NEXT: Council Rock Newtown will meet Southern Lehigh at 6:00. The game will be heard on Eastern PA Sports Network, featuring EPASN founder Scott Johnston and LSV Sports founder Cody Brady. Pregame begins at 5:45 and you can listen in by clicking HERE. Franklin Township drops into the elimination bracket and will face Stroudsburg at 6:00, with updates being shared on the broadcast of the winners bracket game.
Council Rock Newtown 5, Franklin Township 2
Listen to the entire replay of the game HERE
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
| Council Rock Newtown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Franklin Township | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
On a hot, humid summer Sunday at the Holland Little League complex, it was the Newtown Blue Dawgs who struck first. Brayden Peifer was hit by a pitch, quickly shaking it off and making his way down to first base. He moved up on a passed ball and wild pitch thrown by Owen Moyer before scoring on an errant throw by catcher Carter Spotts. With the defending section 6 champions on top early, many may have thought the runs would start to come in droves versus the boys from Lehighton, making their first trip to sections since 2007.
In the top of the 2nd, Newtown loaded the bases on a Gavin Caudill single and walks to Rocco DaBronzo and Brody Gage. With nobody out, Franklin Township needed to stem the tide in a hurry. Manager Ben Moyer quickly went to his staff ace, Ethan Laible. Laible responded in terrific fashion, striking out Ryan Uhl and inducing groundouts by Wes Esteves and Will Siveter to leave the bases loaded.
Franklin Township then responded, scoring twice in their half of the second inning. An RBI single by Myles Meek and RBI double by Jakoby Andrews scored Roman White and Colby Solt respectively. Pitcher Tyler Wexler then stranded Meek and Andrews in scoring position by inducing a popup to short by Brody Hunsicker and groundout by Parker Cummins.
Despite nine hits and only being retired in order once, that would be the end of the scoring for Franklin Township. They would leave seven on base and four of those were in scoring position.
Council Rock Newtown broke through in the fourth inning after Greyson Gage led off with a double and moved up on a wild pitch. Gavin Caudill walked and stole second base, putting two in scoring position. Rocco DaBronzo’s RBI single to right scored Gage and Brody Gage picked up an RBI on a 6-4 fielders choice. Miles Mann took the mound for Franklin Township but was greeted with a double to center by Ryan Uhl and then a passed ball scored Brody Gage to cap the scoring.
Franklin Township threatened in the fifth, after teams returned from a rain delay that lasted over an hour, but Brody Hunsicker hit a bullet to Rocco DaBronzo and Parker Cummins met the same fate on a liner to Dean Hamilton to strand two on.
Despite being outhit 9-6, the Newtown pitching staff and defense managed base traffic well. Newtown also spread out the offense, as no players got multiple hits in the game, but production came from all parts of the lineup. Hamilton, Wexler, and Tyler Neeld combined to strikeout just two, but did not allow a walk. Wexler is the only ineligible pitcher for tomorrow’s winner’s bracket game against Southern Lehigh, which will be played at 6:00. Meanwhile, Franklin Township finds themselves in a tough spot, having used Owen Moyer and Ethan Laible, their top two pitchers, who will be inelgiible for the team’s elimination game against Stroudsburg, also to be played at 6:00.
Southern Lehigh 14, Stroudsburg 4
Listen to the entire replay of the game HERE
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
| Southern Lehigh | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 3 |
| Stroudsburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Better late than never. A game that was supposed to begin at 4:00 did not get going until 5:30 due to lightning and thunder in the area. Fortunately, very little rain fell during the long delay as teams and parents sat in their cars waiting to be called back to the field.
The Southern Lehigh pitching came well prepared against the district 29 champions Stroudsburg. Bud Johnson, who struck out five of six batters he faced in the District 20 title game against Hellertown/Lower Saucon, came out firing. He went the first two innings, striking out four of seven batters faced.
Southern Lehigh scored first and often, spurred on by the bottom of the order. Hal Lahneman led off the third inning with a single to left, followed quickly by a Jameson Driscoll double and Ruffin Nuhfer RBI fielders choice. Beckett Spigelmyer, who had been struggling in the leadoff spot, roped a first pitch RBI single past third to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
Lucian Magazzu then took the mound for the first time in the All-Star season, striking out Wyatt Smith, Anthony Antonelli and Bridget Hardy in the third. Meanwhile, for Stroudsburg, Jalen Pluviose was on fire at second base, figuring in eight of the first ten Southern Lehigh outs.
With a 3-1 lead entering the fifth, the Southern Lehigh offense busted through in a big way, plating eight runs. Bud Johnson led off with a single to left, advancing to third on a wild pitch and passed ball. Logan Davis and Hal Lahneman both walked and Bud Johnson scored on a wild pitch. Driscoll then got his second hit, driving one into center for an RBI. Ruffin Nuhfer followed up with another productive out on a sac fly RBI to right. Spigelmyer came through with another RBI hit and scored on a bases loaded walk. Two more runs scored on a wild pitch and error by catcher Olivia Bunn, making the score 11-1.
Hal Lahneman came in to pitch and quickly struck out Olivia Bunn and Luca Hodson, putting Southern Lehigh just an out away from a mercy rule victory. However, Stroudsburg kicked off an impressive rally after Wyatt Smith walked and Anthony Antonelli doubled to right. Bridget Hardy, on an 0-2 count, singled to left and the ball rolled to the wall, scoring two and extending the game. Pluviose added an RBI single, scoring Hardy.
Southern Lehigh tacked on three more in the sixth, as Ruffin Nuhfer picked up his first hit of All-Star tournament play. He would finish with 3RBI on the night. The top of the inning ended on an amazing diving catch by Elias Pabon in center. He then threw to second base to double off Nuhfer. Irvin Brunner came on in the bottom of the inning and got Stroudsburg in order to end the game. Southern Lehigh pitchers struck out 11 while walking just two. The Spartans will now face Council Rock Newtown in the winners bracket final. Stroudsburg drops into the elimination bracket and faces Franklin Township.
LSV Sports 
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