Baseball: Local teams begin play in United Baseball League

Walter Stump Stadium in Pine Grove (Photo by Eli Doyle).
The United Baseball League kicked off its second season this weekend, with three Schuylkill County squads competing in the eight-team league featuring 19-and-under teams from Berks, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties.
Southern Area and Schuylkill Valley compete in the four-team East Division, along with Muhlenberg and the Wildcats (Fleetwood). Pine Grove is in the four-team West Division along with 5th Ward AC (Lebanon), Myerstown and Richland.
Pine Grove, which features players from Pine Grove and Minersville high schools, has a 1-2 record so far. The Grovers lost 3-0 to Richland on Friday at ELCO High School, then split a doubleheader with Schuylkill Valley on Sunday at Stump Stadium. The Falcons have players from Pottsville, Nativity, North Schuylkill and Panther Valley on its roster.
Southern Area, which consists of players from Blue Mountain and Schuylkill Haven, went 0-2, dropping a doubleheader Sunday to Myerstown.
The UBL is a mixture of teams that used to compete in the Schuylkill-Berks and Lebanon County American Legion Baseball leagues. Team rosters, schedules and results can be found on the league’s webpage: https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=united_baseball_league
Here’s a recap of this weekend’s action:
Friday’s game
Richland 3, Pine Grove 0
MYERSTOWN — Austin Smith threw a complete-game three-hitter and struck out 11 as Richland blanked the Grovers at ELCO High School.
Quinn Brommer, Ian Brown and Jake Hatter had singles for Pine Grove. Brayden Lyons took the loss, giving up six hits and three earned runs in six innings, walking two and striking out four.
Smith and Andrew Via each had two hits for Richland, which scored all its runs in the fourth inning.
PG (0-1) — 000 000 0 — 0 3 0
Rich (1-0) — 000 300 x — 3 6 0
W — Austin Smith. L — Brayden Lyons
HITS: Pine Grove — Brommer, Brown, Hatter. Richland — Martin, Smith 2, Via 2, Walmer.
2B — Via

Sunday’s action
Pine Grove 1, Schuylkill Valley 0
PINE GROVE — Kale Lengle had two hits and scored the game’s only run as the Grovers outlasted the Falcons in nine innings in Game 1 of a Sunday doubleheader at Stump Stadium.
Chandler Sirbaugh and Logan Hutsko combined to throw nine scoreless frames for Pine Grove, scattering five hits, walking five and striking out 12. Hutsko added two hits for Pine Grove, while Hunter Rogers had two hits for the Falcons.
SV (0-1) — 000 000 000 — 0 5 3
PG (1-1) — 000 000 001 — 1 6 1
L. Karnish, Butler (6), Rogers (8) and E. Grabowski; Sirbaugh, Hutsko (6). W — Hutsko. L — Rogers
HITS: Schuylkill Valley — Keitsock, Rogers 2, Groody, Trout. Pine Grove — Hutsko 2, Sirbaugh, K. Lengle 2, Drumheller
2B — Hutsko

Schuylkill Valley 11, Pine Grove 1
PINE GROVE — Hunter Rogers went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run as the Falcons blasted the Grovers in the nightcap of Sunday’s twinbill at Stump Stadium.
Landon Trout, Ethan Grabowski and Landen Smith each had two hits for Schuylkill Valley, which scored five runs in both the first and third innings. Jacob Filiac and Peyton Groody each knocked in two runs.
Rogers and Groody combined to limit Pine Grove to two hits and recorded six strikeouts.
PG (1-2) — 010 00 — 1 2 0
SV (1-1) — 505 01 — 11 12 1
Allen, Hatter (3) and Strubhar; Rogers, Groody (4) and Ciavarella. W — Rogers. L — Allen.
HITS: Pine Grove — Hatter, Hutsko. Schuylkill Valley — Ciavarella, Rogers 2, Cuthie, Groody, Trout 2, E. Grabowski 2, Smith 2, Filiac.
2B — Smith, Rogers. HR — Rogers.

Southern Area drops DH to Myerstown
MYERSTOWN — Southern Area, which is now called the Lions, dropped a pair of games to Myerstown on Sunday at the South Legion Field, falling 4-2 in the opener and 17-12 in the nightcap.
In Game 1, Brady Strause went 3-for-4 and Colton Leibold had an RBI triple for Southern Area. Matt Grasso pitched a complete game, giving up seven hits, walking none and striking out seven. Only one of Myerstown’s four runs were earned.
Game 2 was an offensive slugfest as the teams combined for 25 hits and 23 walks. Owen Woll and Andy Blehm each had two hits for Southern Area, which overcame an early 8-0 deficit to tie the game at 9-9 at three innings.
Myerstown then scored four times in both the fourth and fifth innings to pull away. Leadoff hitter Jackson Custer went 6-for-6 with two doubles, a triple, four runs scored and a stolen base. He was 9-for-9 in the two games.
Game 1
SA (0-1) — 010 000 1 — 2 4 2
Myer (1-0) — 101 020 x — 4 7 1
Grasso and Brensinger; Shanaman, Bogart (5) and D. McDonnell. W — Shanaman. L — Grasso
HITS: Southern Area — Strause 3, Leibold. Myerstown — Custer 3, Oriel 2, D. McDonnell.
3B — Leibold
Game 2
Myer (2-0) — 441 440 0 — 17 16 2
SA (0-2) — 063 002 1 — 12 9 1
Oriel, Batdorf (2), Bechtel (6) and Tanger; Strause, Mansell (3) and Woll. W — Batdorf. L — Mansell.
HITS: Myerstown — Custer 6, K. McDonnell, Tanger, Oriel 3, D. McDonnell, Shanaman 2, Bogart, Rhodes. Southern Area — Russo, Jacobson, Woll 2, Grasso, Brensinger, Blehm 2, Huben.
2B — Shanaman, Custer 2, Oriel, Grasso, Woll 2. 3B — Custer, Oriel.
Upcoming Local Schedule
Tuesday, June 3
Pine Grove at Richland, 6 p.m., ELCO HS
Southern Area Wildcats, 6 p.m., Fleetwood HS
Wednesday, June 4
Wildcats at Southern Area, 7 p.m., Blue Mountain HS
Thursday, June 5
Schuylkill Valley at Muhlenberg, 7 p.m., Muhlenberg HS
Friday, June 6
Richland at Pine Grove, 6 p.m., Stump Stadium
Sunday, June 8
Pine Grove at Wildcats (DH), 1 p.m., Fleetwood HS
5th Ward AC at Southern Area, 7 p.m., Blue Mountain HS
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