ESCANABA — A pair of softball pitchers came an inning short of throwing no-hitters while posting victories in the District 10 Major (age 10-12) Little League All-Star tournament here Saturday night.

Amaya Humbert kept Gladstone hit less through five frames before Escanaba hung on for a 4-2 triumph and Kingsford’s Maci Mae Brooks did likewise in a 9-0 conquest of Norway at Lemerand Park’s Abrahamson Field.

Humbert struck out seven and walked one through five before allowing singles to center field to Gladstone’s first two hitters, Vivienne Lewandowski and Maci Hughes, with nobody out in the sixth.

She recovered in time to strike out Olivia Damitz and Lillian Elliott for the final two outs while finishing with nine strikeouts and two walks in the complete-game victory.

“Amaya did real well and our defense made some big plays,” Esky head coach Danicia Humbert said. “Amaya’s fastball and change-up were really working well for her. She had four strikeouts in a row (in the third and fourth frames) which was a big energy boost.”

The victory enabled Esky to host Iron Mountain in the winner’s bracket and Gladstone faced Kingsford in an elimination game Sunday.

“She (Amaya Hubert) pitched amazing, but we definitely showed we can come back,” Gladstone coach Brenda Damitz said. “Our girls were catching on and our bats warmed up. Our pitcher (Hughes) also did amazing and was just giving it her all. I’m hoping the girls can get what they want.”

An elimination contest takes place today at 5 with the championship round beginning Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Brooks allowed singles to left by Norway’s Olivia Delsanto and right-center to Weslee Mach with one out in the sixth. She fanned nine and walked one while going the distance for her victory.

“The girls picked her up when she needed it,” Kingsford coach Ashley Buckman said. “They’ve worked hard through the season and off-season. We had some nice defensive plays including fly balls in left field. Norway has come a long way. Our area has really grown in softball in general. It has been fun for us to come over here and compete.”

Saturday’s opener was scoreless through three innings before Esky did all its scoring in the fourth.

Livea Nolde led off the fourth with an infield single, then scored the first run on a single to left by Genevieve Fields.

Fields gave Esky a 2-0 lead on a single to center by Ruby Jacobsen. Mari Engebretson and Jacobsen then provided the winners with a four-run cushion on Barlow Bosk’s single to left-center.

“Getting it started in the fourth really helped,” Humbert said. “It was good work by our girls all the way around.”

Esky finished with eight hits, including a pair by Fields.

Hughes, who threw five innings, took the loss. She struck out one, walked three and gave up six hits.

Kingsford collected 11 hits in the nightcap, led by Adalyn Bacon, who finished 3-for-3, and Makayla Richard’s two hits.

Lauren Triest, who worked three frames, absorbed the loss. She whiffed one, walked two and hit two batters and allowed four runs on three hits.

“A lot of our girls hadn’t played together before,” Norway coach Emily Payette said. “We’re still trying to get it figured out. Although, they’ve made great gains. I think we just need to gain confidence as batters and as a team. We’re definitely showing improvement and that’s all you can ask of them. She (Brooks) is tough. She has a lot of movement on her pitches.”

In Friday’s games, Hughes threw five innings of one-hit ball in Gladstone’s 5-1 triumph over Norway. The winners gained the upper hand by scoring three times on three straight singles in the opening frame.

Iron Mountain did all its scoring with two out in the sixth while rallying past Kingsford 4-3.