After defeating the host Patriots 11-4 in the semis, the Miners won their fourth consecutive district by plating eight runs in the top of the third inning to push them past Calumet in the finals, 13-5.

Negaunee crushed the ball all afternoon, but found themselves in a surprising 2-0 hole in the first inning against the Copper Kings. Calumet found momentum heading into this one after a dominant third inning of their own in a 10-8 semifinal win over Houghton in the afternoon’s first game.

With a runner on first base, the Copper Kings’ Ashlee Johnson hit a hard ball into right field that skipped off Sam Richards’ glove. Johnson scored on the inside-the-park home run to put Calumet in front early in the championship game.

The Miners came back in the top of the second to even the score. Cooper Atkins led off with a double, while Mari Speaker sent her home with her RBI single. After advancing to third on an overthrow, Speaker scored on the next at-bat with a hot-shot RBI single up the middle by Richards.

Negaunee pitcher Josie Thomson winds up to throw to a Calumet batter during their MHSAA Division 3 softball district tournament championship game played at National Mine on Friday. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)

Then the Miners turned the heat up a notch or two in the third. Emily Peterson had already pitched the entire Houghton game, and the Miners began to capitalize on her piling up the innings.

“They (Negaunee) finally figured out how to wait for her (Calumet pitcher Emily Peterson),” Copper Kings coach Joel Rastello said. “She threw a lot of junk, and hitting the ball hard was what they were able to do. We had a couple little miscues, a couple little things could’ve maybe got us a few more runs.

“But they’re a good team and you have to play a perfect game to beat those guys.”

The first run of the big inning came from an RBI sacrifice fly from Kallen Schultz to give Negaunee its first lead. Atkins followed up her double of an inning earlier with an RBI double in the third, then Speaker outdid her teammate on the next at-bat with a two-run double to make it 6-2.

“Coming into this game, we were worried because our sticks were quiet for the past few games,” Negaunee coach Randy Carlson said. “We hit the ball against Westwood, and I think we knew as long as we kept doing that, we knew we’d be fine. With our pitching, we’re not going to give up a ton of runs, so we were confident that the bats would get us back into the game.”

Negaunee's Lilly Nelson runs to first base after hitting the ball during the MHSAA Division 3 softball district tournament championship game played against Calumet at National Mine on Friday. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)

Even after Negaunee made its second out in the third, the Miners were still able to score four more runs. Richards connected on another RBI single and leadoff hitter Theresa Anderson’s shot got past right fielder Emma Perala to score a sixth run in the third.

Just when the onslaught appeared to be over, Josie Thomson came up next and connected on a deep opposite-field blast to left center for a two-run homer.

“We were in a little bit of a funk, but I always say that hitting is contagious,” Carlson said. “Once we start hitting a few line drives, everybody gets relaxed and starts hitting. The girls got in a groove and were hitting line drives, and then it started being fun.

“Then I don’t think there was any pressure anymore because now you’re having fun instead of pressing.”

The Copper Kings fought their way back with a two-run triple from Laura Giachino, cutting the deficit to 10-4. Two batters later, Perala knocked in Giachino for Calumet’s third run of the inning.

At that point, Carlson made a pitching change from Thomson to Grace Nardi. Nardi had started the Westwood game, with Thomson coming in to relieve. With the roles reversed against Calumet, Nardi mowed down the Copper Kings lineup the rest of the way.

To be confident in moving from Thomson in a big game was a testament to the Miners’ pitching depth.

“We basically have two No. 1’s,” Carlson said about Thomson and Nardi. “We’ve said that all year, and Grace has been getting better as she goes. The nice thing with Josie, even being a senior, is that she was willing to say, even in the first game, that Grace was pitching well and she should start the first game.

“That’s pretty neat, because sometimes as a senior, you want to be there. But she’s a team player and she wanted to do what was best for the team, and Grace stepped up big.”

Neither team scored in the fourth, but Negaunee picked up two more runs in the fifth. A few errors led to Richards making it home from second base, and that was followed up by an RBI double from Nardi. Speaker added one more run for the Miners in the sixth with a sacrifice RBI to score Atkins.

The Miners move on to Saturday’s Division 3 regional tournament hosted by Gladstone. Negaunee will play in the 10 a.m. opener against Kalkaska, while the host Braves will entertain Boyne City at noon. The regional title showdown takes place at 2 p.m.

Travis Nelson can be reached by email at tnelson@miningjournal.net.