Kingston/Forty Fort players celebrate their win over Back Mountain National for the District 31 Little League 8-10 baseball title on Saturday in West Pittston.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Kingston/Forty Fort shortstop TJ Needle fields a ball in the fourth inning against Back Mountain National.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Kingston/Forty Fort relief pitcher TJ Needle reacts to winning the District 31 title on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Kington/Forty Fort starting pitcher Ma’Kye Kusknir cools down in the dug out with a wet towel over his head during the District 31 championship game Saturday in West Pittston.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Back Mountain National shortstop Ollie Bross dives for a ball in the second inning on Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WEST PITTSTON — Two big offensive outburst and one combined pitching gem. They added up to a championship Saturday afternoon for Kingston/Forty Fort.
KFF scored five times in the second inning, tacked on four more runs in the fourth and had starter Ma’Kye Kushnir and reliever TJ Needle quieted Back Mountain National’s bats for a 10-2 victory in the District 31 8-10 Baseball championship game at West Pittston Little League.
KFF advanced to the Section 5 tournament with the victory. It also avenged its only loss in pool play. National won that game 3-1 in seven innings on June 24.
“We got our bats on the ball today,” KFF manager Tim Needle said. “The kids did well. We’ve been working on that a lot. So I give credit to the kids because they’ve been working their tails off. They are a great group of kids, a bunch of nice kids. They put in a lot of work and did a good job and it showed today.”
KFF got off to a good start with the bats. Nick Lipinski opened the second inning with a single and Needle followed with a double. Both scored when Dayne Wadas grounded a double that just stayed inside the left-field foul line. An out later, consecutive singles by Jason Dailey, Emery Yurko and Brentley Nicholls along with a double steal, a wild pitch and an error produced three more runs.
Richie McCabe singled home Mike Varzaly in the third to push KFF’s lead to 6-0.
Meanwhile, National batters had trouble against Kushnir. He allowed just two baserunners — both on walks — through three innings and had six strikeouts to that point.
National finally got on the board in the fourth. CJ Mayerski was hit by a pitch with one out. Ollie Bross followed with a double to right and Mayerski scored on an error on the hit. Bross moved to second on a groundout and scored on an error to move National within 6-2. Kushnir ended the threat with his seventh strikeout.
KFF answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on five walks — including bases-loaded free passes to Nicholls and Sam Figueroa — and an RBI single by Seth Ahart.
National managed to get a baserunner in the fifth and sixth innings, but Needle ended the game with a pair of strikeouts.
“Credit to them,” National manager Brian Wielgosz said. “We got them once and they got us once. I wish we could play again, but it is what it is. I wish them the best of luck.”
District 31 8-10 Championship
Kingston/Forty Fort 10, Back Mtn. National 2
BMN`AB`R`H`BI
Mayerski c`2`1`0`0
Bross ss`2`1`1`0
Knowles 1b`1`0`0`0
Pietraccini eh`2`0`0`0
Hornak rf`2`0`0`0
Coach cf`1`0`0`0
Katyl 2b`1`0`0`0
Wycallis lf`2`0`0`0
Wielgosz eh`2`0`0`0
Hanson p`1`0`0`0
Bonomo 3b`2`0`0`0
Tribendis eh`2`0`0`0
Totals`20`2`1`0
KKF`AB`R`H`BI
Vazquez 2b`3`0`0`0
McCabe c`2`0`1`1
Kushnir p`2`0`0`0
Lipinski 3b`1`2`1`0
Needle ss`1`2`1`0
Wadas 1b`1`1`1`2
Ahart cf`2`1`1`1
Dailey eh`1`2`1`1
Yurko rf`1`1`1`0
Nicholls lf`1`0`1`1
Figueroa eh`1`0`0`1
Singer eh`2`0`0`0
Varzaly eh`2`1`1`0
Totals`20`10`9`7
Back Mountain`000`200 — 2
Kingston/Forty Fort`051`40x — 10
2B — Bross, Needle, Wadas
BMN`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Hanson (L)`2.1`8`6`5`0`3
Coach`2.2`1`4`3`5`0
KFF`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Kushnir (W)`4`1`2`1`1`7
Needle`2`0`0`0`2`3
