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FELCH---The Negaunee Junior Little League (age 13-14) All-Star baseball team has won the state championship.
The boys pulled out a 4-3 win over Emmett on Monday in the semifinals at the historic Felch Field, and then beat Southern Grand Rapids, 6-2, in the championship game.
Nate Harvala got the pitching win in relief in the semifinals, and also got the pitching win in the championship game. Nine of the twelve boys on this Negaunee team also won the Major Boys state championship last summer as 12-year-olds.
“We were 3-0 in pool play, so that gave us confidence that we needed to do this,” Harvala said. “Everything was going right, and we did it! The infield. The outfield. The hitting. I'm just super-excited. Knowing that we did this two years in a row, with most of the same kids, it's just crazy to think of!”
Negaunee catcher Johnny Juntti says that last year's title helped to set the stage to this one.
“We just have so much experience playing these high-pressure games,” Juntti said. “We don't get scared, and we just play our hardest.”
“These kids have seen every single situation they could be in on a baseball field,” Negaunee Manager Joe Hermes said. “Having that experience, and playing in those big games, makes you ready and more prepared and calm. And so, they prevailed.”
Kallen Johnson scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to break the 3-3 tie and to beat Emmett in the semifinal game.
“I was very, very energetic,” Johnson said. “I was super happy. Coach was just screaming, trying to tell me to go! Just run as fast as I can!”
And he did, leading the Negaunee boys into the state championship game.
The second semifinal saw Southern Grand Rapids pick up a wild win over Muskegon Roosevelt Park, 14-11, in an eight-inning nailbiter. With severe weather on the horizon, the Negaunee and Southern teams got on the field ahead of the 4:00 scheduled start.
Negaunee scored two runs in the first inning when Gavin Hermes started the game with a single, Harvala followed with a double, and then Johnson smoked a single to center field to bring in the first run. A grounder by Juntti brought in the second run.
In the second inning, Ben Paananen put down a nice bunt with two runners on base. They moved up, and when the ball was thrown away,
Eli Daavatilla scored to make it 3-0. It stayed that way until the fifth inning, when Harvala ran out of allotted pitches (65, plus the 30 he threw in the seminal game).
That brought in Evan Cardinal, who pitched in a pressure situation last summer to help Negaunee get a state championship. He retired all three men he faced in the fifth inning this time as well, and then, there was a lightning delay after Negaunee scored a run in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI hit by Dix.
“I was just looking to put the ball in play, really,” Dix said. “I just see ball, and then I hit ball. It's really nice winning a state championship two years in a row. It feels really good.”
After the 30-minute delay, Cardinal came back onto the mound, but was removed after the first two Southern batters reached base on an error and a pop-fly single. Johnson came in to pitch, and then, a huge play on defense that protected the 4-0 Miners lead.
Southern's Lucas Melinn smacked a fly ball left field. Negaunee left fielder Max Cody caught the ball, and then came up throwing as Lucas VanderPloeg tagged up at third and tried to score. Cody threw to Harvala (now playing at third), who threw a strike to Juntti at the plate. Juntti's tag was in time, and it was a huge double play for the Miners.
“I was very excited, because that helped me get all of the outs,” Johnson said. “We were way more calm than we were last year. Being through it already, you just feel the nerves a lot less.”
That play was one of many that backed up this team's theme: “nobody better”.
“I enjoyed pitching, for the most part, in this game,” Harvala said. “I just felt like I was doing pretty well, with the infield making some amazing plays. Every single kid on the team is an amazing hitter, and amazing fielder. So, when they're in that scenario, it just gives me the confidence that I can do it.”
Negaunee added two runs in the top of the seventh inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Daavitilla and Louie Dix, who is one of three 14-year-olds who have joined the nine Major Baseball state champions who are now 13 and are making up the bulk of this team.
“It was pretty good,” Lewis Dix said. “It was nice to hit the ball over the outfielder's head out there, it was pretty far. I probably hit it about 300 (feet), maybe a little bit more. It's 340 where I hit ir!”
The Southern team had dominated its opponents in pool play, and won a wild, high-scoring game over Roosevelt Park in Monday's semifinal. The District Nine champions scored 70 runs altogether in four state tournament games before facing Negaunee.
“Just throw strikes, make good pitches, and just hit the zone,” Johnson said of his mindset facing this strong-hitting team.”
Negaunee will travel to downstate Midland for the Central Regional Tournament, with the arrival date Tuesday, July 28. They will play against other state champions from around the Midwest. If they win that tournament, the Junior Baseball World Series is also here in Michigan: in the Detroit suburb of Taylor.
