State College Blanks Nittany Valley in District 5 Playoffs

Led by outstanding pitching from Evan Martin and stellar hitting paced by Branden Price, the State College Little League All-Star Team shutout Nittany Valley, 11-0, Sunday night at the Marion Walker complex in Bellefonte.

It’s the second consecutive win for State College to open the District 5 playoffs, having defeated Bellefonte, 6-3, on Friday.

Martin pitched the complete game, allowing two hits while striking out five with no walks.

“I don’t normally give out a game ball, but Evan Martin had an outstanding performance,’ State College manager Eric Gulley said. ‘We used up three pitchers at Bellefonte, and we weren’t sure what we were going to do. It was a phenomenal pitching performance by Evan, mixing speeds and hitting locations. I knew he was good, but because of some injuries that he’s had, he really hasn’t pitched that much. He knew his team needed it, so he stepped up and delivered. I love it when a kid rises to the challenge. It brings joy to my heart.” 

Price, State College’s right fielder, opened the scoring in the third with a home run to center. Drew Moerschbacher’s single later in the inning scored shortstop Sean Adams from second to put State College up 2-0

It was Price, batting ninth in the lineup, who ignited the State College offense again in the fourth. After Nick Leydig and Quinn Murphy drew walks, Price’s double drove in both runners. An out later, second baseman Jake Gulley doubled to score Price for a 5-0 State College lead.

In the fifth, pinch hitters TJ Yoder and Andre Marshall each singled then scored on a shot off the outfield wall by catcher Josh Olsen. Fielding errors and passed balls would compound the damage for Nittany Valley, and State College tacked on four more to close out the scoring.

Nittany Valley starter Derek Fravel had a strong outing, surrendering just two hits in three and a third innings while striking out six.

‘I thought [Fravel] pitched well,’ Nittany Valley manager Josh Kroell said. ‘He kept us in the game early.’

But nine errors for Nittany Valley, which had first round bye, would be too much to overcome.

“I was a little disappointed in our overall performance,’ Kroell said. ‘We gave way too many runs away. We booted the ball way too many times. But you’ve got to give their guys credit; they made plays when we hit the ball.’

For State College, next up in the double-elimination tournament is a meeting with Penns Valley at 6 p.m. Thursday at Montresor Field on Bristol Avenue.

And for Gulley, Sunday’s game was an example that lessons for his team apply to him as well.

‘We talk to the boys about owning their mistakes and then making up for them,’ Gulley said. ‘Well, I gave my son the wrong sign and he got thrown out on a steal attempt. So I told the team that it was my blunder and they said, ‘That’s okay, we’ve got your back.”