Keystone 12s finish third best in Pennsylvania

BRADFORD, PA – keystone 12s All-Star Manager Ben Falls had nothing but praise for the 13 members of his squad; this moments after Keystone was ousted from the state tourney in Bradford on Sunday.

Keystone’s storybook season ended as Hollidaysburg avenged an earlier tourney loss with an 11-1, five-inning victory. With the loss, Keystone finished third in the state of Pennsylvania, out of an 8-team field of sectional champions from across the state.

But as Manager Falls told The Record, the team exceeded expectations. “We battled to the end. I’m proud of them. A lot of people didn’t think we’d get this far.”

Of his squad, he said, “All 13 kids came through at some point, one way or the other.”  He noted the team’s district and sectional crowns, adding “Hopefully we put on a good show for the fans.”

The Hollidaysburg game got away from Keystone midway through. The game was 3-1, Keystone down by two after four and a half. But Hollidaysburg exploded for six runs against three pitchers in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding 9-1 lead.

Caleb Detrick’s two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth gave the Blair County team the 11-1 mercy-rule win and a berth in a Monday championship game with undefeated Greencastle. Hollidaysburg would have to win twice to earn the state crown

Keystone scored first off back-to-back first inning doubles from Hayes Donley and Kyle Everett, but Hollidaysburg answered with two in the bottom of the inning and never looked back. Keystone finished with six hits, led by Everett with a single and a double. Donley, Ashton Falls and Joey Miller also had doubles and Brody Swanger a single. But Keystone struggled with men on base, leaving eight stranded through five innings.

Keystone went through four pitchers in the game while Hollidaysburg got a complete-game 6-hitter from their starter, Aspen Anderson.

Nevertheless, it was a great, unanticipated run by Keystone and Manager Falls couldn’t say enough how proud he was of his squad. He lauded the Keystone program up and down, “successful at every level,” noting it makes for a great feeder program for Central Mountain High School baseball.

But Keystone is not done yet; they’ll don their travel ball hats and head to Jackson, NJ next week for the travel ball world series.

Keystone Notes: 

Fans of Keystone baseball should be aware the Keystone Junior team, fresh off its come-from-behind state title on Saturday at DuBois, will hold a work-out/fundraiser at Mill Hall Community Park on Monday from 5 to 8 p.m. Team supporters are seeking public assistance to help defray the costs of participating in the East Region Junior League Baseball Tournament starting Wednesday in Freehold Township, NJ…

Tournament director Barry Bacha and his many volunteers did an outstanding job in staging the state Major tourney at the Kessel Athletic Complex in Bradford.…

Therecord-online would be remiss if it did not note the outstanding sportsmanship displayed by the Keystone 12s, their other Keystone counterparts and the Clinton softball teams throughout the long tournament trail. And, most importantly, they had fun and the fans enjoyed the ride.

And Keystone Little League President/District 12 Administrator Rich Lyons did a superb job at the local and district level all season long.

K 1 0 0 0 0 =   1-6-2

H 2 1 0 6 2 = 11-11-1