win. Frank King had three hits, one run, and one RBI at the plate. Waller had two hits, two runs, and five stolen bases.

The charm continued into Thursday as the Trojans took two games from Inland Lakes, 13-3 and 7-6.

Crawley was the winning pitcher in game one, racking up seven K's. Waller continued his hot streak at the plate with four hits, two RBI and three runs. King had two hits, one run and three RBI.

In the nightcap, the Trojans led the Bulldogs 7-6 after five. Inland Lakes moved ahead in the top of the sixth inning, but the Trojans never had a chance to bat in the bottom of the sixth because the game was called for darkness. According to league rules, the score reverts to the end of the previous inning, meaning that Central Lake was awarded the victory.

Strange picked up the win on the mound, striking out three. Waller had three hits and one run, and Crawley had two hits, one run, and one RBI. Travis Rogers had three hits and two RBI.

"They (I-Lakes) are a pretty good team," Grybauskas said. "We played well to stay with them."

Against Mesick, Strange had two hits, an RBI and two runs. Aenis pitched in two hits and an RBI.

Against Marion, Aenis pitched seven and a third innings with six strikeouts but still took the loss. Crawley had two hits, one run and one walk.

The Trojans hosted struggling Forest Area on Monday night, and they travel to Mancelona to take on the Ironmen tomorrow (Thursday).

"That will be a tough game," Grybauskas said. He said the keys will be to fix some things that led to losses in the weekend tournament.

"We didn't hit well in the tournament, and we've got to get that going. We still have mistakes we're trying to fix in the field ÉWe're just trying to get better at everything we're doing."