Texas takes down Keystone Juniors, 10-3

TAYLOR, MI – If the Keystone Junior League team wants to win a world title, Manager Steve Shade’s squad is going to have to do it the hard way, coming back through a Friday elimination game after a 10-3 loss to the Southwest champion Big Oil team from Corpus Christi, TX.

The loss snapped a 10-game Keystone win streak as they struggled to hit and their pitchers had control issues. The game was close until halfway through. Keystone in fact took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Dane Hanna was hit by a pitch and Darius Shade followed with a single. Blake Walker plated both runners with a line drive double down the left field line.

The Texas team would answer with two in the top of the fourth, a single driving in two runners who had walked, the first of nine free passes surrendered by Keystone pitchers.

The game remained 2-2 into the top of the fifth when the Southwest champs used five walks and a grandslam homerun from mammoth (6-5) Jace Arriaga to ultimately plate seven runs and take a 9-2 lead.

Keystone got one run back in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Aiden Jones, but that would end the scoring for the Keystone kids. They did load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but the final two outs were recorded when runners were picked off third base and first base.

Keystone was held to four hits, Walker with a double and singles from Shade, Jones and Watt Probst.

Now 1-1 at the World Series, Keystone will play at 4 p.m. Friday vs. Loudown South Little League from South Riding, VA. A win there would earn a rematch on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Big Oil in the US title game.

SW 0 0 0 2 7 1 0 = 10-8-1

K    0 0 2 0 2 0 0 =  3-4-1