PINE GROVE — Monday was not Upper Dauphin County’s night.
UDC’s 9-10-year-old all-stars dropped their opening game of the Section 3 Little League Tournament against Danville 12-0 in four innings at Pine Grove’s Arthur E. Kegerreis Field.
The District 24 champions were overmatched by Danville, committing four errors and recording just three hits against the District 13 champions.
UDC will face Tunkhannock, 17-3 loser to Keystone, at 5:30 p.m. today in Pine Grove in an elimination game.
Zach Gordon and Mason Raup slugged back-to-back home runs in the first inning to pace Danville’s potent offense, which scored at least three runs in each inning.
Carson Persing struck out six over 2.2 innings to earn the win for Danville, which will play Keystone at 8 p.m. today in the winners’ bracket final.
“Danville’s a good team, there’s no doubt about it,” UDC manager Aaron Wegner said. “They outmanned us, but I still don’t think they’re really 12 runs better than us.”
After Persing struck out the side in the top of the first, Danville put up four runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Gordon smacked a two-run shot to center field, and Raup followed with a solo homer to left. Danville added one more run on an error to go up 4-0.
Ezriah Hite and Cruz Banda led
off the top of the second with back-to-back singles for UDC, but Persing and his defense closed out the inning with a double play and a strikeout. That was UDC’s best scoring chance of the night against Danville’s lights-out pitching.
UDC was held to just three hits and had only five total baserunners, with Danville’s pitching staff combining for nine strikeouts.
“I don’t think we showed up to play our best baseball tonight,” Wegner said. “But I’m still proud of our kids just to make it to this point.
“We have to remember that it’s still not over.”
Danville scored three more runs in the second to go up 7-0, with two coming on RBI doubles by Gordon and Brady Wilson and another courtesy of an infield error.
In the bottom of the third, Danville extended its lead to 12-0 on an RBI double from Persing, an RBI single from Wilson, two errors and a passed ball.
“This team was like a buzz saw the way they smacked the ball around,” Wegner said. “Now we have to regroup and maybe win a game or two.”
Wegner said he knows his team’s back is against the wall now, but that will not prevent anyone from having a good time while playing the game of baseball.
“We’re all hands on deck, and we’re not gonna hold anyone back pitching wise,” Wegner said. “We’ll definitely be playing to win, but we’re gonna have some fun because they’re still just kids.”
Game Summary
Section 3 9-10 Tournament
At Pine Grove
UDC (0-1) 000 0 — 0 3 4
Danville (1-0) 435 x — 12 12 0
Mace, Cole (1) and Walker; Persing, McCarthy (3), Raup (4) and Raup, Gordon (4). W — Persing. L — Mace.
HITS: Upper Dauphin County — Mace, Hite, Banda. Danville — Persing 3, Gordon 2, Raup, Wilson 3, McCarthy 2, Huron.
2B — Persing, Gordon, Wilson, McCarthy. HR — Gordon, Raup.