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"It was just an honor for me to coach these boys"

7/21/2023

It wasn't to be.

Franklin got spanked by St. Mary's the first time they met. There's really no sugar coating that. Coach Scott Milliron may have said it best when he said "we needed a wake up call."

And a wake up call it was. They returned to the kind of ball they were used to playing the following night with explosive hitting and solid early pitching.

They staved off late surge by the Erie county FLAG team 13-10 to earn a rematch against St. Mary's.

This team was poised and ready for the next challenge. But when you reach this level you meet other teams also poised and ready.

The game was relatively uneventful for the first two innings. Both teams got a sprinkling of runners on but unable to plate any.

In the top of the third Greyson Milliron had a one out single followed by a Barrett Smith walk. Both would touch home plate, Milliron on a wild pitch and Smith on a fielder's choice on a Chase Barrett grounder.

But that ended up being all the scoring they could muster. St. Mary's pitcher Jonathan Chapman and the defense behind him kept Franklin scoreless down the stretch.

St. Mary's countered in the third adding a run after Cael Stauffer laced a double scoring Rory Wendel who got on with an infield fielders choice.

In the fourth St. Mary's tied the game on a bases loaded walk.

The game was even going into he fifth inning. It was down to who was going to take charge or take advantage of a mistake.

Not much happened in the fifth. Franklin was stifled completely and St. Mary's got one on but they left him there.

In the sixth Franklin's Cam Greksa drew a base on balls but could not advance.

On to the last half of the inning, they were tie and needing to stop St. Mary's to force extra innings.

St. Mary's got a lead off runner on base, but a double-play attempt on the next batter went awry allowing the runner to move into scoring position with one out.

The next batter dribbled one back to the pitcher who threw to first for what should've been the second out as the runner on second dashed to third, but the throw was high and over the first baseman's head allowing the game winning score to cross home-plate.

Just one of those things that happens in baseball, but it just happened at the wrong time.

"The loss tonight stings," coach Scott Milliron admitted at the end of the game. Though disappointed with the result, he was not disappointed with his player's efforts.

"These boys put in so much work this summer, I mean to put it in perspective, we're still playing little league ball in the third week in July. These boys have done something right," Milliron said. "I give them all the credit, all the hard work , the sweat and tears they've put in, they give it their all."

"We came up short tonight, but wgoing forward from this, they don't even realize what they've done this summer, they're like 'we're just playing ball,' it's so fantastic.

Ball is far from over for these player who most of them play for the Firestorm 3 travel ball team. They have two big tournaments coming up in Warren County and in West Virginia. "I'm excited for this group as they get older, even the twelve year old team - they're going to be special."

Milliron said he's happy to go back to assistant coaching the Firestorm 3 team with friend Matt Carll who stepped in to help coach this team's district final when Milliron was at a wedding. He said it has been a fun ride as the teams get together after games to have a bite to eat and socialize. "It's great, baseball really brings people together, we lost today but we now cheer for (St. Mary's) to win states."

"The boys are sad, but I told them to hold their heads high, I'm so stinking proud of everything they've done this summer," Milliron said.

"Hopefully what they get out of this is the hard work they put in that anything they put their minds to, they can achieve through hard work and effort" Milliron said. "These boys are heart and soul, they absolutely love playing ball. It's just been amazing to see the effort they've put in."

Its just an honor coaching these kids.

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Column: Franklin 10U Baseball battles back with big bats, seeks revenge

7/20/2023

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We're not going to lie, we didn't make it to this game Wednesday. These photos are from the previous two games we were able to attend. There is life outside of baseball (though I suspect folks reading this now are like... "there is???????") and we had planned to cover two other stories this night.

So, last night we knew it was likely we wouldn't make it - so, we asked the very nice 'keeper of the book,' Ben Barrett if he'd send us the results and the copy of the book. And what a book it is...Mr Barrett was very busy making marks Wednesday and while looking over the book it is very clear that we missed a hell of a game - if you like offense anyway.

For those of you who don't know what baseball stats folks know, this is what a book looks like. The keeper of the book has to pay very close attention and every single baseball act, other than warmups, that has to be recorded. Those filled in circles at the bottom, in little league ball terms are the Bible.

Each of those filled in circles is hugely important that they are accurate. "If we go over, if we run a kid two pitches too many, everything might be null and void," said Franklin head coach Scott Milliron. If a pitcher throws less than twenty pitches they can pitch the next day. If they hit 35 they they can't for two days. In tournament play, this is huge.

