PHOTO PROVIDED Keystone's junior baseball team poses with the Section 3 championship banner on Tuesday.

Keystone opened the Section 3 major baseball tournament with a convincing 12-2 win at Pottsville against Mifflinburg on Tuesday night.

Mifflinburg’s pitchers were throwing strikes, which Keystone manager Ben Falls knew his team had to hit to compete and win.

“The way they were pitching, we hit strikes and they’d battle with us. Our batters were patient and got a pitch to hit,” Falls said. “You get a strike, you got to put it in play. Today the boys put it in play and hit the ball well. We’re seeing the ball well to put up 12 runs. That was a good start.”

Keystone’s offense was playing well, hitting the ball and advancing runners.

“We started a little slow. We knew we had Mifflinburg and their pitcher they had threw the ball well. WE just were patient and put some balls in play and started putting some hits together and got to them a little bit,” Falls said. “Once you score a couple of runs, with this tournament being just four days, you’ve got to make the adjustments rather quickly. The boys were hitting the ball.”

In addition to a solid offensive outing for Keystone, the team’s pitching and defense behind the pitchers was huge in limiting a tough Mifflinburg team to just two runs.

“Defense is key and you got to have pitching. … I feel our rotation right now is really well. We gained some confidence today with some pitching. They came out and kept the ball down and made some good outs behind them. Our pitchers pitched phenomenal. We have one kid that has one days rest and everyone else is good for tomorrow.”

Keystone will face Blue Mountain or Wellsboro in the winners’ bracket final. The Section 3 championship game is scheduled for Friday with an “if” game set for Saturday if needed.

Elsewhere in Little League all-star play, Keystone’s junior baseball team won the Section 3 title with a 15-1 rout over Selinsgrove in Wellsboro in a best-of-three series.

Keystone will advance to the state playoffs which begin Tuesday in DuBois.

In the minor baseball Section 3 tournament, Keystone beat Athens in the first game of sectional play, 8-0, in Berwick to advance in the winners’ bracket.