S.S. Beaver tops Brownsville, 7-5
of the infield that was misplayed, allowing Luketic to score.
“Jake put one through the gap between short and third. It was as simple as that. I just had to walk in,” Luketic said.
South Side Beaver got an insurance run in the seventh on Bishop McCoy’s RBI single.
Brownsville had one last chance, but Luke Woodard worked around a one-out single to pick up the save after Ethan Woodling made a fine running catch to record the final out.
Woodard came in to relieve Casey Jones, who reached his pitch limit after six innings. Jones was excellent at times, striking out 12, including 7 of 8 hitters at one point.
“We know they swing the bats well, so for Casey to have that many strikeouts says a lot,” South Side Beaver coach Chip Hunter said.
Brownsville, which also was looking to reach the final for the first time, jumped to a 3-0 lead behind RBI singles from Brody Bagwell and Josh Davison in the first and a run courtesy of a wild pitch in the second.
South Side Beaver trailed, 3-1, when it connected for four runs in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. An error by Davison, the starting pitcher, allowed two runs to score, and Nate Statler followed with an RBI triple and Woodling a sacrifice fly.
Brownsville scored two runs to tie the score in the bottom of the inning on a Bagwell RBI single and an error, but that would be it offensively for the Falcons.
The Falcons played without standout pitcher Dylan Brosky, who suffered a broken hand in the quarterfinals. Brosky also was the team’s top hitter.
“It was tough,” Brownsville coach Skooter Roebuck said. “The kids really wanted to go out and show that they’re a good team with or without him.”