NORTHUMBERLAND - South Columbia's quick start proved to be much for Upper Dauphin County to overcome.
South Columbia exploded for eight runs in the second inning and then held off a furious UDC comeback for a 12-11 victory in the Section 3 Little League 9-10-year-old Tournament championship Friday at Acorn Park.
The victory advances South Columbia (8-4), the District 13 champion, to the eight-team state tournament in West Middlesex.
For Upper Dauphin, it was a heartbreaking end to an all-star season that saw the District 24 champions win eight straight games and outscore their opponents 115-40 in 10 games.
Unfortunately, South Columbia accounted for 22 of those runs that included 7-4 and 12-11 victories in the championship round on back-to-back nights.
"They are a good hitting team," UDC manager Bryan Evans said of South Columbia. "We knew they could hit the ball and we struggled defensively."
South Columbia collected five hits and drew two walks in its explosive eight-run inning, capitalizing on three UDC errors.
Those errors occurred at critical times, allowing South Columbia to continue the devastation.
"They put the ball in play," Evans said of South Columbia. "They executed and they were solid."
Patrick Yost highlighted the inning with an RBI double. Dylan Harris, Ben Montgomery and Trystan Crawford knocked in runs.
"We knew that it was win or go home," South Columbia manager Don Harris said. "It got a little closer than we wanted it to in the end."
The eight-run second inning gave South Columbia a 9-1 lead. Upper Dauphin County didn't go down without a fight, slicing the lead to 12-6 entering the bottom of the sixth and then scoring five runs in its final at-bat before falling short.
"These kids showed heart," Evans said. "They were down but never out."
Nathan Wise highlighted the five-run sixth inning with a two-out, two-run triple to the right-center-field fence. Wise finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored.
"Nathan is phenomenal," Evans said. "He's been solid for us all year."
Holden Stiely added the only other hit of the inning, an RBI single. Mikey Myers added an RBI by putting the ball in play.
Upper Dauphin had runners on first and second base down by a run but was unable to manufacture any more runs.
"We just couldn't get the big hit we needed in the end," Evans said.
Upper Dauphin scratched and clawed for most of the game after falling behind 9-0.
Wise and Myers knocked in runs in the bottom of the second to help UDC score four runs. Upper Dauphin added one run in the both the third and fifth innings to stay within range of South Columbia.
In the third, Bryce Herb walked and scored on a double steal with runners on first and third.
In the fifth, Herb walked again and Wise eventually hit an RBI single. After five complete innings, South Columbia led 10-6.
South Columbia added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth to stretch the lead to 12--6.
Eli Morrison led of with a solo homer and Yost singled to later score on an error.
It turned out that South Columbia needed those two insurance runs to hold UDC at bay in its final chance at the dish.
"They're champions," Harris said of UDC. "We think we played against state level competition already (against UDC)."
While South Columbia moves on, this marks the end of the road for District 24 champion UDC.
"I wish them well," Evans said. "I hope they represent Section 3 well and make a good run."
Game Summary