MILTON — Cressona’s 11-12-year-old all-stars learned an important lesson during Sunday’s 9-2 loss to South Columbia: Nobody’s perfect.
The loss was Cressona’s first of the Section 3 Little League Tournament after the team won eight straight entering the game.
South Columbia used a five-run second inning and capitalized on two Cressona errors to clinch a berth in the championship round.
“It was probably the sloppiest game we played so far,” Cressona manager Steve Cryts said. “Everybody has those every once in a while, so hopefully we come back scrapping and beat Williamsport so we can see South Columbia again.”
Cressona will face Williamsport, a 15-5 winner over Sayre, at 5:30 p.m. today in Milton for the right to play South Columbia on Tuesday.
South Columbia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Eli Morrison’s sacrifice fly to right field plated Jacob Reifer, and Carter Crawford stole home.
In the top of the second, Cressona cut its deficit in half on Luke Baker’s leadoff home run to center field.
Keegan Brennan tied the game 2-2 after grounding into a fielder’s choice that scored Gavin Bartholomew.
“They were picking each other up, which was nice to see,” Cryts said of his team after it was down 2-0. “I didn’t really have to motivate them because they’re self-sustaining.”
South Columbia followed with its five-run second inning as Reifer delivered a two-run double.
Dylan Harris smacked an RBI double to right, and Morrison launched a towering two-run homer over the center field fence to put South Columbia on top 7-2.
South Columbia tacked on two more runs in the fifth courtesy of an infield error and a passed ball to make it a 9-2 game.
Cressona used five pitchers throughout the game, combining to allow nine runs on 10 hits, while striking out six.
“Our pitchers came in and kept South Columbia’s lineup at bay a little bit in the later innings, so there were definitely some positive things to take away from this game,” Cryts said.
South Columbia’s three pitchers combined to strike out 10 Cressona batters while allowing two runs on six hits and walking three.
“We swung at some stuff we shouldn’t have, and that’s uncharacteristic of us,” Cryts said. “They have a good pitching staff, so I have to give props to them. We knew they were deep, so we just need to have better at-bats if and when we see them again.”
Cryts said he has confidence his team will bounce back after this tough loss and play like champions again in the must-win contest against Williamsport.
“They’re resilient, and all the heart they have is probably half their body weight, so I’m not worried about them against Williamsport,” Cryts said. “They’re a little stung right now, but they’re gonna come ready to play tomorrow, so it should be a good game.”
Game Summary
Section 3 Little League
11-12-year-old Tournament
At Milton
Cressona (1-1) 020 000 — 2 6 3
S.Columbia (2-0) 250 02x — 9 10 1
Baker, Brennan (2), Cryts (4), Bartholomew (5), Robinson (5) and Robinson, Bartholomew (4), Devitt (5); Morrison, T. Crawford (3), Riefer (5) and Huntington, C. Crawford (3), Huntington (5). W — T. Crawford. L — Baker.
HITS: Cressona — Brennan, Robinson, Cryts 2, Baker, Stewart. Southern Columbia — Reifer 2, Harris 2, Morrison, C. Crawford 2, Smith, Burkland, Coates.
2B — Robinson, Reifer, Harris, Smith. HR — Baker, Morrison.