Portage Lake battled back valiantly from there, but their comeback, which included two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, was not enough as Marquette advanced with a 10-6 victory.

For Marquette, the win went a long way towards avenging a loss to Negaunee on Tuesday afternoon. Coach Pete Duex felt that it was important for his team to prove to themselves they could bounce back, but he also admitted that it was not easy.

“It’s huge for the kids to be able to come back, bounce back, from that loss and play a really very sound, well-coached Portage Lake team,” he said. “We definitely had our hands full. They play the game right. They’re classy kids coached by a great group of guys. (It) feels good to win.”

With Chase Aho on the mound to start the game for Portage Lake, Marquette wanted to get off to a fast start, if possible. They were able to do that when Eddie Torreano drew a one-out walk. Landon Raikko sacrificed to move him to second. Torreano then stole third. Starting pitcher Hayden Rundman then drew a walk of his own. Raikko, who went out to run for Rundman, stole second.

Portage Lake batter Evie Kuntze watches a hit during a semifinal game of the District 11 Little League Minors tournament against Marquette at Range Town Veterans Memorial Park in South Range. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

With both runners in scoring position, Alex Wilson singled, which drove Torreano home. Raikko then scored on a passed ball, and Marquette took a 2-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning.

While Duex liked how his team opened the game, he knew that Portage Lake was going to be a tough matchup.

“(It’s) always good to get a lead, and get a good jump, especially (since we) got the bats going right away,” he said. “That sets the stage. But, you know, they’ve got some great hitters, and the game was certainly never in hand. It was important that we just kept making plays. We had a couple bad baserunning outs, but, you know, that’s Minors baseball.”

The bottom of the first inning for Portage Lake went like a lot of the rest of the game went. Juopperi opened with a walk, but was caught trying to steal second. Nolan LaTendresse singled to center field. Evie Kuntze followed with a single of her own to center. LaTendresse stole third and then scored on a sacrifice by Devin Lasanen. Kuntze advanced to third, but Eli Mayo struck out before she could get home.

For Portage Lake from there, they made a lot of contact throughout the game, but it seemed like almost every time they did, the ball flew right to a Marquette defender.

“That’s the way it works,” said Portage Lake coach Daron Durocher. “They didn’t make mistakes either, though. They fielded it cleanly, and they made good throws. We capitalized on an error, but they didn’t make many.”

Marquette added another run in the second when Evan Adams doubled to the center field fence and then later scored on a passed ball to put his team up 3-1.

That is when, defensively, mistakes began to cost Portage Lake.

In the third, Marquette’s leadoff hitter, Liam Duex reached on a defensive error. Another error on the same play allowed him to advance to third before the play came to an end. He then scored on a wild pitch.

The error that Durocher mentioned Marquette made came in the bottom of the third and allowed Portage Lake to pull to within two, 4-2. Juopperi got to first base when Nora Anderson dropped a throw at the bag. He then scored two batters later when Kuntze singled to center field.

One very bright spot for Portage Lake shown brightly Wednesday. After starting the tournament off struggling to find her timing at the plate, Kuntze emerged as a threat for her team every time she came up to bat. She finished the game 3-for-3 for the second straight day.

“The first one, we needed to get into the groove, and then she started hitting,” said Daron Durocher. “She’s really impressive, what she can do with the bat, for sure.”

With Portage Lake so close, Marquette needed a break to fall their way, and it did in the fifth. Juopperi suffered an injury during the inning, but he battled through it. However, while he was trying to work it out on the mound, his teammates behind him made some throwing errors and that gave their opponents a chance to break the game open.

Owen Chapman drew a one-out walk. Calvin Franti singled to left field. Liam Duex walked to load the bases. Torreano reached on a fielder’s choice, which scored Chapman, and the bases remained loaded. A passed ball scored Franti, and a defensive error on the same play scored Duex. Another passed ball scored Torreano. Raikko then walked, stole second, and a passed ball gave him time to get to third. Another passed ball brought him home, and suddenly Marquette led 9-2.

Lane Johnson came in to relieve Juopperi, and he forced the last two outs to end the inning.

Portage Lake got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning as Drea Durocher drew a walk, and then stole second base before Levi Heltunen drew a walk of his own. Both runners stole a base on the same play, and Juopperi knocked them both home with a gutsy single to center field.

“He had some tears in his eyes, but he toughed it out,” said Daron Durocher of Juopperi. “He came up with a nice hit.”

Marquette got one run back in the top of the sixth when Brake Jenkins singled to center field and then scored on a triple from Adams.

Needing a spark in the bottom half of the sixth, Portage Lake got another big single from Kuntze to left field. Lasanen reached on a fielder’s choice, but Kuntze was tagged out at second. Mayo then singled. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice from Johnson. Dane Guidotti followed with a single that scored both runners. He did get to second base with Aho at the plate, but a ground out ended the game.

UP NEXT

Portage Lake’s season came to an end with the loss. Marquette advanced to face Negaunee Thursday night at 6 p.m. with a chance to go to the state tournament with a win.