Talan Geskey led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run to center field as Back Mountain National defeated Aston Middletown 4-3 Thursday in an elimination game in the Little League Major Baseball state tournament at Pitt-Bradford.
National will continue in the elimination bracket Friday with a game at 7:30 p.m. against Holidaysburg, which lost 5-4 to Keystone in a winners bracket semifinal game.
Geskey’s blast came after a controversial top of the sixth where Aston Middletown tied the score 3-3. Aston Middletown had its first three runners reach base. Kyle Anstotz then hit a fielder’s choice with the force coming at third and the tying run apparently scoring.
However, there was some uncertainty whether the ball was caught before it hit the ground, which would have resulted in at least a double play, and maybe a triple play because the Aston Middletown runner on first reached second, ran back to first and then was tagged trying to get back to second.
After a delay of over five minutes, the run and forceout at third were counted and Aston Middletown had runners at first and second with one out. Winning pitcher Cole Langdon then got a double play to end the threat.
National took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning. Mitch Onzik led off with a walk and Joey Nocito reached on an infield single. Onzik scored on Trevor Cunningham’s single to left to knot the score 2-2. Aston Middletown retired the next two batters, but Landon James kept the inning alive with an infield single to score Nocito.
Aston Middletown struck first, scoring in its first trip to the plate. Brody Orr hit a two-out single and Colt Sullivan followed with an RBI double.
National tied the score 1-1 in the third. Tyce Mason opened the inning with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a delayed steal. He scored on a single to right by Kolby Shook.
Aston Middletown came right back in the top of the fourth to retake the lead 2-1. Sullivan began the inning by being hit by a pitch. Anstotz sent him home two outs later with an RBI double.
GWA juniors bow out
Greater Wyoming Area’s successful season came to an end with a 10-0 loss to host DuBois in the Little League Junior Baseball state tournament.
Connor Krakosky had two hits for GWA while Ricky Rowles and Robbie Yatsko each had one apiece.
GWA won the District 31 and Section 5 championships before dropping two games in the state bracket.
