NORTHUMBERLAND - Upper Dauphin County's gaudy statistics and earlier victory didn't phase South Columbia before Thursday's Section 3 championship round contest.
The District 13 champions quieted the UDC attack, winning 7-4 to force a winner-take-all Section 3 Little League 9-10-year-old Tournament title game at 5:30 p.m. today at Acorn Park.
In its first eight all-star games, Upper Dauphin County had outscored its opponents 100-11 and averaged over 12 runs per game.
"This is a wake-up call for these kids," UDC manager Bryan Smith said of his players. "They're going to come out to play ball in the title game."
Today's contest will be the third meeting between the squads. UDC (8-1) routed South Columbia 15-3 in the Section 3 winners' bracket game Tuesday.
"They can hit the ball," Evans said of South Columbia. "I told the kids not to take this team lightly."
South Columbia (7-4) surged ahead with a five-run third inning to take the lead and keep it for good.
In that five-run frame, South Columbia tallied only two hits, but drew five walks. South Columbia sent 11 batters to the dish that inning to go ahead 5-2.
Eli Morrison rapped a two-run single for South Columbia and Dylan Devlin added an RBI single. UDC also walked two South Columbia
players while the bases were loaded to force two runners to cross the plate.
UDC cut South Columbia's lead to one run in the top of the fourth on RBI singles by Mason Evans and Jesse Engle.
South Columbia stretched its lead to 7-4 with a run in both the fourth and fifth frames. In the fourth, Patrick Yost plated Trystan Crawford with an RBI single. In the fifth, Devlin blasted a solo homer on the third pitch of the inning to cap the scoring.
"These kids know if they lose, they go home," South Columbia manager Don Harris said. "They were ready to play."
UDC was never able to develop much offense due to the relief efforts of Dylan Harris.
Harris replaced starter Crawford five batters into the game and threw six innings of relief, only allowing four hits on 67 pitches.
"We hit the ball, but we hit it right at them," Bryan Evans said. "We couldn't time their pitcher right."
The journey for the Section 3 championship banner will end for one team today.
One team from each of the eight sections in Pennsylvania will move on to play in the State Tournament.
"We're both in the same boat," Don Harris said. "If we win, we become one of the top eight teams in the state."
Many UDC teams have earned District 24 championships and advanced to sectionals. However, no UDC team ever brought home a championship banner from sectionals.
"For us to win a sectional and go to states would really inspire the younger kids and that would build our program even bigger," Bryan Evans said. "We're trying to be the first. It would be huge. So many UDC teams have gotten close." Game Summary