The West Perry 10U all-stars are not going to the Cal Ripken World Series.
That doesn’t mean Jerry Shreffler’s ballclub didn’t have another spectacular summer of baseball.
On July 9 in Audubon, West Perry knocked off, first, Mt. Union 5-4, then Audubon 8-7 to claim the Ripken Northwest PA state championship.
The team, consisting of most of the kids that had won the tournament as nine-year-olds, was undefeated in two pool-play outings, then finished up with three wins in one-and-done bracket play.
“I’m very happy with how these boys played,” said Shreffler, whose team has passed on the opportunity to advance to the Middle Atlantic Region tournament. “To win back-to-back, against teams from bigger areas was great.
“There was a lot of pressure on everybody. They were in some good battles.”
A talented and deep pitching staff helped Shreffler get through the tournament.
In the opener, a 14-0 rout of McSherrytown, starter Caleb Bizzle and Mickey Knisely combined for a no-hitter. Knisely and Aiden Shepard had two hits apiece. Evan Shepard (triple) and Colton Fry (double) added extra-base hits.
Evan Shepard, Eli Lyons and Jamison Cummins teamed to limit Mt. Union to eight hits in a 5-2 win that clinched first in pool play.
Lyons, and the Shepard twins, had two hits apiece. Knisely, Cummins and Ryan McCurdy, who knocked in the final run, added hits.
In bracket play, West Perry eased past Flood City 13-3. It scored five runs in the second inning, then eight in the fourth. Evan Shepard, Cummins and Lyons handled the pitching.
Things tightened in the semifinal rematch with Mt. Union.
The District 13 champs tied the game with two runs in the second, fell behind 4-2 in the bottom of the inning and retied it with two runs in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t hold off Shreffler’s energetic crew.
Third baseman Christian Stump reached on an error to open the frame, hustled to second on a passed ball, then got to third on a groundout, bringing McCurdy to the plate, who promptly fell into a two-strike hole.
“We teach when you get to two strikes, you choke-and-poke,” Shreffler explained. “Ryan did his job. He put the ball in play, in the hole between short and third. Stumpy broke for home, their shortstop didn’t eye-ball him and he was able to slide home safely.”
After a 10-minute break, West Perry was back on the field to face the host team for the championship.
It was a wild affair not for the faint of heart.
West Perry scored three in the top of the first.
Audubon answered with five in the home half of the inning.
West Perry got one back in the second to get to within 5-4, then surged in front 7-5 with three runs in the fourth.
In the rally, Cummins, Stump and Colton Fry walked to load the bases. Two outs later, Lyons walked to force in a run and Trent Hockenberry followed with a clutch two-out single that chased Stump and Fry across the plate.
Audubon responded with two game-tying runs in the bottom of the frame.
When West Perry scored a go-ahead run in the top of the fifth, Shreffler turned the game over to Evan Shepard, who slammed the door shut with two scoreless innings, including a pair of strikeouts in the sixth.
“Evan was juiced. He really wanted the win,” Shreffler said. “He just dominated them in the sixth inning.”
Notes
Depending on who was pitching, Shreffler’s defense included Aiden Shepard (catcher), McCurdy (1B), Evan Shepard (2B), Lyons (SS), Stump (3B), Fry (LF), Hockenberry (CF) and Knisely (RF). Bizzle and Kameron Drayden, who served as the EH, were also in the outfield rotation.
John Alvanitakis can be reached via e-mail at sports@perrycountytimes.com