Niagara pitcher Tristan DeJardin throws against Kingsford on Monday, May 20, 2019, in Quinnesec, Mich. (Adam Niemi/Iron Mountain Daily News)

QUINNESEC — Kingsford built an early lead in the nightcap and held on to win the nightcap of a doubleheader split against Niagara on Monday.

The Flivvers (6-12) scored three runs each in the first and second innings to take a 6-1 lead.

Niagara (8-12) scored cut the lead to 6-3 in the third and added three runs in the sixth before Kingsford shut the door for the win.

“Overall I thought we played very well today,” Kingsford head coach Chad Lindeman said. “It was nice to see the young kids get out here and put in a full game in each of the doubleheaders. The young kids hitting was a good thing to see.”

Ben Stanish had two RBIs for the Flivvers. Carter Kreski, Jesse Julian, Noah Wilcox, Hunter Skoglund and Sawyer Pugh each had an RBI.

Niagara’s Landen Kaldor had two RBIs. Josh Weber and Logan Bath had one RBI apiece.

“Our bats came alive. We faced their one and two pitchers and we hit them,” Niagara head coach Dean Neveau said. “They throw just as hard if not harder than any kid in the M&O. We can hit them guys, we should definitely be able to hit any kid we face from here on out. “

Stanish and Nathan Bosley pitched for Kingsford. They surrendered a combined six runs on seven hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Tristan DeJardin, Weber, Kaldor and Cole Sweig pitched for Niagara. They gave up a combined nine runs (four earned) on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

Neveau used the doubleheader to give some squat time behind the plate to freshman catcher Cole Sweig.

Neveau also brought Kaldor back to the mound in the nightcap for a situational matchup. He had thrown 40 pitches in the first game across three innings.

“In the second game we had Landen come in with the bases loaded,” Neveau said of the fourth inning. “It’s a situation we don’t get to work on at all. I wanted to see if he’s not pitching — let’s say Anthony’s pitching — we need (Kaldor) to come in and shut down the side. Can he do it? He gave up one run, so that’s not bad.”

Kaldor threw 12 pitches to three batters in the nightcap, striking out one. A run scored on an RBI groundout by Stanish.

In the first game, Niagara scored a run each in the first, fourth and sixth to put away the Flivvers.

Kingsford scored both of its runs in the second without getting a hit, thanks to a pair of Badgers errors.

Anthony Hansen singled home Niagara’s first run. DeJardin doubled home Ethan Sweig in the fourth and DeJardin scored on an error in the sixth.

Wilcox and Andrew Paupore pitched for Kingsford. They gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Kaldor and Hansen pitched for Niagara. They surrendered two runs (both unearned) on a hit with four walks and four strikeouts.

Andrew Kleikamp had Kingsford’s lone hit, a fifth-inning double.

Norway hosts Elcho in a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal at on Thursday.

In a Division 2 District 33 matchup, Kingsford faces Petoskey in Escanaba at 3:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 28. The winner faces Sault Ste. Marie on June 1.

Game 1

Niagara 100 101 — 3 6 2

Kingsford 020 000 — 2 1 2

Game 2

Niagara 102 003 — 6 7 4

Kingsford 332 10x — 9 7 1