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JACKSON, Mich.---It was the end of the line on Monday for both the Escanaba and Marquette 12u Major Little League All-Star softball teams, as they both were eliminated after pool play in the state tournament at Jackson's Cascade Falls Park.

Escanaba, for a second straight game, took a 3-0 lead but couldn't hang on, losing to Grosse Pointe, 7-3. Then Marquette finished 0-3 in the tournament with a 14-1 loss to Bullock Creek.

“We had good at-bats all day,” Escanaba Manager Brian Parlato said. “That girl (Addison Moses) is a phenomenal pitcher. But our girls weren't intimidated by her today. We hit the ball had, unfortunately right at people at times. They're fundamentally-sound. It's tough to beat teams like that. We gave it everything we had. Credit to Grosse Pointe. They're a very, very good team.”

As for Marquette, after an 0-3 weekend down here?

“It was a tough weekend for us,” Marquette Manager Justin Gustafson said. “We're a young team and we had a lot of ups-and-downs. We put innings together that looked great. We battled some of these teams that are going to the Final Eight. We've got to learn to not put our heads down when we get down by a few runs, and try to work hard to get back battling. These games are six innings. It's coming.”

Escanaba jumped to a 3-0 lead on Sunday before losing a tough 5-4 decision.

Well, on Monday, Escanaba got an early lead against Grosse Pointe ace Addison Moses with three first inning runs.

Abby Derkos ripped a one-out single, Emma Parlato was safe on a fielder's choice, and Kinsley Williams was hit by a pitch. That brought up the hot-hitting Mara Anderson, who had a home run on Saturday and RBI double on Sunday. This time, she smoked a long drive down the right field line that landed a few feet fair. That cleared the bases, and the RBI triple had Escanaba in front, 3-0, before Grosse Pointe came to bat.

But Grosse Pointe, which made the state semifinals at last year's tournament, hit the ball hard, especially in the second inning, when they scored four times to take a 5-3 lead.

It was the very bottom of their order, the 10-11-12 batters in the “roster batting” that did the most damage, with Phoebe Julien smacking an RBI single and #12 hitter Ava Gerardi ripping a two-run double. And it all happened after two were out.

After that first inning, Escanaba managed only two more baserunners as Moses struck out seven batters.

Emma Parlato took the loss in the circle for Escanaba, allowing ten hits and six earned runs. One bright spot for Escanaba was the play of right fielder Gabby Parlato, who made three outstanding plays to rob the Grosse Pointe kids of extra bases.

Escanaba finished the tournament with a 1-2 record and third place pool finish. Only the top two teams in each pool advanced to Tuesday's quarterfinals.

“I couldn't be more proud of how these girls played today,” Parlato said. “They never gave up till the very last out. It was a fun trip. It's sad that we can't go any further, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes. These girls played tough the last two days. They were both good games, and I couldn't be more proud of them.”

For Marquette, the girls struggled to hit the state-caliber pitching all weekend long, and the two Marquette pitchers struggled to throw strikes. But Gustafson says it was still a good experience for a very young group of girls who will be back next year, when Marquette hosts the 12u state tournament for the first time.

“Hopefully, the girls get a little more mature, and we can get some strength and work on some hitting,” Gustafson said. “I think things will start to come together for us. We've already got things planned. We've got a lot of volunteers, a lot of moms. I know there's a lot of businesses in town that are excited about this.”