More than the championship of the Legends of the Summer tournament at Evanston was at stake Sunday for the members of the under 17 Northern Knights squad.

They were also seeking bragging rights over their older counterparts on the under 18 team.

In a matchup of two teams that are part of the same franchise, Adam Ruess made sure that the younger Knights prevailed. The hard-throwing right-hander, a senior-to-be at Warren High School, hurled a five-hitter and struck out seven in a 2-1 victory for the under 17 squad.

The under 17 Knights overcame a 1-0 deficit by pushing across two unearned runs in the sixth inning against losing pitcher Steve Nelson, who only yielded four hits on the day.

The winning rally started with a single by Evan Regez for the under 17 squad. Two outs later, designated hitter Tyler Murphy walked, and Regez came around to score when the under 18 shortstop, Blake Busca, misplayed Matt Vogt's ground ball.

Two pitches later, Vogt attempted to steal and a throwing error allowed Murphy to score what turned out to be the winning run.

For the under 18 team, Luis Carrasco doubled into the right field corner and came around on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Busca in the second inning. But after that score, Ruess faced only two batters above the minimum over the last five innings.

The Knights' under 17 team eliminated Indians Baseball of Wisconsin 5-3 in the semifinals. The under 18 team advanced with a 2-1 triumph over the Lakeside Legends behind winning pitcher Wyatt Spector, who tossed a six-hitter and retired 10 of the last 11 hitters he faced. Kevin Egan drove in a run with a single for the Knights in the third, and Steve Galanapoulos scored the go-ahead run in the fifth on a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a balk and a dropped third strike.