BRANDON — The Canova Gang survived and advanced in the first round of the Class B amateur baseball tournament. 

Canova, a perennial Class B powerhouse, rallied for a 10-7 win over upset-minded Elk Point in 11 innings at First National Bank Field at Aspen Park. 

Canova, which trailed 7-4 after five innings, scored six unanswered runs and all with two outs to pull past Elk Point for the win. 

“Survive and advance, and I can’t say this game was anything more than that,” Canova manager/catcher Garrett Gassman said. “That was exactly what this was and when we get another opportunity, hopefully we are able to do it again.”

Justin Miller sparked Canova’s comeback win, and with one swing of the bat. Trailing 7-4 in the eighth inning, Miller smacked a two-out, three-run homer over the right field fence and evened the score at 7-7. 

“We just kind of had to claw our way back in that game,” said Miller, who finished 2-for-5 and drove in four runs. “They were a scrappy team and we just tried to hang on with them.”

The game remained scoreless until the 11th inning, and that’s when Canova again scored three runs with two outs. In the 11th, Kalub Carmichael ripped a two-out, two-run double into right field and Canova took a 9-7 advantage. 

“That was huge,” Miller said. “When you need a guy to come through like that, and he does, that’s huge.”

Kendall Gassman added an insurance run, driving in Carmichael from second base with a double into right field. 

In the bottom of the 11th, Miller retired the side and Canova breathed a huge sigh of relief.  

“It feels good to get that first win,” Miller said. “I know our side of the bracket is pretty tough. So we are just hoping to survive every game that we can.”

Miller tossed seven innings of scoreless relief, striking out five batters, allowing one hit and walked just one batter on 94 pitches.  

“We had an amazing individual effort by Justin Miller,” Gassman said. “He came out there and he pitched probably more innings in this game than he has all season, hit a three-run homer to tie it, and that kind of sparked us. It gave us a little bit of life again.”

The Colt .45s landed the first punch, driving in three runs in the third inning on RBIs by Jaxon Hennies, Ty Trometer and Logan Bobzin. Elk Point staked its 7-4 lead in the fifth inning, chasing Canova starter Jared Miller (4IP, 6ER, 3BB, 7K). 

That’s when Justin Miller came on in relief, and didn’t allow Elk Point to stretch its lead any further. 

“I was just trying to survive every inning,” Justin Miller said. “I am usually a one or two inning guy. So that was just something I had to be willing to do.”

Kendall Gassman and Derek Miller finished with three hits apiece for the Canova, which had 16 hits overall. Kalub Carmichael and Jackson Remmers added two hits apiece. 

For Elk Point, Bobzin finished 3-for-4 and drove in two runs. Hennies added two hits and an RBI. 

Canova will play Volga or Garretson at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10 in the second round of the tournament.