Both teams play in the Upper Peninsula. Negaunee starts at 10 a.m. in Gladstone against Kalkaska in Division 3, while Ishpeming begins at 2 p.m. EDT in Norway against the host Knights in Division 4.

Championship games will be played later in the afternoon for the winners in regional semifinals.

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Miners in Division 3

Ishpeming's Abby Koski connects on a pitch by Westwood's Taylor Jackovich (not pictured) for a grand slam home run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the second game of their high school softball doubleheader played at National Mine on May 5. Also pictured are Patriots' catcher Emersyn Nelson and umpire Charlie Morrison. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

Negaunee was crowned Division 3 district champion after a pair of dominant victories last Friday against Westwood and Calumet. The Miners’ bats got going after falling into a bit of a slump to close out the regular season, and it appears that NHS has rediscovered its mojo after averaging 12 runs per game in their two district matchups.

Negaunee coach Randy Carlson said after last week’s district title that hitting is contagious, and the Miners would be pleased to see those hitting ways repeat in the regional.

“I think one of the biggest things in softball is that it’s a streaky game,” Carlson said. “When you hit well, it seems like everyone is hitting well, and sometimes when you’re slumping, everybody kind of slumps at once.

“The biggest thing is hopefully the girls after last weekend have some confidence.”

The Miners’ sights are now on their regional semifinal opponent, the Kalkaska Blue Blazers. Negaunee and Kalkaska open the regional with their late morning game, with the winner to advance to the 2 p.m. regional final after their opponent is determined in the noon semi between the regional host Braves and Boyne City.

Negaunee pitcher Krista Carello winds up to deliver to a Marquette batter during their high school softball game played during the Spring Swing event held at the Superior Dome in Marquette on April 9. (Journal photo by Travis Nelson)

Kalkaska won its district title last weekend at Grayling with a 17-1 massacre of Roscommon in the semis before taking out Tawas Area, 4-2, in a tightly contested final. Softball is a lot different from other sports where there isn’t usually film to watch and analyze, so Negaunee doesn’t necessarily have a good scouting report on the Blazers.

If someone is going to figure something out, it’ll be from talking to other coaches. However, that’s not the least bit concerning to Carlson because Negaunee still needs to be able to play its game well in order to advance, no matter the opponent.

“As a coach, you just hope that we play to the best of our ability,” Carlson said. “If we lose, you can handle that, but if you go there and you don’t play well, then you’ll always have that regret.”

This is the fourth straight season — with the spring 2020 season canceled after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic — that the Miners have taken home a district title. They’re now looking to add a third regional title in that span.

This stage isn’t new to the program, to say the least, but this is a new Miners’ team that has its fair share of newcomers who will experience regional play for the first time.

Negaunee might not have great scouting on either Kalkaska or Boyne City, but they’re certainly familiar with the Gladstone after their playoff matchups over the years.

It might sound simple, but Carlson said this region looks like it could come down to who plays the best on Saturday.

“It’s always a big deal, and I don’t think you can take it for granted because, yeah, we’ve been there a few times, but you never know year to year because your teams always change and other teams change,” Carlson said. “Whenever you get the opportunity, you want to try and make the most of it.

“We just hope that we play our best, I think the regional is wide open. I don’t think there’s any dominant team and I don’t think there’s any weak teams. I think we’re all pretty even, and so it’s just whoever plays the best that day.”

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Ishpeming in Division 4

The Hematites have trended well with multiple district titles in recent years, but that next step of taking home a regional championship has eluded them.

Last week was no different in terms of winning the district. IHS picked up a convincing 17-0 win against Gwinn before facing off with host Superior Central and winning a close 5-4 contest.

During the district run, the Hematites set a program record with 19 wins and are looking to add more history this weekend.

“The kids are really excited, and we have a chance to do something that’s never been done at Ishpeming before in softball, and that’s to win a regional,” Ishpeming coach Ben McGuire said. “We just want to keep playing, the kids aren’t ready to be done.”

IHS takes on host Norway at 2 p.m. EDT in the second regional semifinal, with the winner advancing to the 5 p.m. EDT championship against the winner of the 11 a.m. EDT semi between Hancock and Pickford.

Norway couldn’t have had an easier time navigating through its district with a 15-0 win over Rapid River in six innings in the semis before adding on another six-inning win, 10-0 victory over Bark River-Harris, in the finals.

Ishpeming has some familiarity with the Knights this season, having matched up in the Superior Dome for the Spring Swing in April, but came up short in a 5-1 defeat.

The Hematites are simply trying to do things that have worked for them all season long. What has gotten Ishpeming this far seems to be the togetherness of the group, according to McGuire. They have leadership, playmakers and another district trophy under wraps.

“We’re going to do what we’ve done all year,” the coach said. “We’re going to have good pitching and play good defense, and we’re going to want to manufacture runs.

“When you get to this point, a lot of the games are low scoring, and there’s real good pitching. You want to be able to manufacture some runs, and if we can score three or four, we probably can win if we play good defense.

“It’s a special group, and having five seniors makes a big difference. There’s a lot of leadership there, and they enjoy being with each other and playing.

“They want to keep going and keep hanging out together, and that’s the coolest part about our team.”

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

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