MILTON — Cressona’s 11-12-year-old all-stars made a run through the District 24 Little League Tournament and advanced all the way to the Section 3 final.
Despite a resilient effort, Cressona’s run came to an end Tuesday night with an 11-3 loss to South Columbia in the sectional’s championship round.
Jacob Reifer and Trystan Crawford hit solo home runs, and South Columbia used a six-run fourth inning to down Cressona.
Keegan Brennan paced Cressona’s offense by going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored, but the rest of the lineup managed just three more hits against South Columbia’s pitching.
This was the second time Cressona faced South Columbia in the Section 3 Tournament, with the first being a 9-2 loss last Sunday. Cressona topped Williamsport 13-1
in four innings on Monday to reach the championship round and play South Columbia again.
“We had a good game plan, but we came up short against a very good team,” Cressona manager Steve Cryts said. “We let it all on the table, making it to the championship game of sectionals and fighting to the bitter end. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Cressona jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Brennan hit an RBI single that plated Josh Norris, but South Columbia tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Ian Huntington’s RBI double.
Reifer’s solo shot to center field put South Columbia ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the third, but Cressona evened it on Brennan’s single in the top of the fourth.
“Like I’ve said before, he’s one of our spark plugs,” Cryts said of Brennan. “His bat was on fire.”
South Columbia took command of the back-and-forth contest with its six-run fourth inning that began with Crawford’s solo home run.
John Coates and Sam Harris both hit two-run doubles, and Reifer hit a sacrifice fly to give South Columbia an 8-2 lead.
Brennan, Cressona’s starter, was tagged with seven runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked one in the losing effort.
“I told the team before the game that we had to keep our pitches low, but sometimes we didn’t do that and it hurt us,” Cryts said. “Other than that, it doesn’t surprise me that we kept up the pace with this team as long as we did. On a different day, we could have beaten them.”
South Columbia added three more runs in the fifth on RBI singles from Reifer and Nick Kishbaugh and a fielder’s choice RBI from Mason Yorty.
Brody Robinson’s two-out triple in the sixth made it an 11-3 game, but Cressona’s last batter grounded to second base to end the game.
After the game, Cryts praised Robinson’s and his team’s efforts.
“He’s another kid who’s a force whenever he plays,” Cryts said of Robinson. “He always comes out to play, and he enjoys the game so much no matter what inning it is. All the kids were still chanting in the sixth, and I think they were chanting even louder than in the first inning thanks to Brody’s big hit.
Even though Cressona did not claim the Section 3 championship, Cryts said he wanted his team to remember that they are still District 24 champions and that the 2015 season will always be something to remember with pride.
“The season was magical,” Cryts said. “We set out to win a district title, and we did that playing good baseball as a team. It wasn’t just two or three kids who got us here. They all gelled together as a unit, and it was absolutely fantastic to see. This loss might sting a little right now, but this is the best Little League season I’ve ever had, and it’s all thanks to them.”
Game Summary
Section 3 11-12 Tournament
At Milton
Cress (2-2) 010 101 — 3 6 1
SC (3-0) 011 63x — 11 11 6
Brennan, Bartholomew (4) and Robinson. Reifer, Morrison (5) and C. Crawford, Huntington (4), C. Crawford (5). W — Reifer. L — Brennan.
HITS: Cressona — Brennan 3, Robinson, Caulfield, Baker. South Columbia — Reifer 2, Harris, Morrison, T. Crawford, Huntington 2, Smith, Stout, Burkland, Coates.
2B — Huntington, Smith, Coates, Harris. 3B — Robinson. HR — Reifer, T. Crawford.
