Analysis: Timely hitting puts Keystone Majors in make-or-break situations
Trending
Keystone's Major All-Star team has proven that hitting is not just a deciding factor in winning or losing games, it is the top factor. Other than running into a solid Mifflinburg team on Wednesday night, where Keystone fell behind early and couldn't breach a comeback, Keystone's hitting has kept them rolling in a big way.
But the truth of the matter is that making crucial hits at the proper time is how Keystone plays best, and it's how the team wins. Mifflinburg saw the ball faster and more efficiently than Keystone did. With timely hitting, Keystone has shown its true character in some of the most critical moments. If they take a page out of Mifflinburg's game plan from Wednesday, they will be in great shape.
The second-round loss to Mifflinburg wasn't what Keystone and its fans expected would be the outcome heading into Wednesday's game. After a first-round thumping of Upper Dauphin, 11-3, the team was riding on its high horse. But even in a loss, Keystone still totaled six runs on six hits, making the game a five-run loss versus what looked like an 11-point laying of an egg.
And if they can continue to prove they can play well in tight situations, getting to Saturday's championship game for a rematch with Mifflinburg isn't out of reach. With three possible games ahead of them in as many days, Keystone has a shot at a Section 3 crown if it wins out the rest of the tournament.
Winning out the rest of the tournament would not only require three wins in three days, but it would require beating a team three out of the four times in less than seven days. That's a lot to ask of from a group of 12-year-olds, but it is manageable.
In Wednesday's contest, Mifflinburg showed up big in the third inning with five consecutive hits. Similarly, Keystone hit singles in two of four at-bats and hit two, three-run homers in the same inning that threatened Mifflinburg.
Five different Keystone players managed to make a hit in the sixth inning alone and one hit in the third totaled six on the evening. Between Evan Edwards, Logan Bower, Evan Batterson, Logan Daniel, Angelo Tarantella and Zavier Wadsworth, when consecutive hits were rattled off, Keystone proved dangerous.
"That's one thing about this team is they can pass the sticks," Keystone coach Cole Hanley said. "They can go right through one through 12 and that helps a lot now that it's a 12-man thing so I'm very happy for them."
Playing as the home team doesn't always give a team the advantage, but what Keystone uses to their advantage is seeing what its opponents have in store. In Tuesday evening's game against Upper Dauphin, Keystone fell behind two runs in the top of the first but counterpunched with four runs in the bottom of that inning.
After holding Upper Dauphin to no hits or runs in the second and just three hits the remainder of the contest, Keystone was able to explode in the third and take command. Keystone put the game out of reach with nine runs on 13 hits.
Five different Keystone players registered at least two hits in that game, including Camden Fuller's 3-for-3 performance and a three-run homer on the fourth at-bat for the team. Specifically in the third inning, Carter Frank singled and Fuller took the reigns to start a hitting party.
Two consecutive singles, a walk and an RBI single and a two-RBI single was the beginning of the end for Upper Dauphin in the first round. The bats were hitting at the right time and Keystone was making plays.
Mifflinburg took that same approach on Wednesday. As Keystone was on the deficit side of the game again, Mifflinburg held Keystone to no avail. After the road team jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Keystone didn't respond until the sixth inning, a counterpunch that proved to be a bit too late against a well-oiled machine.
Keystone tends to see success if it is able to jump out to an early lead and hang on with its pitching and defense behind them. Better yet, this team plays at its best with its back against the wall, but at this stage in the playoffs those tight situations must be early on in the game.
Wednesday's night's game was a good all-around team who, with the talent and skill the team possesses, got going in a hurry. It's clear that Mifflinburg is on one heck of a hot streak right now after defeating Keystone Wednesday and Athens, 12-4, on Tuesday. If Keystone gets its bats early enough to where its opponent must play from behind, other teams may be in trouble.