Stayin’ Alive: Keystone takes must-win game, advances to sectional title contest

BEECH CREEK, PA – The Keystone 12-year-old all-stars have been nothing if not resilient. They showed that come-from-behind trait again on Thursday, rallying from a 5-2 deficit to earn a 9-5 win over Upper Dauphin in the Section 3 elimination bracket final.

The victory earned Keystone a berth in the Friday evening championship contest against undefeated Mifflinburg. Keystone would have to knock off Mifflinburg to set up a winner take-all title game Saturday afternoon. The Union County team defeated Keystone, 11-6, on Wednesday.

Keystone would fall behind Upper Dauphin by a 5-2 score halfway their Thursday contest but came alive in the top of the fourth with five runs to take a 7-5 lead, then added two more in the fifth as the game then finished at 9-5 in Keystone’s favor.

Coach Cole Hanley’s team got its first run in the first inning: a single from Carter Frank, a ground rule double from Logan Bower, then a sacrifice fly from Cam Fuller. They added a second run in the second off two UD errors and a Bryan Rote single. Meanwhile, Upper Dauphin punched across three in the first and two more in the third to build its 5-2 lead.

Then Keystone’s bats came alive: Bower led off with a single and Fuller followed with a single. Evan Batterson then boomed a 2-strike, 3-run homerun and the game was tied at five each. After an out, Haydn Whitman doubled; Logan Daniel doubled him home and Daniel scored on a single from Angelo Tarantella and Keystone had the lead at 7-5.

Keystone added two insurance runs in the top of sixth as Hayden Hanley singled and Daniel followed two batters later with a two-run laser shot over the right field fence.

Relief pitcher Bower, who came on in the fourth, hurled a scoreless bottom of the sixth and Keystone finished on top with the 9-5 win. Rote started and went 3.2 innings and Bower finished up. They combined for a 7-hitter, striking out eight.

Keystone finished with 13 hits, led by Daniel’s double and homerun and three RBIs.  Bower had a double and a single and Batterson his homerun. Whitman had a double and singles came from Frank, Evan Edwards, Fuller. Hanley, Tarantella, Rote and Heath Marino.

Devyn Troutman and Carter Shoop each had two hits for Upper Dauphin, Shoop with a double.

Coach Hanley, noting his team coming off “an emotional loss last night,” said they took a while to get going and said Batterson’s homerun was “a spark that got the team going.” He said his players are still not as aggressive as he’d like to see them. As for the Friday rematch with Mifflinburg, he said, “Let ‘er fly.”

K 1 1 0 5 2 0 = 9-13-2

UD 3 0 2 0 0 0 -=5-7-2