| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
| Franklin Township | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | X | 12 | 9 | 1 |
| Valley West | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 5 | 7 |
WP: Meek LP: Peak
Myles Meek delivered a stellar nine-strikeout performance against Valley West in a 12-0 shutout victory in the District 18 winners bracket semifinals. With the game pushed back an hour due to heavy rains, Franklin Township came out as strong as ever, as they seek to defend their district title from a year ago. Last year’s Majors meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-0 nail-biter, as Township snapped a six year title streak for the team from Conyngham. This one saw Franklin dominate from start to finish and untimely Valley West errors and misplays in the field.
“The boys played well. We stress that great pitching and great defense will win Little League baseball games. Myles Meek was phenomenal on the mound–first pitch strikes and working ahead in the count.” Manager Travis Hunsicker talked about his team’s effort.
“We stress putting the ball in play and making the other team get us out.” And that was what their opponent had a hard time doing most of the evening.
Meek helped his own cause early on. As the leadoff hitter, he singled up the middle with one out in the first. He then stole second, before taking third on the first of what would be seven errors on the night committed by Valley West. Jase Tranguch fired down to second to try and pickoff Meek, but the throw skipped into center field, allowing Meek to go to third. Meek scored on a wild pitch.
After Myles struck out the side in the bottom of the inning, working around a 2-out single to his counterpart, Nolan Peak, Township got to work. Following two quick outs, Parker Cummins worked a 2-2 count into a walk. Christian Snyder kept things going with his first hit of the tournament, and both runners moved up as the throw came in wild from right field.
The final four batters in the lineup then did manager Travis Hunsicker proud. Mason Neff picked up his first hit of the tournament, an RBI single into right field. Jayce Graham brought both runners home with a hard shot back up the middle, the third consecutive hit of the inning surrendered by Peak.
With a 4-0 lead built up behind him, Meek took the mound in the bottom of the second, fanning two more and inducing a groundout to second.
Another third out would prove elusive in the third. Brody Hunsicker and Jakoby Andrews worked full count walks. Hunsicker would come around to score on a wild pitch after stealing third, increasing the lead to 5-0. The scoring may have continued, if not for a runners interference call on Miles Mann moving from first to second on a single by Jake Kistner. Mann had reached on an E6.
In the bottom of the third, Valley West got its first baserunner. Gavin Frederick singled to right and moved up on a bad throw on a pickoff attempt. Unfortunately for West, he was stranded at third on a popup to first by Jude Ulanoski and bunt back to Meek by Zack Messer.
Two more errors piled up on Valley West in the fourth. And, like before, the boys from Lehighton capitalized. Cummins hit a ball to short. The throw was not corralled by Reggie at first, allowing for a one-out baserunner. Christian Snyder knocked a ball into right field. Mason Neff then hit one to short, but the ball was bobbled by Brady Klesh. Bryson Brungard delivered in the big spot with his first hit of the all-star season, bringing home two runs and moving the lead to 7-0.
With two on in the bottom of the four, Myles Meek remained on the mound after a brief discussion with his coaching staff. Whatever was discussed worked. He promptly picked up his seventh, eight, and ninth strikeouts of the evening to retire the side and prevent any ideas Valley West had of coming back.
“TThey really just show up for me every time. I just do my job and throw strikes and they make the plays for me,” Meek talked about his performance and the key to his success, “Just throwing strikes and just pounding the zone.”
Three wild pitches, an error, and two hits in the fifth put the final touches on the game for Township, giving them a 12-0 lead. Miles Meek came on to pitch in the bottom of the fifth and was quickly involved in a great play to keep Valley West off the scoreboard. A wild pitch got by Hunsicker, but Hunsicker tracked it down and quickly flipped to Mann covering home, allowing him to tag out Jase Tranguch just in time.
The bottom of the order was particularly powerful for Township, as the bottom four combined for three hits and 5RBI.
“We’ve got a bunch of studs on our team who can hit the ball around.” Meek added that bottm of the order hitters like Neff, Cummins and Snyder were top of the order batters during the regular season.
Meek’s 65 pitch performance means he will need three calendar days of rest before throwing again. He will be unavailable for the winners bracket final versus Weatherly on Sunday night, but the nine strikeout effort was crucial.
When the game ended after five innings in the run rule, Valley West had committed seven errors, walked five, and threw five wild pitches. Franklin Township’s bats made them pay time and time again. Valley West was particularly aggressive in trying to throw runners out on the basepath, but the strategy often backfired, especially early on.
“We played well tonight. I’m especially proud of 1-12. It wasn’t just two or three kids at the top of the order. It was our 8-9-10 batters getting two out hits and RBI hits,” added Hunsicker.
For Valley West, the season is not over. They will take on Jim Thorpe on Saturday.
Franklin Township advances to the winners bracket final at Weatherly on Sunday night at 6:00. The winner of that game will need just one more victory to claim the District 18 title and move on to the Section 6 tournament, which will be held in Tamaqua in mid-July.
LSV Sports 
Leave a comment