CRESSONA — District 24 Little League has its first 11-12 year-old playoff team.
A stellar pitching performance and some key hits propelled Cressona to a 6-2 win over Millersburg in Pool 1 action Friday, clinching a quarterfinal playoff spot in the process.
Luke Baker allowed two runs on four hits, walking two over 4.2 innings to pick up the win for Cressona (3-0).
Brody Robinson’s RBI single in the fourth broke a 1-1 tie, and Cressona never relinquished its lead after that.
“It was a nice win,” Cressona manager Steve Cryts said. “We overcame an early lead by the other team, which is a position we hadn’t been in yet, so it was nice to see that they could focus and get the job done.”
After Millersburg starter Tate Etzweiler pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, his team jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.
Chance Crawford led off the bottom of the first with a single, stole second and reached third on a fielder’s choice. He later came around to score on an infield error.
“I knew we needed a start like that, a spark to get us going,” Millersburg manager Andy Etzweiler said. “I was just hoping we could build off that and score some more runs.”
Baker and Etzweiler found themselves in a pitcher’s duel through the second and third innings, with both benefiting from 4-3 double plays.
By the top of the fourth, Cressona’s bats were itching to get hot, and Keegan Brennan had the answer.
Brennan started Cressona’s three-run fourth with a lead-off double. He then knotted the game at one run apiece on Keenan Cryts’ RBI single.
Robinson’s tie-breaking RBI single to center field followed and Cressona found itself with a 2-1 lead.
“Every time he comes up to bat, I know he’s probably going to put the ball in play,” Cryts said of Robinson. “He’s gonna hit it hard and you’re gonna get 120 percent out of him every time.”
Gavin Bartholomew’s pinch-hit RBI single plated Robinson to give his team a 3-1 lead.
Millersburg (0-3) got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Kalen Lawson scored on Jordan Sass’ RBI single.
Cressona responded when Brennan hit a one-out double and scored on Robinson’s second RBI single of the game to make it 4-2.
“He’s huge and he’s always electric,” Cryts said of Brennan. “He’s usually the spark that gets it going, and he always comes to play with a smile on his face.”
After Baker got the first two Millersburg batters to ground out in the bottom of the fifth, Crawford smacked a double.
Baker was subsequently relieved by Cryts, who struck out the final batter of the inning.
“Luke was awesome,” Steve Cryts said of his starter. “It’s not surprising because that’s the pitcher he’s been all year.”
Cressona’s lineup kept the scoring going with a two-run sixth, courtesy of some clutch pinch-hitting.
After Bartholomew drew a one-out walk and Skyler Devitt singled to left, Keegan Hertz came up with an RBI double.
Taylor Stewart grounded into a fielder’s choice that sent Devitt home to make it a 6-2 ballgame.
Cryts came back out to finish off Millersburg, striking out the final two batters for a 1-2-3 inning and clinching a playoff berth for Cressona. Cressona can clinch the Pool 1 title with a win over unbeaten Orwigsburg on Thursday.
“I kinda like to have the pressure on us, but it is nice to know that we’re gonna move out of the pool,” Steve Cryts said. “These kids have heart, they’re easy to coach and they make me look good.”
Millersburg faces the prospect of finishing the tournament without any wins when it faces Upper Schuylkill for its final Pool 1 game.
“I told them we gotta go out winners,” Etzweiler said. “We can’t go out like this, but we played two tough teams in Orwigsburg and Cressona in a rough draw. We’ll see what we can do.”
Game Summary
Cressona (3-0) 000 312 — 6 9 1
Millersburg (0-3) 100 100 — 2 4 1
Baker, Cryts (5) and Robinson; Etzweiler, Lawson (6) and Sass. W — Baker. L — Etzweiler.
HITS: Cressona — Brennan 2, Cryts, Robinson 2, Baker, Bartholomew, Devitt, Hertz. Millersburg — Crawford 2, Lawson, Sass.
2B — Brennan 2, Hertz, Crawford.