FRACKVILLE — Frackville Green had an ace up its sleeve.
That ace helped turn the “Green Machine” into champions.
Reggie Crawford took the hill facing a two-run deficit in the third inning, and with the help of some energy-infused offense, the top-seeded squad in the Schuylkill County Teener League Junior Tournament took command.
Crawford did not surrender a hit over five innings of work and Ari Wolfe’s two-run double sparked the offense as Frackville Green captured the Junior Division title with an 11-2 win over Schuylkill Valley Maroon at Memorial Field on Friday evening.
“They were on ‘Rock’ a little bit,” Frackville Green manager Mike Stever said, referring to starter Brandon Rockwell. “The last time we faced them, he only gave up four hits to them. This time here, they were on him. So they were prepared for him.
“I thought it was time to bring Reggie in because of the heat he threw. He throws the ball real hard and he’s been really grooving it lately.”
Crawford entered with runners on first and second in the third. After hitting the first two batters he faced to surrender a run, Crawford allowed just one base runner after that.
The left-hander relied on his sizzling fastball to keep Schuylkill Valley Maroon off-balance at the plate. He walked just one batter and struck out six, not allowing a hit.
“(Pitching coach) Mr. (John) Chuma and I have been working lately,” Crawford said. “We’ve been getting my mechanics a lot better. I guess it showed.
After hitting the first two batters, “I just adjusted, fixed at the mound and went from there.”
The lineup also adjusted as Wolfe’s big swing of the bat in the fourth inning sparked Frackville Green after it recorded just one hit through the first three frames against Schuylkill Valley Maroon starter J.C. Rodrian.
Wolfe clubbed a two-run double to right-center field to put his team on the board and his teammates followed his lead. Frackville scored five runs in the frame and finished the night with 10 hits.
“We played a little bit of small ball, trying to get kids on the bases and moving on the bases,” Stever said. “It got into the pitcher’s head a little bit for Schuylkill Valley. Once that happened, our bats started coming alive.”
Frackville (22-2) tacked on six more runs in the sixth, using a two-run single by Mike Falls to knock in Zach Chowansky and Rockwell. Crawford, who drew a walk and went to second on Falls’ single, eventually scored on a wild pitch and throwing error. Three of the other four runs scored as the result of errors.
“We just believed in ourselves,” Crawford said. “That’s all we did. It feels great.”
Schuylkill Valley Maroon (23-3) jumped out to a 2-0 lead, getting an RBI single from Aiden Stanton in the first to knock in Matt Cromyak.
In the third, Bernie Guzick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Stanton for a 2-0 lead.
From there, it was all Frackville Green.
Ultimately, Schuylkill Valley Maroon never was able to put anything together against Crawford.
As parents handed out green-iced cupcakes and fire trucks lined up for a parade, the Frackville players gathered for pictures and to celebrate.
“It’s easy to coach a group of kids that love to play baseball,” Stever said. “And every one of the kids on this team loves to play the game. They were always at practice; they were always at the games. It’s easy to coach a group of kids like this. They listen to us. They did the job they were supposed to do. A fantastic job on their part.”
Game Summary
Schuylkill County Teener League
Junior Division Finals
SVM (23-3) 101 000 0 — 2 7 7
Frack (22-2) 000 506 x — 11 10 1
Rodrian, Stanton (4), Cromyak (6) and Turnitza; Rockwell, Crawford (3) and Little. W — Crawford. L — Rodrian.
HITS: Schuylkill Valley Maroon — Cromyak 2, Rodrian, Stanton 2, Turnitza, Pierce. Frackville Green — Chowansky 2, Crawford, Little, Schally, Burke, Wolfe 2, Weitz, Stavinski.
2B — Chowansky, Wolfe 2.