L'ANSE - A Copper Country showdown is set for the District 11 Minor (age 9-10) division championship game tonight in L'Anse after Keweenaw breezed past Negaunee 12-2.
Sammy Erkkila's three-run triple and Dean Loukus's two-run single helped Keweenaw rack up six runs in the second inning.
Negaunee put up two in the third, but Keweenaw responded with two in the third and four in the fourth to trigger the run-differential rule.
Loukus went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and scored twice. Drake Schmitz also had a three-hit night, while Cole Gregory added two hits. Both Schmitz and Gregory doubled.
Taylor Gardner went the distance pitching, allowing two unearned runs on three hits. He struck out three and walked one.
The championship game is tonight at 5:30 in L'Anse. Keweenaw would need to win both tonight and in a second championship game Thursday for the title, while Portage Lake would advance to the state tournament July 19 in Kalamazoo with a victory tonight.