Jamie Glenn/Daily Mining Gazette Members of Xpress Self Storage pose after winning the Portage Lake Little League Minors title Saturday over Rajala’s Kitchens in South Range.

SOUTH RANGE — Emotions ran high between Rajala’s Kitchens and Xpress Self Storage(12-3) in Portage Lake Little League Minors Championship with Xpress emerging victorious with a 10-0 win at Veterans Field on Saturday in South Range.

“The kids put the bats on the balls and everybody contributed,” said Xpress manager John Donnelly. “I think we wore out (there) great pitcher Brycen Nettell. He was helpful (by) holding us at bay, but we kept picking away at them.”

Donnelly could not help but express how far he felt both teams grew over the course of the season.

“If you look at how good some of the plays are (with) kids taking the ball of the chest, their shortstop made some great plays, but then so did ours,” he said. “The level of play today is so much better then opening day.

“I enjoy being around the kids. I think us parents get a little competitive and we (see) a couple disagreements, but at the end of the day, I’m happy to see how many kids improve at baseball. (I want them) to keep their attitude up and good things will happen.”

The two teams had met just nineteen days earlier where No. 2 seed Rajala’s (10-5-2 overall) came away with a shutout of their own, but errors allowed No. 1 seed Xpress (12-3 overall) to jump ahead early and hold for the win.

Xpress got going in the bottom of the first with Benny Keranen singling and later scoring. Two batters later, Davis Moyle was hit by a pitch and he later scored.

Up 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Calvin Rinkinen led off with a walk. He later scored while Roy Wakeham was at the plate.

Xpress kept the offensive pressure on in the third as Keranen singled, stole second and third before scoring on a single from Moyle.

Up 4-0, Xpress more than doubled that lead in the fourth, as they scored five times, forcing an automatic end to the inning.

Sylvia Aho got things started with a walk. Branson Anderson walked. Sophia Blake walked to load the bases. Wakeham walked, leading to a score. Alex Freeman sacrificed to bring two more runs home.

Wakeham later scored, as did Brody Donnelly, which put Xpress up 9-0.

Keranen pitched well for Xpress as well. He allowed just one hit and three baserunners as he pitched into the fifth inning. Brody Donnelly needed just seven pitches to close out the inning, putting the top-ranked team just one run away from sealing the win.

Keranen doubled as the second batter of the fifth for Xpress. Gunner Gullstrand followed with a double of his own, scoring Keranen and ending the contest.

“We were No. 2 vs. No. 1,” said Rajala’s manager Bruce Heltunen. “They were rated No. 1 because they are a really good team. We made a couple of mistakes and they capitalized on our mistakes.

“It was a hard fought ballgame, but we ran up against the No. 1 pitcher in the league, and he kept our bats pretty quiet. We left it all on the field and came up short.”

Minor league play is a time for athletes to make friends and learn the fundamentals of baseball. Heltunen enjoyed seeing his players grow and have fun as a team throughout the season.

“All the players from No. 1 to No. 11 have all improved,” said Heltunen. “We had five pitchers at the end of the year. We had two when we started. Everybody was swinging the bat, which is very important at this level and everybody was getting hits and getting walks. There was a lot of improvement over the course of the year.

“I (just) hope they went out there and had fun and played hard and left it on the field.”