DILLSBURG — With its back against the wall, Upper Dauphin County’s offense shined.
UDC slugged four home runs en route to a 13-3 victory over Kennett Square on Monday in a Pennsylvania State 10- and 11-year-old Little League Tournament game at Krall Field.
Jacob Herman went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs to lead UDC’s offensive attack. The team scored two runs in the first inning, four more in the second, five in the third and two in the fifth.
Pitchers Bryce Herb and Zach Smeltz combined to allow three runs on four hits.
“It seems like we play better when everything is on the line,” UDC manager Bryan Evans said.
“We play with our hearts and have a lot of courage every time.”
UDC advances to tonight’s losers’ bracket final where it will meet Red Land, which fell 9-2 to MYAA-National late Monday in the completion of a game suspended Sunday. Game time is 8 p.m. at Dillsburg’s Ryder Field.
The teams met last Friday in the opening round with Red Land defeating Upper Dauphin 19-2.
UDC got on the board in the first inning when Herman and Mason Evans hit back-to-back solo home runs to left field to give their team a 2-0 lead.
After Herb pitched a 1-2-3 inning, Holden Stiely hit a solo bomb over the left field fence.
“That was Holden’s first-ever home run,” Bryan Evans said. “Everybody on the team has hit one, so now he finally has one, too. It was a special moment for all of us.”
Following Stiely’s home run, Kennett Square starter Jack Regenye was relieved by Ben Kirkland.
Regenye, who took the loss, allowed three runs on three hits and faced just six batters.
With Kirkland now on the mound, Herb and Mikey Myers singled and Bronson Kelly hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Herb and put UDC up 4-0.
Nathan Wise drew a walk to put runners on the corners and then stole second. Kennett Square catcher Nick Patterson’s throw to second was not in time, which allowed Myers to steal home for another run.
Finally, Smeltz hit an RBI single to center field to put UDC on top 6-0.
UDC’s five-run third featured a two-run single by Herman, an RBI single by Mason Evans and a two-run double from Smeltz that gave Upper Dauphin an 11-0 lead.
Kennett Square finally got on the board with a two-run double by Zack Gaza that cut its deficit to 11-2 after four innings.
In the top of the fifth, UDC’s Jesse Engle hit a two-run homer to left that gave his team a 13-2 lead.
In the bottom half, Smeltz walked leadoff batter Regenye and two passed balls sent him to third. An infield error allowed Louis Sharp to reach base and Regenye to score and make it 13-3.
Patterson flied out to left for the first out and Patrick Methlie grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to give UDC the win.
After the game, Bryan Evans said he was confident in his team’s ability to win again.
“As long as we get hits like we did in this game, we’ll be good,” Evans said.
Game Summary