In the 16-team tourney, Negaunee finished 3-0 in pool play, opening with a 4-1 win over Midland Northeast on Friday, then edging West Branch 5-4 in seven innings on Saturday before wrapping up with a 10-3 victory over Ira Township on Sunday.

Negaunee and those three opponents made up the four-team Pool B with two of them advancing.

On Monday afternoon, the Marquette County representative defeated Mattawan 10-5 in the quarterfinals to continue on in this single-elimination knockout part of the tournament.

Mattawan went 2-1 in Pool A. Among Mattawan’s games was a 12-7 victory on Friday over Gladstone, the Upper Peninsula’s other representative in the event.

Negaunee’s Ben Paananen gets ready to make a throw during a Little League Major Division state tournament game played in Saginaw over the past week. (Photo courtesy BaseballMichigan.com)

Gladstone finished 0-3 and didn’t advance after also losing to Roosevelt Park 15-11 and Taylor North 9-6.

In Tuesday’s semis, Negaunee was set to face Grand Rapids Southern, which defeated Grosse Pointe Farms-City 7-2 in another Monday quarterfinal.

GR Southern was 2-1 in its pool, defeating Ypsilanti-Arbor American 1-0 and Saginaw 9-2 before losing to Petoskey 5-0.

In the other quarterfinals, Taylor North blanked Ira 7-0 while Plymouth-Canton nipped Ypsilanti-Arbor American 6-5.

Today’s state championship game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and will pit the two semifinal winners.

This is the division of Little League baseball that eventually sends teams to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the LL World Series that is extensively televised in August.

In LL district tournament action on July 15, Marquette defeated Negaunee 12-2 and Ishpeming outscored Gwinn 30-14 in Minor Division baseball. A day earlier, Ishpeming had downed Baraga County-Lake of the Clouds 13-3 while Marquette felled Gwinn 17-4.

Here are details from all of Negaunee’s games in the Major Division state baseball tourney:

Negaunee 4, Midland NE 1

On Friday, Nathan Harvala threw a one-hit complete game, a task made tough by Little League’s strict pitch-count rules as he was able to accomplish the feat by only having to throw 64 pitches.

Thomas Dix supported him well, knocking in all four of the U.P. team’s runs with a three-run home run and RBI single.

Negaunee 5, W. Branch 4

On Saturday in this extra-inning game — six innings is a standard game length at this level — Negaunee’s Kalen Johnson hit a walkoff double in the bottom of the seventh that sent the winning run home.

Teammate Evan Cardinal threw the final four innings, the only run scoring being the “ghost” runner who started the inning on second base in the top of the seventh.

Negaunee 10, Ira 3

On Sunday, Johnson, Gavin Hermes and Maddox Halamka combined on the mound to allow just two earned runs. Johnson went 1 2/3 innings with one run allowed, Hermes the next three innings with three hits and an earned run, and Halamka the final 1 1/3 with only an unearned run.

Cardinal and Ben Paananen each went 2 for 3, Paananen collecting three RBIs, while Hermes was 2 for 4 and Harvala blasted a two-run homer.

Negaunee 10, Mattawan 5

On Monday in the quarterfinals, Dix started and went two innings, not allowing a run nor a hit as he walked two and struck out three, while Jonny Juntti went the final four innings, giving up five runs — just three earned — on 10 hits as he walked two and fanned four.

Harvala was 3 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Juntti and Bazil Hill each were 2 for 2, Juntti scoring twice, knocking in one and drawing a walk, while Hill had a double, scored twice and collected three RBIs.

In addition, Wyatt Dost was 1 for 1 as he took a hit-by-pitch.

After scoring five runs in the opening inning, the big knock being Hill’s two-run double, Negaunee led 6-0 after three.

But Mattawan scored three runs in the top of the fourth to pull within 6-3, Negaunee answering with two in the bottom of the inning.

Mattawan again crept within 8-5 in the top of the fifth before Negaunee added two back for insurance in the bottom of the frame.

Story contents based on emails received from Little League District 11 assistant administrator Don Gladwell. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.