Marquette came into the day having beaten Ishpeming on Saturday, 14-3, so a one-run game that they had to battle back multiple times was a good learning experience for the youngsters.

“It’s such a great experience for the kids to be in a tight game,” said Marquette coach Pete Duex. “We had some ups and downs, and to be able to pull through, and get the win, just feels really good for the kids. I’m really happy for them.”

The winning run was scored by team captain Hayden Rundman, who had tripled to lead off the inning. Keweenaw then intentionally walked Alex Wilson and Nora Anderson to get to Blake Jenkins, who struck out. However, Evan Adams drew the walk that sealed the win.

With Keweenaw’s best hitters due up if the game extended to the seventh inning, Adams had to stay patient in the moment.

Calumet’s Andy Bjorn connects with a pitch during the first inning of a District 11 Little League Minors tournament game against Marquette Sunday. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

“It’s something that you can’t really replicate and practice these scenarios, the pressures, all the pressure at bat when the bases are loaded,” he said. “We had the top of their order coming up, so it was pretty important for us to get that run when we did.”

Keweenaw coach Josh Frantti put all the pressure on the Marquette hitters by loading the bases after Rundman’s triple.

“With them getting a guy on third to start the inning, obviously with no outs, do you put two on, do you not? We thought it gave us the best chance, gives us a force at home,” he said. “The kids knew that we had to go home. Obviously with walking, running, you have that risk, but I thought it gave us the best chance. And, we had our top of the lineup coming up.”

While opening the tournament with a loss was not what Keweenaw was hoping for, Frantti felt that his team did a lot of good things in the game.

“The kids had fun, (and they) did a good job battling today,” he said. “That was probably one of the more fun minor baseball games I’ve been a part of, back and forth, good pitching, good hitting at times, good fielding. Kind of all the way around, it was a fun game.”

With the loss, Keweenaw returns to action Monday evening, but Frantti feels that his group will be ready.

“Ten year olds are pretty resilient,” he said. “They’re pretty beat up right now, but I guarantee when they show up tomorrow, they’ll all be fired up and ready to go.”

Keweenaw jumped out to the early lead as Andy Bjorn singled to left field to lead off. Zac Therrian then singled on a grounder into left field. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance into scoring position before Graham Therrian singled to load the bases. With all three bases filled, a wild pitch allowed Bjorn to score.

Marquette did not waste time evening things up. Liam Duex reached on a defensive error to start the bottom half of the first. He advanced to third before the play came to an end. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Wilson.

In the bottom of the second, Marquette took its first lead of the game when Anderson led off with a walk and then scored on a wild pitch two batters later.

Keweenaw responded with three runs in the top of the third inning. Ben Bonacorsi drew a walk to start things off. He stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Bjorn walked. Zac Therrian hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Bonacorsi on the play to even things at 2-2.

Graham Therrian then singled to center field to bring Zac Therrian home. Tanner Frantti then singled to center field to score Graham Therrian and Keweenaw led 4-2.

In the bottom of the third, Marquette bounced back. Owen Chapman walked to lead off. He advanced on a passed ball. Another one gave him a chance to move to third. Liam Duex walked. Both runners scored on a single to left center by Eddie Torreano.

Keweenaw regained the lead in the fourth when Boden Anderson singled to right field. Brooks Desselier then singled to left field. Reid Halonen singled down the first base line into the outfield, which brought Anderson home and gave his team a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Chapman walked and later scored on a defensive error to even the game again, setting up the thrilling finish in the bottom of the sixth.