Minor all-stars win close battle with Clarion for Section 1 title
After winning big in their first two games of the Section 1 Tournament to advance to the championship as the undefeated team, the St. Marys Minor League allstars found themselves in a close battle with Clarion in the championship game on Thursday evening in Corry.
The locals had defeated Clarion by a score of 8-2 in the opening round of the tournament on Monday, but Clarion was not going down as easily on Thursday.
The teams matched each other run for run in the first and third innings to tie the game at 5-all at its midpoint. After Clarion pulled back ahead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, St. Marys took the lead for good with three runs in the home half of the inning and then added an insurance run in the fifth for a 9-7 lead. The insurance run proved to be beneficial as Clarion scored another run in the top of the sixth, but St. Marys held on for the 9-8 win.
Blake Stauffer and Kayd Caskey each saw action on the mound for St. Marys. Stauffer started the game and pitched the first four innings, giving up six hits, walking two, and striking out five. Caskey took over for the final two innings, giving up one hit, walking two, and striking out four.
Clarion also used a pair of pitchers in the game, and they combined to give up 10 hits. Leo Simbeck led St. Marys with a triple, while Caskey, Brayden Steinbach, and Carson Dellaquila each hit a double.
A leadoff walk, a wild pitch, a passed ball, and a groundout put Clarion on the board leading 1-0 in the top of the opening inning.
Stauffer led off the home half of the inning with a single but then was erased at second as Doc Chapman hit into a fielder's choice. A single by Simbeck moved Chapman to second, and then Chapman scored on a double by Steinbach. A strikeout and a groundout left Simbeck and Steinbach stranded with the score tied at 1-all.
Clarion left a runner stranded in the top of the second following a one-out walk. In the bottom of the inning, Kalon Caskey walked with one out, and Stauffer walked with two outs to join him on base, but a lineout left both stranded.
Clarion put four runs on the board in the top of the third to take a 5-1 lead.
A single, error, and double resulted in the first run to give the team a 2-1 lead. A single brought in another run, and then two more scored following a sacrifice fly, making the score 5-1 as a pair of strikeouts brought St. Marys back up to bat.
St. Marys quickly loaded the bases in the home half of the inning as Simbeck walked, Steinbach singled, and Kayd Caskey walked. Another walk, this time issued to Easton Straub, gave Simbeck a free pass home and kept the bases loaded. Jacob Sarginger hit into a fielder's choice that saw Steinbach erased at home but the bases remain loaded. A single by Richie Hurd scored Caskey, and then both Straub and Sarginger scored on a double by Dellaquila, tying the game at 5-all.
A one-out single and a two-out single gave Clarion a pair of base runners in the top of the fourth, and both scored on another single to make the score 7-5.
Simbeck led off the bottom of the inning with a triple for St. Marys and then scored on a passed ball with one out and Caskey at bat. Caskey ended up drawing a walk, and then Straub singled to join him on base. A single by Cohen Swanger scored Caskey to tie the game at 7-all. Following a strikeout, Dellaquila reached on an error, and Straub scored on the play to give St. Marys their first lead of the game, 8-7.
After an error and a single put two runners on base for Clarion in the top of the fifth, Kayd Caskey struck out the next three to preserve St. Marys' one-run lead.
The locals went on to score their final run in the home half of the inning to go up 9-7.
Chapman drew a leadoff walk and then scored on a wild pitch with Caskey at bat and two outs. Caskey ended up hitting a double and advancing to third on a wild pitch, but he was caught stealing home to end the inning.
A walk and an error put the tying run on base for Clarion in the top of the final inning, and then one run scored on a groundout with one out to cut St. Marys' lead to 9-8. With two outs and a runner on third, St. Marys elected to intentionally walk the next batter. A flyout to left field then ended the game, with St. Marys claiming the Section 1 title with the 9-8 victory.
As the Section 1 champion, St. Marys advances to the 2022 Pennsylvania Little League 8-10 State Championship, which is being hosted by West Point Little League in Greensburg from July 26-Aug. 1.