Keystone Advances to District Final with Win over Williamsport

BALLS MILLS – The Keystone Little League team did a lot of things right in a losers’ bracket final at the Hepburn-Lycoming field Wednesday; things didn’t go so well for opponent Williamsport, the result a 12-2 5-inning win for Keystone.

With the triumph Keystone earned a rematch with Montoursville for the District 12 title, the game to be played at 2 p.m. Friday, July 4, at Volunteer Stadium in South Williamsport. Since Montour defeated Keystone Monday, the Clinton County team would have to defeat their opponents Friday to earn a winner-take-all game Saturday at Volunteer at 11 a.m.

Keystone was steady in all facets of the game in the Wednesday win over the newly consolidated Williamsport Area team: solid pitching (a combined 5-hitter from Jake Sweitzer and Caleb Shade), timely hitting (11 in all) and solid defense (error free).

Williamsport jumped to a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning but Keystone would answer with four in the bottom of the inning, six more in the bottom of the fourth and a final, game-clinching run in the bottom of the fifth.

Seven different players contributed hits, led by Rocco Stark with three singles, the last of which drove in the final of Keystone’s 12 runs. Tom Pringle contributed a 2-run homerun and a single, Evan Conklin came off the bench with two singles and an RBI; Ross Glossner contributed a triple and Zane Probst a mammoth homerun.

Other hits came from Shade, an RBI single, and Hayden Heichel, also an RBI single.

Sweitzer pitched into the fourth inning, giving up three hits, two runs, striking out four and walking two; Shade worked two innings in relief, giving up two hits, no runs, striking out three and walking one.

Pringle had a key defensive play for Keystone. The game was 5-2 Keystone into the top of the fourth when Williamsport loaded the bases with two outs. Pringle recorded the final out when he caught a Williamsport runner leading too far off third; the runner took off for home after Pringle’s throw to third. Third baseman Ryan Bennett’s return throw to Pringle nailed the runner trying to score.