Keystone Intermediate Upended by Host Commack 10-8

EAST NORTHPORT, NY – After romping and stomping through six postseason games, the Keystone Intermediate Little League team finally hit a wall Tuesday and the result was the team’s first loss, 10-8 to tourney host Commack.

It was easy pickings through the Pennsylvania tournament and the first two Eastern Regional contests. But Commack hit the ball early and held off Keystone, outscoring the locals by a 10-8 count.

The win guaranteed Commack the first seed out its pool play with a mark of 3-1. The loss put Keystone (2-1) in a must-win game Wednesday at 9 a.m. with Delaware, also 2-1. The winner will finish second in pool play and meet the runner-up from the second pool at 11 a.m. Thursday in the semi-finals, the loser going home, the semi-final winner playing Friday at 11 a.m. for the regional crown.

Wednesday’s opponent Delaware fell to Commack by a 14-2 score.

Keystone fell into a hole early against Commack, starter Dylan Beach touched up for seven runs in two-plus innings.

Asher Corl led off the game for Keystone with a homerun, but Commack put up four runs in the first, four in the third and single runs in innings four and five. It took a career day from Keystone’s Trevor Hanna to keep the Pennsylvania team in the game; he socked a personal best three homeruns, driving in five.

But it wasn’t enough as the rest of the previously red-hot Keystone team could add only four more hits, including Corl’s first inning dinger and a homerun from Mahlik Houtz who was 2-for-2. The only other hit was a single from Troy Gardner.

Houtz followed Beach to the mound and gave up two runs in two-plus innings of work. A.J. Smith finished with two shutout innings.