While the goal of every Little League team is to make it to Williamsport, maybe even take home a Little League World Series championship, the underlying goal is the one that’s directly preached: do your best and make it as far as you can. One game at a time mentality steers the ship. Where it stops doesn’t necessarily define you.

For this year’s Keystone major baseball team, that ship made it pretty far. Its journey began all the way back in June on Day One of districts, seeing ten obstacles before officially coming to a halt two titles and one state tournament win later.

“It’s pretty remarkable,” said Keystone manager Matt McDermott on the run. “We were top eight in the state, finished top six in the state, so it was a good run. The kids were battling all the way through. They didn’t have an easy run of things.”

By the official end of their summer all-star run on Wednesday, the Keystone majors had won seven games, including tense District 12 and Section 3 titles and one state tournament game, and spent just over a month playing ball together. They finished sectionals 3-0 despite close calls against tough foes in Elk Lake and Selinsgrove and survived a tense end to districts, overcoming numerous tests through a challenging path.

MATT PATTON/For The Express Keystone players talk with their coach during a Section 3 tournament game against Selinsgrove this summer.

Add two prior runs to states in 2023 and 2024, and this group has experienced multiple successful, memorable summers together. And that’s where the added meaning of these deep runs come into play.

Month-long stints aren’t the norm in Little League baseball or softball. Oftentimes, Little League teams that take the field in late June don’t make it to July or get thwarted soon after, a reality Keystone almost experienced in an if game in the District 12 championship against Montoursville.

Winning is exciting and builds character, but that extra time spent together creates endless, long-lasting memories. Those memories on and off the field, in practice, games or team-bonding activities, could serve as building blocks for bonds that last a lifetime.

“This is fun,” said Keystone’s Carter Leone when discussing the experience after the team’s Section 3 championship win. “I always have a good time with this team.”

NECESSARY BALANCE

CHRIS MANNING/For The Express Keystone’s Brooks Warner and Gio Cej celebrate after scoring a run during a Section 3 tournament game this year.

Alongside hard work and dedication, adding fun into the mix played a role in its success.

With every opponent being a potential sink shipper, especially after districts, practice can become draining as the path to the series becomes shorter. At this age, those stakes, coupled with the increased practice that comes with it, can be difficult to overcome.

While staying prepared for tough competition ahead of sectionals and states, Keystone found ways to combat that. From water-balloon battles to watermelon-eating contests, the coaching staff found plenty of ways to keep things fun for the kids throughout the run unrelated to baseball, activities which could also help boost chemistry.

“In the postseason, it gets to be a little bit longer because now they’re practicing every day,” said McDermott ahead of sectionals. “So, we’re trying to make it fun and at the same time, cover what we need to cover for game-time situations.”

That chemistry was one of the many driving factors in the team’s third deep run together, particularly coming into play as it faced multiple deficits and tense conclusions through sectionals. When mistakes popped up and momentum threatened to flip, trust allowed Keystone to consistently get itself out of holes.

While the run is now complete, what a run it was. It’s another building block in what’s been a strong early start to this group’s stint playing baseball, one that reflects plenty more excitement to come.