Keystone 9-11 All-Stars Nab District Crown over Montour 8-3

AdminJuly 15, 2016

2 minutes read

Fourth D-12 Title Makes a Clean Sweep for Keystone

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT — Friday nights at Little League’s Volunteer Stadium have been very good to Keystone baseball the last couple times out and tonight was no exception. The Keystone 9-11 team played solid ball all around, the result an 8-3 win over Montoursville and the District 12 title.

The victory marked a perfect 3-for-3 for Keystone teams at Volunteer: both the Keystone Major team (5-0) and the Keystone 8-10 team (4-0) took district titles last Friday. Tonight’s 9-11 team win moves the squad into Section 3 play starting Thursday of next week in the Minersville area.

Keystone, now 4-0, made the plays when it had to and took advantage of half a dozen Montoursville errors, five walks and two hit batters to score in four of their five at-bats.

Montour scored first with a run in the top of the second but Keystone answered in the bottom of the frame with two runs, Kelvin Probst and Ashton Probst leading off with walks and ultimately scoring on Montoursville errors. Montour tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third but Keystone took the lead for good as Cru Stover doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Conklin.

The Clinton County team plated two in the bottom of the fourth. Kaden Irvin led off with a double and later crossed the plate. Luke Simcox added a single, moved up to third on wild pitches and scored on a Stover 25-foot foul sacrifice fly to the Montoursville catcher.

Keystone all but wrapped things up with three in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of three walks and two hit batters, along with a sacrifice fly to center from Ashton Probst.

Montoursville would score what proved to be a meaningless run in the top of the sixth to put the final at 8-3 Keystone.

Conklin and Stover combined on the mound for a 6-hitter, striking out 13, starter Conklin picking up the win. The same two pitchers had collaborated in Keystone’s 6-4 win over Montour in the winners’ bracket final earlier in the week.

Keystone was held to five hits, Simcox with a single, Chase Brush with a single, Stover with his double, Brayden Blackwell with a single and Irvin’s double.

The winners played great defense, including a spectacular diving catch from Simcox in center and a big-league relay for an out at third, the relay after a Montoursville double, the throw from leftfielder Chase Brush to Stover at shortstop to Ben Herrick at third to nip the runner trying to stretch the hit.