Marquette earned a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Calumet-based Keweenaw on Sunday in South Range to earn a much-needed day off in the Little League baseball District 11 Minor Division tournament.

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,” Marquette coach Pete Duex said. “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 sixth 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.

Marquette’s Nora Anderson, left, slides to score during the second inning of a Little League baseball District 11 Minor Division tournament game played against Keweenaw on Sunday in South Range. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette photo by Daver Karnosky)

With Keweenaw’s best hitters due up if the game extended to a seventh inning, Adams said he had to stay patient at that moment.

“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 this 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 led off with a single to left field. Zac Therrian then singled on a grounder into left. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance into scoring position before Graham Therrian singled to load the bases. With all the bases filled, a wild pitch brought Bjorn home.

Marquette didn’t waste time evening things up. Liam Duex reached on a defensive error to start the bottom half of the first and advanced to third by the end of the play. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Wilson.

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

Keweenaw responded with three runs in the top of the third to go back on top.

Ben Bonacorsi drew a walk to start things off. He stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Bjorn walked, Zac Therrian hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Bonacorsi to even things 2-2. Graham Therrian singled to center to bring Zac Therrian home, while Tanner Frantti then singled to center to score Graham Therrian for a Keweenaw 4-2 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Marquette bounced back. Owen Chapman walked to lead off, advancing to second and third on passed balls. After Liam Duex walked, both runners scored on a single to left-center by Eddie Torreano to tie it 4-4.

Keweenaw regained the lead in the fourth, putting two men on when Boden Anderson singled to right and Brooks Desselier singled to left. Reid Halonen singled down the first base line into the outfield, bringing Anderson home to gave his team a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Chapman walked and later scored on a defensive error for a Marquette run that evened the game again, setting up the thrilling finish in the bottom of the sixth.

The six-team bracket also includes Ishpeming and Negaunee from Marquette County, Portage Lake from Houghton and Hancock, and Penokee Range from Gogebic County.

Marquette plays again at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the final of the winner’s bracket against the team that emerges from the other side of the bracket between Negaunee, Portage Lake and Penokee Range. Negaunee defeated PL 11-2 on Saturday, setting up a Negaunee-Penokee game on Sunday afternoon.

If Marquette were to lose Tuesday, it would play in the loser’s bracket final at 6 p.m. Wednesday; otherwise a Marquette win Tuesday puts it directly into the tournament championship round with the first game scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday and an “if necessary” game likely set for Friday evening.

In another District 11 tournament held over the weekend, Negaunee defeated Ishpeming 14-2 in the three-team LL softball Minor Division touranment. Negaunee was to face Marquette, which received an opening-round bye, on Sunday afternoon for a spot in the championship game. A 6 p.m. Monday game is scheduled for the losers of Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, with the Monday winner to face the Sunday victor in a winner-take-all game as the bracket indicates there won’t be an “if necessary” game.