Designotype Printers’ Seth Pennala attempts to slide under the tag of Keweenaw Chevrolet pitcher Jack Anderson during a Portage Lake Little League Majors quarterfinal game Tuesday at the South Range VFW Fields. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

SOUTH RANGE — With two big innings in Portage Lake Little League Majors quarterfinal play Tuesday evening, Designotype Printers found a way to advance to the semifinals with a 17-11 victory over Keweenaw Chevrolet at the South Range VFW Fields.

“It feels great,” said Designotype coach Brian Lasanen. “It’s just literally baseball, win or lose, who cares, right? As long as the kids have fun, that’s all we’re here for.”

His team racked up five runs in the bottom of the first inning and added six more in the bottom of the third.

“(I have) been telling the kids all year, just swing the bat, put the ball in play, and run the bases smart and hard, and we’ll score runs,” Lasanen said, “just fundamentals, heads-up baseball and being aware, situational.”

Keweenaw Chevy had a big inning of their own in the top of the second, where they racked up six runs, but from there, they only managed five more runs in the game.

“Even when we clawed back, we just seemed to give them their runs back and more,” said Keweenaw Chevy coach Daron Durocher. “We (were) just sloppy defensively. They’re kids, a little lack of effort here and there, but again, it’s hard. We’ve been doing it all year. It’s not surprising that that happened. We were just hoping for better. For a couple of the older kids, Reid (Kangas) and Lewis (Kilpela), they pitched well, and we just didn’t make enough plays behind them to keep the game close. That’s a bummer, but on the other hand, they didn’t give up.”

It all started quickly for Designotype. After starting pitcher Jack Anderson was able to get out of the top of the first inning, he was part of the rally his team had in the bottom half of the inning.

Tyler L’Esperance led off with a single to left field. He moved from first to third on a pair of steals. Garrett Wuornos walked. A passed ball on the final ball allowed L’Esperance to score. Tyler Pietila then singled. Both baserunners stole a base, putting them into scoring position. Seth Pennala singled to left field, scoring Wuornos. A passed ball allowed Pietila to score. Anderson then walked.

Then came the type of play that Durocher talked about after the game.

Devin Lasanen singled to left field, scoring Anderson. However, defensive errors allowed Lasanen to run all the way around and score before the play came to an end, and, at that point, Designotype led 5-0.

Keweenaw Chevy stormed back in the top of the second.

Caleb Jeanotte walked. Two passed balls allowed him to get to third. Brooks Bussiere then walked, putting runners on the corners. He then stole second before Jax Karvakko walked to load the bases. Quentin Schlief walked, which brought Jeanotte home. Mason Johnson drew a walk, which scored Bussiere. Karvakko then scored when Kangas walked. Kilpela then tripled to the center field fence to tie the game at 5-5. Dirks Randell reached first base and Kilpela scored on the play to give his team a 6-5 lead.

Designotype responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.

With one out, L’Esperance singled. He stole second and third before Wuornos walked. Pietila singled, scoring L’Esperance. Wuornos scored on a passed ball before Pietila scored on a defensive error to put his team up 8-6.

With the score 8-7 in the bottom of the third, Designotype put the game out of reach with a six-run inning.

It started with a Devin Lasanen single to right field. Luke Green walked. Lander Pennala then tripled to the center field fence, scoring Lasanen and Green. Brant Koski then doubled to center field, but he was tagged trying for third. Pennala scored on the play.

L’Esperance then singled to left field. He stole second and third and then scored on a single by Wuornos. Pietila reached on a dropped third strike. A passed ball scored Wuornos. Then, Pietila scored on a Seth Pennala sacrifice, giving Designotype a seven-run lead at 14-7.

Designotype pushed their lead to 17-10 going into the top of the sixth.

With one out, Kangas started a rally for Keweenaw Chevy with a single to center. Kilpela then singled to center as well, putting runners on the corners. Randell singled to left field, knocking Kangas home. Drea Durocher then walked, which loaded the bases and put his team in a position to pull much closer. However, Jeanotte and Bussiere both hit into fielder’s choices where Kilpela and Randell were both tagged heading for home plate, ending the game.

Keweenaw Chevrolet pitcher Jack Anderson prepares to deliver a pitch during a Portage Lake Little League Majors quarterfinal game against Designotype Printers Tuesday at the South Range VFW Fields. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)