ESCANABA — When the Escanaba Minor Little League All-Stars (age 8-10) needed to make something happen, Livvy Nolde delivered in a 6-3 softball triumph over Gladstone in the second round of District tournament play here Tuesday night.

The victory enabled Esky to advance to the championship round which begins tonight at 5. Another game, if necessary, will follow at 7 p.m.

Gladstone returned to Lemerand Park to face Kingsford in Wednesday’s elimination game.

Nolde was facing a 2-2 count with two runners on base and two out in the fifth inning when she poked a bases-loaded single through the middle for a 5-3 lead.

“She (Maia Hughes) threw a fastball and I was able to time it,” Nolde said. “I was just in shock. I thought their second-baseman was going to scoop the ball up and throw it to first. Once we got the lead, we felt a little more relaxed. This boosts our confidence a bit.”

Amaya Hubert, who got hit on the knuckles of her throwing hand by a pitch moments before Nolde’s single, scored Esky’s final run on a wild pitch.

“What a battle,” Esky manager Danicia Humbert said. “It always is between us and Gladstone. This was such a great game. The kids gave it their all. Amaya is mentally tough and what a great at bat for Livvy. That’s the ultimate pressure at age 10. That really gave us momentum. Livvy came through and got an awesome hit.”

Amaya Humbert then helped Esky preserve the victory by retiring the opposing hitters in order in the sixth.

Esky took the early lead on a throwing error, enabling Amaya Humbert to score from second and Haddee Mokszycke to round the bases for its second run.

Gladstone tied the score in the second on Hadly Hammill’s two-run single to left.

Esky regained the lead at 3-2 on Amaya’s triple to left in the third before Gladstone again tied the score on a single to right by Olivia Damitz in the fourth.

“We definitely had momentum,” Gladstone manager Brenda Damitz said. “We looked at it like a 0-0 game. We like to start from the bottom and work our way up. Giving up that hit in the fifth hurt a little bit, although that was a nice hit.”

Humbert threw a two-hitter, recorded 12 strikeouts, walked three and hit two batters.

Hughes, who absorbed the loss, fanned eight, walked three, hit a batter and scattered four hits.

“Maia always throws well,” manager Damitz said. “They’re very solid pitchers and that’s why it’s always fun when they (Hughes and Humbert) battle each other. That one was fun. We like to go neck-and-neck with each other.”

Amaya Humbert finished with two hits, including a leadoff single in the first.

Kingsford took advantage of 17 walks and strolled past Norway 20-1 in five innings.

The winners scored a dozen times in the fifth when they cashed in on nine free passes and three hit batters.

Sierra Tatangelo had two of Kingsford’s three hits off eight Norway pitchers.

Bailey Marsichek got Norway’s lone hit on a one-out single to left in the first.