Keystone 10s earn District 12 crown; will host sectionals

BALLS MILLS, PA – The more games they played, the better the Keystone 10 all-star team played. Manager Cole Hanley’s team put together a complete game in Saturday district title contest with a 10-0, 5-inning win over East Lycoming. The victory was Keystone’s fifth in a row as the team finished 6-1 for the tournament after losing its first and only game on July 3 to East Lycoming by a 14-10 score.

That loss sent Keystone to the loser’s bracket where, one week and five wins later, they shut down East Lyco for the second day in a row to claim the District 12 crown. Keystone had forced Saturday’s winner-take-all game Friday with a 13-5 win over EL at Long Run.

With the title, Keystone gets to host the sectional tournament, scheduled to begin July 16 at Long Run Park.

After the title game, manager Hanley said, “A lot of kids have stepped up and every single kid contributed to this win. The boys really showed some heart and some guts and scrappiness; these boys will not quit, that’s one thing this team won’t do.” Hanley said, “We have to get back to work and get ready to gear it up for sectionals; so proud of the boys, one game at a time.”

Keystone had big Bryan Rote ready for the mound and he responded with what manager Hanley called “a gem”: a 1-hitter with eight strikeouts and just one walk. His Keystone teammates played errorless ball behind him.

Rote helped his own cause as he continued his hot tournament hitting, picking up two singles, part of a 10-hit Keystone attack. Also in with two singles were Carter Frank and Carson Smith. One single apiece came from Heath Marino, Evan Batterson, Landon Jones and Carter Miller.

EL 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 – 1 – 3
K 1 0 3 1 5 = 10-10-0