CENTRE HALL — State College and Penns Valley kicked off the 12U District 5 Little League Tournament Monday night in Centre Hall.
State College didn’t have a lead in the game until Liam Williams hit what would end up being the game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, capping off State College’s dramatic 6-5 comeback victory.
Penns Valley got on the board in the top of the first inning. After two outs, with the bases loaded and Penns Valley leading 1-0, Justin Aukerman lined a ball into center field that cleared the bases and increased Penns Valley’s lead to 4-0. State College cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning on Carter Steinbugl’s triple to right field that scored Braden Summerson. Summerson then scored on a passed ball to make the score 4-2. Both teams added a run in the second inning to make it 5-3 in favor of Penns Valley.
In the top of the third, two great defensive plays by State College kept Penns Valley’s lead at two. Isaac Lucas lined a ball over Steinbugl’s head in right field. Steinbugl played the ball off the fence and fired a strike to shortstop Fin Baker, who tagged out Lucas as he tried to advance to second base. State College manager Jay Neal praised the play.
“We absolutely love this defense. Shot off the fence, routine double almost all the time. Carter Steinbugl picked it like we practiced, absolute gun to second base like we practiced, and Fin Baker with the snap tag there. I mean, that’s huge. Every run they could’ve tacked on would’ve been huge.”
The next Penns Valley batter walked before Aukerman hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The score remained 5-3 until the bottom of the fifth inning. Dayton Keith, who came on in relief of pitcher Isaac Lewis, retired the first two State College batters he faced. Braden Summerson then singled, and Steinbugl reached on an error, bringing Liam Williams to the plate. Williams took a 1-2 pitch and hammered it over the center-field fence to give State College its first lead of the game.
Williams talked about what he was looking for during the at-bat and what was going through his mind when he saw the ball clear the fence.
“I was just looking for pitches that I liked and not chasing pitches out of the zone. I gotta help my team out.”
Penns Valley had a chance in the top of the sixth, but after Aukerman picked up his second hit of the game, State College pitcher Berkley Ingold forced a ground out before striking out the next two Penns Valley batters to secure the 6-5 victory.
After not taking the lead until Williams’ home run in the fifth, Neal talked about the resilience of his team.
“Isaac Lewis for Penns Valley pitched a gem of a baseball game. That was huge on their part to come out and put four runs up. We told the kids there is a six-inning baseball game. That first inning meant nothing. We battled on, we persevered.”
Justin Aukerman led Penns Valley with three RBIs, while Isaac Lewis pitched well, allowing just one earned run on two hits.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament, which also includes Bellefonte and Bald Eagle, continues this week with games throughout the area.
