Kingston/Forty Fort’s Kye Kushnir slides in safely at second base before Abington shortstop Max Vazquez could apply the tag.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Kingston/Forty Fort’s Dayne Wadas squares to bunt against Abington.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Kingston/Forty Fort’s Sam Figueroa slides in safely at second base while Abington second baseman Patrick Keeler waits for the throw.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Abington first baseman Justin Johnson stretches for a throw as Kingston/Forty Fort’s Sam Figueroa runs to first.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Kingston/Forty Fort’s Yonah Ringler catches a pop fly at second base.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Kingston/Forty Fort’s Brentley Nicholls lays down a bunt against Abington.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Abington’s Grady Tomachick picks up a bunt and throws to first base.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Abington first baseman Justin Johnson tosses to pitcher Dylan Lyle covering first base.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
Abington pitcher Max Vazquez throws to first baseman Justin Johnson.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Times Leader
SCOTT TWP. — Kingston/Forty Fort was able to ruin Abington’s perfect record and extend the Section 5 Little League Major Baseball Tournament to one final deciding game.
Abington recovered, however, Wednesday to win the second meeting of the night between the two teams 10-3 and capture the section championship.
T.J. Needle’s work leading off innings led Kingston/Forty Fort into a winner-take-all game. Needle started the fourth and sixth innings with singles, then came in to score his team’s first run and the game-ending run when Kingston/Forty Fort won Wednesday night’s opener 3-2 at the Lakeland Little League Complex.
Kingston/Forty Fort lost its first meeting with Abington 9-2 Sunday and came out of the elimination bracket needing two straight wins Wednesday in order to take the title. Needle’s offense and a complete game from pitcher Kye Kushnir made sure another game would be needed to determine the championship.
Abington responded in that game, highlighted by a two-run homer from Max Vazquez in the five-run third inning on the way to the victory. The final game ended in increasingly hard showers, but with a shorter break than planned between games, the tournament was able to be completed in time.
Kingston/Forty Fort 3, Abington 2
In the night’s first game, Kingston/Forty Fort kept constant pressure on Abington and starting pitcher Vazquez, who had struck out five in 2.2 hitless, scoreless innings against it three days earlier.
The District 31 champions loaded the bases in the first inning and had runners in scoring position in five of their six at-bats. With deep counts and eight two-strike fouls, Kingston/Forty Fort ran up Vazquez’s pitch total and had him out of the game by the end of the fourth inning.
Kingston/Forty Fort took the lead in that fourth inning, but went into the bottom of the sixth tied.
Abington took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Vazquez singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a Penn Eckenrode single.
Two Abington errors sandwiched around an RBI single by Yonah Ringler allowed Kingston/Forty Fort to move in front 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning.
Abington tied the game in the fifth when Grady Tomachick’s single scored Lucas Deschaine, who had also singled.
Needle singled to center to start the sixth and went right to second on an error. He took third on a sacrifice by Dayne Wadas, who also reached on a throwing error.
Wadas went to second uncontested and Richie McCabe hit a dribbler down the third-base line, drawing a throwing error to end the game and extend the night.
Kushnir got out of a second-and-third situation with no outs in the second to begin a stretch of seven straight that he retired. He finished by retiring the last five he faced, two on strikeouts.
Abington 10, Kingston/Forty Fort 3
Abington scored the first eight runs of the title game before Kingston/Forty Fort managed one in each of its final three at-bats.
Kingston/Forty Fort had just one hit in the last game until Nick Lipinski and Needle had consecutive singles in the fourth and Lipinski scored when Dayne Wadas grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Mike Varzaly and Kushnir also had consecutive hits in the sixth as Kingston/Forty Fort tried to keep comeback hopes alive.
Abington advances into state tournament play, which begins next week.
First Game
Kingston/Forty Fort 3, Abington 2
Abington`AB`R`H`BI
Kane eh-c`3`0`0`0
Vazquez p-ss`1`1`1`0
Eckenrode ss`2`0`1`1
Johnson 1b`2`0`0`0
Deschaine rf`2`1`2`0
Giroux eh`1`0`1`0
Tomachick 3b`2`0`1`1
Hillebrand lf`2`0`1`0
Hizny c`2`0`0`0
Lyle eh-p`2`0`0`0
Keeler 2b`2`0`0`0
McDonough cf`2`0`0`0
Totals`23`2`7`2
Kingston/Forty Fort`AB`R`H`BI
Kushnir p`1`0`1`0
Lipinski 3b`3`0`1`0
Needle ss`3`2`2`0
Wadas 1b`2`1`0`0
McCabe c`3`0`0`0
Ringler 2b`2`0`1`1
Ahart cf`2`0`0`0
Figueroa rf`2`0`1`0
Dailey eh`1`0`0`0
Singer eh`2`0`0`0
Nicholls lf`2`0`0`0
Varzaly eh`2`0`0`0
Totals`25`3`7`1
Abington`000`110 — 2
Kingston/Forty Fort`000`201 — 3
2B – Figueroa. 3B – Deschaine.
Abington`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Vazquez`3.2`6`2`0`1`7
Lyle (L)`1.1`1`1`0`2`0
Kingston/FF`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Kushmir (W)`6`7`2`2`1`4
Championship Game
Abington 10, Kingston/Forty Fort 3
Abington`AB`R`H`BI
Kane c`4`1`2`1
Vazquez ss`3`1`2`2
Eckenrode 3b`3`1`3`0
Johnson 1b`2`1`1`0
Deschaine rf`3`1`1`0
Giroux eh`3`0`1`0
Tomachick 2b`2`2`1`1
Hillebrand eh`3`2`0`1
Hizny p`3`0`2`1
Lyle eh`3`0`1`1
Keeler lf`2`1`1`1
McDonough cf`3`0`0`0
Totals`34`10`15`8
Kingston/Forty Fort`AB`R`H`BI
Kushnir ss`2`0`1`0
Lipinski 3b`3`1`1`0
Needle p`3`0`1`0
Wadas 1b`2`0`0`1
McCabe c`2`0`1`0
Ringler 2b`2`0`0`0
Ahart cf`1`1`0`0
Figueroa rf`1`0`0`0
Dailey eh-p`2`0`0`0
Singer eh`2`0`0`0
Nicholls eh-c`2`0`0`0
Varzaly eh`2`1`1`0
Totals`24`3`5`1
Abington`025`120 — 10
Kingston/Forty Fort`000`111 — 3
2B – Kane 2. HR — Figueroa.
Abington`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Hizny (W)`4`3`2`1`3`4
Johnson`2`2`1`0`3`2
Kingston/FF`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Needle (L)`3`10`7`5`3`1
Dailey`3`5`3`1`0`0
