MoCo Little Leaguers Advance to State Tournament
It took an extra game, but the boys from Montgomery County Little League were able to defeat Brunswick Little League this weekend to win the District 2 Little League Title. The win propels them to play in the Maryland State Little League 11/12 Tournament to be held in Easton next week.
MCLL wanted to win the District 2 championship at home on Friday night versus Brunswick Little, but it was not to be. The MoCos ran into a buzzsaw on the mound in the form of Adam Watkins from Brunswick. Watkins racked up nine strikeouts and allowed one earned run on three hits over six innings at South Germantown Park on Friday, as the MCLL all-stars fell 4-2 in a tight game. MCLL’s Sean Carrier managed to strikeout seven BLL batters in the loss.
The loss forced an extra game since Montgomery had been undefeated in the double-elimination tournament until Friday night. As a result of the loss, the MoCos would have to travel to Brunswick on Saturday.
For Saturday’s game at Marvin Younkins Memorial Field in Brunswick, MCLL manager Todd Paterson turned to his ace, Matthew Keane, who threw a dominating six-inning 13-0 shutout. Keane struck out 13 Brunswick batters and allowed only one hit and one walk in the victory.
While Keane got plenty of run support from his teammates, he helped his cause with a two-run home run in the first inning. He would end the day with three RBIs on three hits. Keane also got help in the field as Jack Patterson turned a double-play in the second inning to help stop a Brunswick threat.
MCLL scored two runs in the first and second innings, one in the third, three in the fourth, another in the fifth, and finished the game with a four-run sixth inning. The MoCos scored 13 runs on 15 hits and committed only one error.
The MoCo’s lineup racked 15 hits in the game. Keane’s three hits lead the team, followed by Jack Patterson, Sean Carrier, Josh Widenhofer, and Nick Frazier with two hits each. Christopher Wagner, Sam Batis, Noah Segui, and Tommy Miles each had a hit.
Tristan Anderson took the loss for Brunswick. He allowed nine runs in five innings, walked one and struck out three.
Next weekend the MoCos will travel to Easton on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to participate in the Maryland State Tournament at North Easton Park, where they will face off against the other champions from Maryland Little League Districts. In all, seven District championship teams from throughout Maryland will participate in this tournament. The winner will go on to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament, held in Bristol, Connecticut, and a chance to advance to the 2015 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Captions:
Top: The Montgomery County Little League 11/12 District 2 Champions. They will represent District 2 in the Maryland State Little League Tournament next week. Photo courtesy MCLL.
Next: Montgomery County’s Sean Carrier pitches on Friday night at South Germantown Park. Carrier struck