State College Tops Bellefonte to Open Little League Playoffs

State College jumped out to an early lead and held off a comeback effort to defeat Bellefonte, 6-3, Friday night in the District 5 Little League All-Star Playoff opener.

“Bellefonte has a great fan base and a good, young team,’ State College manager Eric Gulley said. ‘This is maybe the toughest place in the district to play, so I feel blessed and fortunate to get out of here with a win.” 

State College opened the scoring at Bellefonte’s with three runs in the second. Bellefonte pitcher Hayden Alterio retired the first two hitters with nasty curveballs, but State College catcher John Olsen ignited the offense with a single. Andre Marshall picked up a walk, and singles by Nick Leydig and Branden Price produced three runs.

“Alterio is a great pitcher, a phenomenal pitcher,’ Gulley said. ‘I was a little concerned after the first inning when none of our first three guys could get to him at all.’

With Drew Moerschbacher on base in the third, State College’s Juman Sung widened the lead with a drive down the left-field line for a home run.

Down 5-0, Bellefonte wasn’t done. After two walks, Alterio came to the plate and helped his own cause with a blast to center that narrowed the gap to 5-3.

State College would tack on one more in the fifth as Moerschbacher connected for a single and scored on a double by Evan Martin that hit the fence in right field. Bellefonte wouldn’t be able to make up the difference.

Bellefonte manager Eric Funk was proud of his team’s comeback effort.

‘I looked out and saw the faces of the kids, and I could tell they were still in the game,’ Funk said. ‘We’re a young team with five 11-year-olds, so this was tough for them. These close games against good opponents make you a better team.”

State College next heads to Nittany Valley for a 6 p.m. game on Sunday. The game will be played at the Marion Walker complex at the corner of Nittany Valley Drive and Zion Back Road in Bellefonte.

Gulley will be hoping to see the same kind of fan support State College got at Webster Field. 

“I was happy and proud of the turnout by our fans,’ Gulley said. ‘I’ve never seen this many State College fans turn out for an away Little League playoff game.’