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Keystone minors start Section 3 tournament 2-0, beat Athens, RT

By Henry Huber 6 min read

PENNS CREEK – Following the postponement of Saturday’s Section 3 tournament opener, the Keystone 8-10 baseball team was tasked with playing two games in one day on Sunday. Coupled with the uptick in competition, that’d be a tremendous challenge for just about anybody.

But the team weathered the storm and continued the trend of success it built throughout districts. Through those two games, the Keystone minors remained undefeated in summer play, defeating District 15 champ Athens, 11-10, and District 33 champ Roosevelt Trail, 8-2.

Those wins propeled it to the Section 3 championship final, set to take place on Tuesday. In that game, it’ll face the winner of Selinsgrove and Roosevelt Trail, with an if game set for Wednesday if Keystone were to fall.

“Our offense definitely came alive in some big moments today,” said Keystone manager Nick Packech on the day. “There’s a long wait in between games, but when it came time to warm up and get ready for the next, they definitely focused and were ready to go.”

Keystone 8, Roosevelt Trail 2

Coming off a come-from-behind victory to kick off the day, Keystone carried that momentum into the follow up against Roosevelt Trail. A fast start that saw it take a 5-1 lead through two helped it take control immediately, control which it carried to a championship final bid with an 8-2 win.

“The bats came alive, pitchers threw strikes and the defense made plays,” said Packech on the win. “We got some big key runs (throughout the day), especially that last game. We were able to break it open in the first and add a couple as the game went on.”

Keystone got the ball rolling immediately, with Grady Newman and Mason Wright kicking off the bottom of the first with hits – Wright a double – before ensuing ground outs bat them home. Though Roosevelt would answer, cutting the deficit in half, Keystone would answer right back to bolster its lead.

In the second, Lucas Barclay got the scoring started, turning a hit by pitch into a run two batters later off an RBI single from Brayden Reeder.

Axel Leone followed up Reeder with a single to right. And though Roosevelt Trail got a second out on the board, Beckett Foltz and Trenton Stacey fought for walks – Stacey’s getting Reeder home – and Grady Newman hit into an error to get Leone home.

From there, Roosevelt Trail would cut the deficit to three before Keystone essentially put it away in the bottom of the fifth. Hits from Newman, Cooper Robinson and Cam McGregor translated into three runs, giving Keystone its biggest and final lead of the night at 8-2.

Pitching wise, Keystone got strong contributions from starter Cooper Robinson and reliever Axel Leone. Robinson held Roosevelt Trail to one run off four hits through 3 2/3 innings pitched, striking out four. And Leone closed the last 2 1/3 innings only surrendering one run off two hits while striking out one.

“They both did a really good job,” said Packech on his pitchers. “When Cooper’s on the mound, the kids have a lot of confidence; we have a lot of faith in him, and he did it again. He came through tonight for us in a big way, then Axel came in and kept throwing strikes, letting our defense make some plays.”

Keystone 11, Athens 10 (7 innings)

After rolling through the District 12 tournament to open its summer run, the Keystone minor baseball team was handed a challenge right out the gate to kick off Section 3 play. Athens – who took home a District 15 title – came to play to say the least, as Keystone trailed by as many as four and as late as the seventh inning.

However, despite enduring its toughest stretch of innings by far, Keystone stayed composed. It erupted for four runs to tie it in the bottom of the fifth. Then, magic took place two innings later.

Trailing 10-8 with one last chance to avoid the consolation bracket, the Keystone offense would erupt once again. A Beckett Foltz single, Trenton Stacey walk and Grady Newton double helped tie the game. And with grounder to right, Mason Wright was able to bat home Stacey to seal the deal, as Keystone defeated Athens, 11-10, to advance.

"It was a different game for them today, but they kept their heads up and stayed in it the whole way," said Keystone manager Nick Packech on the win. "Jasper [Zawisa] came in and pitched for us and did a great job keeping us in the game. Then, finally, those last couple of innings, the bats came alive, and we were able to pull it off in the bottom of the seventh.

After a rough second inning that saw the team surrender five runs and go down 7-3, Zawisa settled in from the mound amidst his first pitching performance of the run, allowing one run through the next three innings while striking out five. All the while, the bats got things going, with a Cooper Robinson single and run in the bottom of the fourth getting the ball rolling.

In the fifth, a two-RBI single from Beckett Foltz cut Athens's 8-4 lead in half. A one-out single from Grady Newton then established corners. And with a liner to center, Robinson bat Foltz and Newton home to tie the game at 8-8.

Ultimately, that momentum gained proved enough to carry Keystone to victory in the seventh.

Keystone 8, Roosevelt Trail 2

(SECTION 3 MINOR BASEBALL WINNER’S FINAL)

R. Trail 010 010 – 2 6 2

Keystone 230 03X – 8 10 1

Cooper Robinson, Axel Leone (4) and Grady Newton. W – Robinson.

Top Keystone hitters: Grady Newton 2-3, 2B, 2 runs; Cam McGregor 2-3, 2 RBIs; Lucas Barclay 1-1, RBI run; Brayden Reeder 1-2, RBI, run; Mason Wright 1-3, RBI, 2 runs.

Keystone 11, Athens 10

(SECTION 3 MINOR BASEBALL TOURNEY)

Athens 025 010 2 – 10 7 3

Keystone 300 140 3 – 11 12 2

Grady Newton, Jasper Zawisa (3), Mason Wright (7) and Grady Newton. W – Wright.

Top Keystone hitters: Grady Newton 3-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Beckett Foltz 2-2, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Jasper Zawisa 2-3, 2B, RBI, run; Cooper Robinson 2-3, RBI run; Mason Wright 1-4, 2 RBIs; Ozzy Emerick 1-3, 2 runs.

Starting at /week.