Marquette, MI – August 4th, 2025 – This past weekend kicked off the Great Lakes Regional baseball tournament in Whitestown, Indiana. Negaunee is representing Michigan after winning the Little League State Tournament. Miners manager Joe Dost had this to say, “They’re living in the moment. They’re having fun, they’re having a blast down here. When you come to a place like this with high-level competition, you either win or you learn.”
The Miners would kick off their tournament by facing Hamilton West Side from Ohio, in their 22nd appearance in the tournament. After claiming their state tournament championship with a commanding 17 – 5 win over New Albany. Hamilton has dominated the District 9 tournament, having not lost a single District game since 1985.
The Miners were not able to overcome Hamilton in the opening round of the tournament with Hamilton’s pitcher, Jordan Malley, pitching a complete game and ending with ten strikeouts and only five hits. Malley would max out his pitches (85) on the final pitch of the game. On the other side, the Miners pitched Harvala who lasted only four innings before reaching his max. Dost had this to say following the Miners’ 0-8 loss, “I think the zone was a little tighter than were used to, and that showed. Credit them, though. I think they put eight hits off him. That’s pretty rare.”
The Miners will have to make a run through the loser bracket to have a chance to headline the Little League World Series. “We aren’t scared of the loser’s bracket. The depth of this pitching staff is our strength. That’s what got us here,” Dost noted. The Miners will need the depth of their pitching staff if they want to make the championship on Wednesday. The Miners will play today (Monday) at 1:00 pm in a must-win game to advance to the regional semi-finals in the tournament. You can catch the Miners in action on ESPN+.
