TOWER CITY — Keenan Cryts was the hero with his arm and with his bat.
Cressona’s starting pitcher, the 12-year-old tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out 12 as Cressona blanked Upper Dauphin County 1-0 in a District 24 Little League 11-12-year-old semifinal Sunday.
Cryts’ first-inning, solo home run to left field proved to be the difference in a close pitchers’ duel.
The victory advances Pool 1 champion Cressona (6-0) to Tuesday’s championship game where it will play Saint Clair/Port Carbon/New Philadelphia, a 5-3 winner over Schuylkill Haven, at 5:30 p.m. in New Philadelphia.
“This was one of those games that comes maybe once or twice in a season, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time,” Cressona manager Steve Cryts said. “We’ve collided with UDC every year since these kids were 9 years old, and we never came away a winner. So it’s a very nice win against a very good team.”
Nathan Wise led off the first inning with a single for UDC, but Cryts struck out the next three batters.
Wise’s hit would be the only one given up by Cryts until Jacob Herman narrowly reached first base on a ground ball to third in the sixth inning.
Wise also drew the only walk issued by Cryts in the entire game.
“He’s is a consistent player,” UDC manager Bryan Evans said of Wise. “He led off the game with a single and I thought ‘Here we go, our bats are going to come alive,’ but the next three guys went down swinging.”
UDC starter Tyler Cleveland struck out the first two batters he faced in the opening frame, but Cryts hit a first-pitch curveball from the right-hander over the left-field fence to put Cressona up 1-0.
Cleveland gave up just one run on three hits, striking out four and walking one over five innings. All three hits he allowed came in the first inning.
He allowed just two baserunners over his final three innings.
“Tyler threw a great game. The only mistake he made was that lead-off curveball,” Evans said. “Other than that, he was solid and had a great defense behind him. I wouldn’t change anything except that one pitch.”
Both starters cruised through the rest of the game, but Cressona nearly made the score 2-0 when Cryts smacked a high fly ball to right field in the top of the third.
It looked like a second-straight home run for the pitcher, but Bronson Kelly made a spectacular leaping grab over the fence to rob him of another homer.
“Bronson just tracked that ball down,” Evans said. “He went up and over the fence and got it. It was a phenomenal catch.”
UDC’s last chance for a comeback in the sixth inning started with two straight strikeouts, but then Herman got on base with his soft grounder to third.
Cryts got the final batter to ground into a fielder’s choice and seal Cressona’s victory.
“It feels great to take my team this far, and it’s amazing to beat a team like UDC,” Keenan Cryts said. “They’ve been 10-run-ruling everybody and they came here and didn’t score at all.”
Steve Cryts was visibly moved after witnessing such a dominant performance from his son, Keenan, and the rest of his team.
“I’m a proud Papa right now,” Steve Cryts said. “One run wasn’t all I wanted, but it held up, and I just couldn’t be prouder of all the kids. They worked so hard to get here and it’s just such a blessing for me and for them.
“Coaching for them is like Christmas every game we play,” he added.
Game Summary
District 24 11-12-year-old Semifinal At Tower City
UDC (5-1) 000 000 — 0 2 3
Cressona (6-0) 100 00x — 1 3 0
Cleveland and Engle; Cryts and Robinson. W — Cryts. L — Cleveland.
HITS: Upper Dauphin County — Wise, Herman. Cressona — Cryts, Robinson, Caulfield.
HR — Cryts.