That’s when Marquette and Negaunee battled it out over two games in the championship round at LaCombe Field in Negaunee that determined which team would advance to the state tournament that will be held in downstate Mattawan from July 20-25, according to District 11 administrator Steven Ritenour.

After the intense doubleheader, Marquette emerged as the champion after Negaunee won the opener 4-3 to force the “if necessary” game in this double-elimination tournament.

In the second game, Marquette bounced back for a 19-9 victory.

Marquette came into this matchup undefeated, while Negaunee had a loss after falling into the consolation side of the bracket.

Negaunee’s Carlene Anderson runs to first base during one of Thursday’s two games in the finals of the Little League District 11 Minors Division softball tournament held at LaCombe Field in Negaunee. (Journal photos by Alexandria Bournonville)

So Negaunee had to open the night with a win to force the second game — and that’s exactly what happened.

In Game 1, neither team scored in the first two innings.

In the top of the third, Marquette’s Anna Tesanovich and Addison Perrault scored the day’s first two runs.

Going to the bottom of inning No. 3, Negaunee seemed to find a renewed spirit. Player after player attempted to get around the bases and score while the Redettes had their heads turned, but only one got all the way to home plate — Carlene

The home team added two more runs over the next pair of innings to take a 3-2 advantage.

Negaunee’s Aubrey Gemme takes a swing during one of Thursday’s two games in the finals of the Little League District 11 Minors Division softball tournament held at LaCombe Field in Negaunee. (Journal photos by Alexandria Bournonville)

As both teams scored once in the final inning, Negaunee kept its advantage for the one-run win.

“Negaunee came out and played,” Marquette head coach Justin Gustafson. “They had more energy than our girls did to start.”

The Marquette contingent got off to a crackling start as they scored three runs in the first inning courtesy of Perrault, Paige Buckmaster and Hazel Nyberg.

Then the visitors added another run from Kaelyn Anderson in the second inning as Negaunee countered with a run by Molly Trudgeon that kept the visitors ahead 4-1.

While Negaunee scored twice in the third, Marquette answered with three of their own in their half of the inning to make it 7-3.

Carlene Anderson runs for home during one of Thursday’s two games in the finals of the Little League District 11 Minors Division softball tournament held at LaCombe Field in Negaunee. (Journal photos by Alexandria Bournonville)

During the fourth and what proved to be final inning, Marquette put up an impressive 12 runs to make it a big advantage.

“Our bats came alive in the second game. Everything went as planned,” Gustafson said.

While Negaunee got some back in its half, it still ended up as a Marquette 10-run victory and a berth in the state tournament.

“These girls worked so hard all year and for them to have this opportunity is great,” Gustafson said. “We had a few mistakes today which kind of hurt us the first game, but they all played well and we’ll tighten it all up in states.”

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 506. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.