MARQUETTE – The Negaunee 9- and 10-year-old Little League baseball team was waiting for that one big offensive spurt the entire game and finally got it in the fifth inning on Tuesday night in Marquette.

Down 5-2 in the top of the inning, Negaunee rallied for five runs to take the lead and added four more in the sixth to eliminate Marquette No. 1 11-6 in a district tournament loser’s bracket game.

“That was a great comeback,” Negaunee manager Kevin Downey said. “That’s the third game in a row where we fell behind early and we were able to come back, so I couldn’t be prouder of these kids.

“They fall behind and they keep clawing and scratching their way back in it. They didn’t hang their heads and give up and that was nice to see.”

Up 3-2 after the first inning, Marquette added another run in the second inning on an RBI triple by Theo Adams and almost added another on the overthrow to third base, but Adams was thrown out at the plate. Marquette padded its lead further in the third when Nick Pantti scored on a fielder’s choice and it was 5-2 Marquette.

Negaunee’s bats finally caught fire in its half of the fifth. Jace Turri knocked in a run with a base hit, while a fielder’s choice by Gavin Jacobson plated another. The big hit of the inning came off the bat of Easton Palomaki, who crushed a two-run triple to the fence to give Negaunee a 6-5 lead. Negaunee added an insurance run on a wild pitch.

In the top of the sixth, Negaunee got back-to-back singles by Braiden Noskey and Nico Lukkarinen and both scored later in the inning on wild pitches. Negaunee picked up two more runs in the inning to build an 11-5 advantage.

Marquette got one run back in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, but that’s all it could get.

Negaunee plays Penokee Range 6 p.m. today in Marquette in another elimination game. Ishpeming will face Portage Lake at the same time on an adjacent field in the winner’s bracket final and a berth directly into the championship round set to start at 6 p.m. Friday.

A 6 p.m. Thursday game will pit the Negaunee-Penokee Range winner against the Ishpeming-Portage Lake loser and determine the other spot in the finals. That loser’s bracket team will have to beat the winner’s bracket team twice, the second game scheduled for noon Saturday, in order to earn the district championship.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 246. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.