The IBEW Marlins claimed the Gastineau Channel Little League Minor Division championship on Saturday evening at Miller Field.
The Marlins won 21-20 over the Red Sox, who after trailing by one run after the second and third innings, took a 17-16 lead going into the fifth inning. But that’s when Nate Fick hit a grand slam to give the Marlins the lead back for good.
The Marlins ended the regular season by winning eight of their last nine games and were undefeated in the postseason until Saturday. The Red Sox forced the if-game by handing the Marlins their first loss of the tournament, a 12-3 final in which the Red Sox scored in all but one inning.
They blew the game open in the fourth inning by scoring five runs. Hunter Carte went 3-for-3 and scored four runs and Breven Jackson went 3-for-3 and scored three runs for the victors. Fick went 2-for-2 and scored one for the Marlins, who were shutout over the final four innings.
Red Sox first baseman Johnny Lamantia beats Marlins player Jordan De Munck to first base in the Gastineau Channel Little League Minor Division Championship game on Saturday at Miller Field. (Nolin Ainsworth | Juneau Empire)
