Calumet pitcher Ella Newman watches her pitch arrive at home plate during the first game of a doubleheader against Jeffers Tuesday in South Range. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

SOUTH RANGE — For two teams that still have a lot of growing to do, Tuesday evening helped both softball squads take strides. The Calumet Copper Kings junior varsity team won both games, 14-6, and 24-14, but neither win came easy against the host Jeffers Jets, who are continuing to take strides as they push towards their district tournament.

Copper Kings coach Rosalie Anderson-Kangas was happy to see her girls find a way to come up with a pair of wins, considering that they have not had a lot of time in the field to this point in the season.

“We haven’t played many games just as a JV,” she said. “So, it’s been fun to get most of our JV girls some time. We were able to come up with some wins, but we were able to get some girls who have been working, pitching and get them a couple innings, so that was nice to see.”

The Copper Kings got to Jets starting pitcher Meg Ruohonen early in the first inning of the opening game. Ava Poyhonen, Molly Erkkila, and Jaysa Wilks all scored early, with Wilks scoring on a single by Cara Halonen. Halonen then scored on a defensive error which allowed Hannah Hyrkas to reach first base safely.

Hyrkas was then able to score when Audrey Erkkila singled, giving Calumet an early 5-0 lead to work with.

In the top of the third, Calumet had pushed their advantage to 9-0 before the Jets could get on the board themselves.

Kylee Sohlden got things started for Jeffers with a single to center field. Naomi Frahm then brought her home with a double to center. Meg Ruohonen then doubled to center to put Frahm and herself into scoring position. Frahm scored on a passed ball, and Holombo followed on the next one. Janet Mattila then got on base and scored on a passed ball as well, cutting Calumet’s lead to 9-4 before the inning ended.

Jets coach Laura Ruohonen is pleased with the progress her team has made, considering that they field a very inexperienced roster.

“Lots of things have improved,” she said. “We’re making less fielding errors. Our bats are coming around a lot more, getting more hits, being smarter on the base, base running, and, situationally, where we’re throwing the ball. So I’m very impressed by how far they came all year.”

The Copper Kings added a run in the top of the fourth to lead 10-4, but the Jets fought back and got two runs back in the bottom half. Calumet then scored four times in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

In the nightcap, Calumet started Halonen on the mound, but she struggled in her first appearance of the season. The Jets’ Gracie Moyle reached on a ground ball. Sohlden drew a walk and Frahm singled to left field to load the bases. Meg Ruohonen doubled to center to bring in Moyle and Sohlden. Frahm then scored on a passed ball. Ruohonen also scored a few pitches later and Jeffers led 4-0.

Trailing 6-0 and with the bases loaded again for the Jets, Anderson-Kangas brought in Audrey Erkkila to pitch. The Jets added four more runs, including two on a double by Frahm and they led 10-0 after the top of the first inning.

The inning was a big confidence boost for the Jets.

“We definitely had the momentum going in the first,” said Laura Ruohonen. “We had those 10 runs in that first inning, and that really helped the girls. Then, once the bats start going, then they all start going, so that was exciting.”

The Copper Kings fought back with four runs in the bottom of the first to cut into the Jets’ lead. Then, in the bottom of the second, they found their groove.

Poyhonen started things off with a walk. She scored on a single by Halonen. With the bases loaded, Hykras knocked one to second that brought Wilks home. Kaydence Christoferson scored on a passed ball to cut the lead to three, 10-7. Halonen then scored on a passed ball. Hyrkas scored on a sacrifice by Audrey Erkkila.

Lena Myhren then singled to left field. After Laina Kariniemi scored, the Copper Kings tied the game at 10-10. Myhren scored to give Calumet the lead and Poyhonen scored again on a passed ball to give the Copper Kings a 12-10 advantage.

Anderson-Kangas felt that her girls were not ready for the Jets’ offense to start the nightcap, but was proud of her team for battling back.

“We ended up winning the first game by a decent amount, and I think they kind of came out a little bit lax,” she said. “It was important that they had to realize that you never take anything too lightly. They were just able to battle back and started to actually put the ball with some meaningful hits rather than just popping them up. So that was good to see.”

The Copper Kings had another big inning in the bottom of the fourth to jump ahead 22-12. The Jets got two back in the top of the fifth when Moyle knocked in a pair of runs, but the Jets could not get any closer.

Calumet added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.