NEGAUNEE---The Negaunee Junior Little League All-Stars (age 13-14) are headed to another state tournament, and this time, they won't have to take a long trip below the Mackinac Bridge to do it. The group of boys, many of whom have played on other Little League teams that have had to compete downstate, beat Petoskey in a winner-take-all third sectional game on Saturday, 5-4, to advance to the state tournament in Felch.
Nine of the boys on this team won the state championship last year in the Majors bracket in Saginaw, and then advanced to the Central Regional tournament in Indianapolis (Ben Pannanen, Evan Cardinal, Gavin Hermes, Johnny Juntti, Kalen Johnson, Max Cody, Nathan Harvala, Tanner Thompson, Thomas Dix).
On Saturday, Negaunee won the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Petoskey infielder could not handle Max Cody's ground ball. The two teams had split a pair of sectional games on Friday, with Petoskey winning the opener, 12-10, and Negaunee bouncing back in a big way to win the second game, 14-2.
Juntti threw the first five innings for Negaunee, giving up three hits, and three unearned runs. Johnson tossed the final two innings to earn the win, allowing one hit and one run.
Negaunee will be one of two Upper Peninsula teams at the state tournament next weekend at historic Felch Field, with Iron Mountain North also qualifying by winning the District Ten championship. Games start next Friday in the eight-team tournament, with the championship game set for Monday afternoon.
Negaunee won the state championship at this age group in 2023, advancing to the Central Regional in Midland, Michigan.
