CRESSONA - Blake Porter made all 85 of his pitches count.
The Rotary right-hander recorded the final out on a strikeout with his final pitch, helping the Pottsville stars upend Cressona 3-2 in a District 24 Little League 11-12-year-old Pool 2 game Wednesday night.
Porter finished with six strikeouts, two of which came in the sixth inning.
"Blake gets stronger as the game goes on," Rotary manager Jimmy Misstishin said. "There was no thought of taking him out of the game."
Misstishin visited the mound in the sixth inning to relax the right-hander after Cressona started showing signs of life.
Porter entered the final frame with a 3-0 cushion and had only given up three hits to that point. Cressona did not go down without a fight, ripping four hits and scoring two runs before Porter recorded the game-ending strikeout.
Cressona manager Jeff Smith believed the loss was the first in District 24 action for this group of all-stars, who have won the 10-year-old and 11-year-old district crowns the past two years.
"Every game is going to be like this," Misstishin said. "There are four really good teams in this pool."
Rotary struck first, scoring two runs in the first inning.
Trevor Sherakas reached on an error, and Mason Barnes was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a Mike Botto flyout.
Damon Yost then hit a chopper down the third-base line, so close to the line that there was conversation between umpires after the play to determine whether or not it was fair.
The third baseman fielded the ball, hesitated and threw wildly to first. Both runners scored on the play to put Rotary up 2-0.
"We put the bat on the ball in key situations," Misstishin said.
Rotary needed those hits in key situations because it only recorded two hits throughout the entire game.
Cressona starter Ben Kramer surrendered one hit in 4.1 innings on the hill.
Rotary's only other run came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Porter's RBI single plated Barnes to put Rotary ahead 3-0.
Cressona had one last chance and nearly completed the comeback, recording four of its seven hits in the sixth inning.
Cressona loaded the bases on singles by Hunter Luckenbill, Nate Nabholz and Riley Carroll. Anthony Snesavage followed with a double off the center-field fence - the ball was a few inches from clearing the fence for a grand slam - to plate Luckenbill and Nabholz and slice the deficit to 3-2.
"They did a great job of attacking the baseball," Misstishin said of Cressona. "They have not been district champions the past two years by any coincidence."
While all the momentum was on Cressona's side, Porter had other plans, ending the game with the strikeout.
Cressona stranded two runners on base that inning. They did the same in the first two innings as well.
"We had some opportunities," Smith said. "We didn't get the hits when we needed to.
"Hopefully, this turns into a positive thing. This will make them focus."
With the victory, Rotary moves to 1-1, tying Cressona in pool play. Schuylkill Haven (1-0) will travel to Orwigsburg (0-1) on Friday to cap the second round of Pool 2 play.
"We have four of the best teams in the district in this pool," Smith said. "This is going to come down to each team's last game."
Game Summary