Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from the victorious Gladstone team.

ESCANABA---It was a typical Escanaba vs Gladstone match-up.

It's always a war, and over the years, it seems that softball has had the most intense (and unpredictable) battles. On Tuesday night, the littlest of the Eskymos and Braves battled in the Minor Little League (age 8-10) All-Star district finals at Lemmerand Park.

After Escanaba had won an earlier match-up, 6-1, Gladstone flipped the script on Tuesday, winning, 5-3. This forces a winner-take-all district championship game to be played Wednesday night, with a state tournament bid in Lower Michigan on the line.

Amaya Humbert was her usual dominant presence in the pitcher's circle for Escanaba, striking out twelve batters in her six innings of work. She allowed only four base hits. But some occasional wildness ended up costing her, as Gladstone took advantage of three walks, several wild pitches, and aggressive base running to earn the win.

Escanaba scored first when Gen Fields and Harper Adiska both singled, and Maci Engebretson hit a ground ball that scored Fields from third base. But Gladstone got the run back in the bottom of that inning, Maia Hughes and Emmersynn Whitney both led off with base hits. With one out, Kali Koski's grounder tied the game at 1-1.

Escanaba had a big chance in the third inning when Livvy Nolde got a base hit, and Zianah Boursaw and Humbert both brew walks. With the bases loaded and two out, Hughes got a called third strike on Fields, ending a scoring threat and keeping it tied.

In the fourth inning, Escanaba took the lead with a couple of big hits. First, it was Adiska with a double, and then Engebretson smoked an opposite field triple to give Escanaba the lead. She would score on a Barlow Bosk grounder, making it 3-1.

Gladstone scored without a base hit in the bottom of that inning, as Paisley Branstrom led off with a walk, stole second base, and as she stole third base, the throw got away, allowing Branstrom to score. That brought Gladstone to within 3-2.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Gladstone kept being patient at the plate, with Koski and Hazel Driebolt both getting lead-off walks. Hanley Hammill's pop fly landed just out of the reach of the shortstop, allowing Koski to score the tying run.

Then Driebolt scored on a wild pitch, giving Gladstone a 4-3 lead.

The best at-bat of the game came from Stella Ruether. She fouled off numerous pitches, and on the eleventh pitch of the at-bat, Ruether punched a solid base hit to bring home a much-needed insurance run, headed to the final inning.

And Escanaba didn't go without a fight. With one out, Fields got her second base hit of the game. Gladstone got a big second out when Adiska bounced one to second baseman Isabel Kidd, and she tagged the runner who was heading to second base.

Engebretson was safe on an error on the next play, and that gave Escanaba a chance with the tying runs on base. But Hughes got Haylee Trombley to ground to the shortstop, which led to a force play at third base, and Gladstone celebrated a big victory.

And so, the two Delta County rivals will play one final time, with a trip to the state tournament in Sparta on the line. The game Wednesday night will start at 6:30 at Lemmerand Park. It will be broadcast live on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.