IRON MOUNTAIN---The Iron Mountain Junior Little League All-Stars (age 13-14) won the District Ten championship on Friday, beating Gladstone, 13-4, to advance to the state tournament, which will be held next weekend in Felch.
The Iron Mountain (and Iron County) boys scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to break the game open. Iron Mountain had the fastest path to the championship, beating Kingsford on Thursday, and then watching Kingsford and Gladstone battle each other in the loser's bracket. On Friday, Gladstone led 4-2 in the third inning as Cole Punzel struggled to throw strikes, hittring three straight batters and walking another.
But Daniel Doers came in to throw three shutout innings, allowing only one hit and striking out five batters. Doers got plenty of offensive help as well, with Iron Mountain scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning before exploding for seven more in that marathon bottom of the fifth inning. Sam Rossi had two hits and drove in three runs, and Doers helped his own cause with two hits, two RBI, and he scored three times.
Jasdon Quigley had a hit and drove in two runs for Gladstone. Elliott Bosk took the loss on the mound, using 89 pitches to throw four innings (six runs on five hits and six walks).
The eight-tean state tournament will be held at historic Felch Field. First games are set for Friday, July 17, with the championship game on Monday, July 20.
