District 24 Little League: Pottsville rallies past Blue Mountain to capture District 24 8-10 title
Photos from the District 24 Little League 8-10-year-olds all-star championship between Pottsville and Blue Mountain at Blue Mountain's Cressona Field on Sunday (Photos by Eli Doyle).
CRESSONA — One big inning was all Pottsville needed to flip the script and walk away with a championship.
Pottsville exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth inning to erase a three-run deficit and defeat Blue Mountain 8-5 in the District 24 8-10-year-old baseball championship game Sunday afternoon.
“That’s how they’ve been all season,” coach Brad Vidal said about Pottsville’s resilience. “It didn’t matter if we started fast or started slow. We’ve been notorious for starting slow. Our last, we jumped ahead pretty quick, but we started a little slow today. But when we caught on, we caught on. We were on fire today.”
Trailing 4-1 entering the frame, Pottsville sent nine batters to the plate, collecting three hits, a walk and a hit batter to surge ahead. Blake Hobbs delivered a key double in the inning, while Blake Harrison, Camillo Leonardo and Hudson Luscavage each drove in runs to give Pottsville the lead for good.
Pottsville (6-0) tacked on insurance runs in the fifth and sixth and held Blue Mountain (5-1) scoreless over the final three innings to seal the win.
Harrison earned the win on the mound, working three innings and allowing four runs on seven hits with one strikeout. Kellan O’Neill closed it out with three innings of two-hit, one-run relief, striking out four and walking six to earn the save.
Offensively, Hobbs went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Luscavage and Leonardo also drove in two runs apiece, while O’Neill and Mason McFarland each chipped in a hit and scored a run. Pottsville drew six walks as a team and saw contributions throughout the lineup.
“Our game is to be aggressive,” Vidal said. “Simple as that — safe, out, win, lose, draw — we’re going to be aggressive no matter what. That’s our game and that is how we play baseball.”
Blue Mountain outhit Pottsville 9-6 and held a 4-1 lead after three innings thanks to RBI singles by Ben Fungihi and Brandt Eisenhower. Fungihi finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Eisenhower had two hits, a run and an RBI. Connor Wolfe also tallied two hits in the loss.
Carter Singley took the loss for Blue Mountain, striking out six and walking two over 3.1 innings. He allowed six runs (four earned) on four hits. Connor Adams pitched 2. innings in relief, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two.
The game featured the only two undefeated teams remaining in the bracket, both entering with 5-0 records. O’Neill recorded a stolen base for Pottsville.
“These boys just have to keep working as hard as they’ve been working.” Vidal said. “I’ve been coaching for close to 10 years and I think this group is some of the hardest working 10-year-old kids I’ve ever coached in my life. All they have to do is keep working and big things are coming for them.”
*Photos and box score below*
