Kingsford Majors Outlast Norway; Esky Stays Alive

KINGSFORD---The District Ten Major Boys (age 11-12) district tournament All-Star tournament continued on Monday, with Kingsford slipping past Norway, 5-4, in a back-and-forth winners bracket game.

And in an elimination game, Escanaba stayed alive by topping Tri-County, 11-3.

In the first game of the day, both teams scored on passed balls and errors in the early part of the contest. Kingsford climbed into a 3-2 lead in teh top of the third inning as Gavin Trevillion singled home the go-ahead run. But in the bottom of the fourth, Norway regained the lead on a two-run single up the middle by Landon Amundson.

The Maize and Blue tied the game in the top of the fifth inning, but stranded the bases loaded. Then in the top of the sixth, after a leadoff walk, Trent McLain launchhed a long fly ball to right field that nearly left the East Kingsford Field for a two-run homer. It hit the fence, and McLain settled for a double, putting two men on base.

Jack Kriegl followed with a grounder to the left side of the infield to bring home the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the sixth, McLain walked the leadoff man, but gtot a pop up and a pair of strikeouts, ending the tight game with a Kingsford victory.

In the late game, Escanaba jumped to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings before Tri-County rallied for three runs in the fourth inning to cut the lead in half. But Escanaba sent ten batters to the plate in the sixth inning and scored five times to pull away.

Ashton Rymkos had an RBI double during the first inning rally, then Cannon Arnt added a run-scoring triple in the second inning.

Owen Fields came off the bench to get two sharply-hit singles, and he turned a double play on defense. Catcher Graham Johnson had two hits, scored two runs, and threw out a base-stealer in the contest.

Lennox Peacock and Nolan Bink also had two hits for Escanaba. Bink had a two-run double to the outfield fence during the sixth inning rally.

Rymkos, Cade Krueger, and Brian Boutillier all pitched for Escanaba, with Rymkos going 2 1/3 innings to earn the win.

Blake Tanner threw well for Tri-County, especially after the rocky first two innings, before throwing his 84th pitch and being removed in the sixth inning. Drew Begovac got the final out for Tri-County.

Ed Forslund got the only base hit of the game for Tri-County. They scored their three runs on a walk, two hit-battsmen, and a pair of ground balls.

UP NEXT: Escanaba faces Norway on Tuesday in another elimination game. It will start at 5:30 ET/4:30 CT and will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600) and www.rrnsports.com. The winners bracket game between Iron Mountain North and Kingsford is schedule for 6:30 CT. Both games will be played in Kingsford.

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