So having someone keeping the book accurately is a major factor in all-star baseball. And Ben Barrett is an educator who has taught math using baseball as a means to understanding number and stats.

For a dumb old photographer who did not follow in his fathers footsteps in his love of math, it's been a learning curve this season as I've learned how to read a book. And seldom are two book keeper styles the same. Mr. Barrett's is very clear.

What our late night glance shows is Greyson Milliron had another very good night at the plate and on the base pads. He scored four times. Barrett Smith and Chase Barrett were also incredibly prolific touching home three times a piece. Bryce Beightol scored a run and Cam Greksa scored two more times. Each of those scores means either someone knocked them in or wild pitches allowed them - I'm still trying to learn the hieroglyphics to determine those things.

Franklin was also aided by their opponent committing seven errors and a plethora of passed balls or wild pitches.

The most important marks in the book, beyond pitch count is the adding up of the runs each inning. In this case, Franklin was unrelenting at bat scoring one in the first before pushing home 12 runs in three innings. F.L.A.G. wouldn't go quietly though scoring five runs in both the fourth and sixth innings. In the end Franklin won 13-10 and advances to face St. Mary's again Thursday night.

They will have to beat them twice to win the tournament, so the coaches will be pulling their hair out trying to plan for the "if necessary game," while knowing they have to make the right call just to even get the chance at that game. Franklin should have some of its best pitchers ready for the rematch.

The offense will need to be just as explosive, if not more so in Thursday's contest. Bats help save arms.

This is a good team facing another good team. St. Mary's beat up Franklin pretty good Tuesday night.

They meet again tonight at 6 p.m. in Meadville in the must win for Franklin. The best warriors, and attentive coaches will win.

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Cranberry will now have to do it the hard way... again.

7/19/2023

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Battling back from the loser's bracket to snag a championship banner isn't anything new for the Cranberry Little League All-Stars.

In the district tournament they dropped a rough outing to Franklin, only to bounce back to win three in a row, including beating Franklin twice. The win streak catapulted them into the sectional tournament.

Tuesday they dropped a tough one 10-2 in the sections to a bulldozing Dubois squad with solid pitching and even more solid hitting.

Cranberry highlights came a bit too little, too late. getting one run in the fourth and another in the sixth before being shut down by a good double play with a few runners in scoring position

Dubois will play Wednesday against the Cambridge Springs/Saegertown who beat Harbor Creek 4-0. Cranberry will play Harbor Creek in the consolation round hoping to stay alive.
Both games will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Saegertown.

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Rough start sets bad tone for Franklin 9 and 10s

7/19/2023

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Editor's note: This has been edited to correct a misspelled name and a few typos, our apologies.

The 8 p.m. game at the Fairground's Field Tuesday between St. Mary's and Franklin got a late start due to a delay with the umpires arrival. Then, once it began, Franklin's gloves, which are usually pretty good, were just not working for them as they racked up error after error in a six run first inning for St.Mary's.

"The kids were just cold starting off with errors and stuff. I guess we needed a wake up call and here it is," said coach Scott Milliron after his team dropped a 17-6 drubbing by a strong St.Mary's team.

St.Mary's started right off with their first batter, Cael Stauffer, hitting a single that was mishandled by the usually solid centerfielder Owen Hefferman. The mishap allowed Stauffer to make it safe to second. Then a grounder to second ended up with a throwing error and runners safe on first and third with no outs. Stauffer scorred on a wild pitch. Another misplayed ball in center scored two more runs and the batter on third, still with no outs .

Finally Franklin recorded and out on a grounder to second that Cam Greksa handled nicely, but St.Mary's scored another on the fielder's choice. Six of St.Mary's first seven batters scored in the inning.

Seemingly undaunted by the frustrating at times top of the first, Franklin began chipping away at the lead. Grayson Milliron reached first on a hard grounder that wasn't handled. Barrett Smith looped a base hit and Milliron went to third. Then Chase Barrett beat out an infield squibber and scored Milliron.

Bryce Beightol grounded out but it scored Smith. then Owen Hefferman plated Barrett with a single to right field. But St. Mary's hard throwing starter Easton Staab got out of the inning with a three run lead leaving a couple runners stranded.

In the second inning it looked like Franklin was back to being themselves and St. Mary's was unable to score.

But then the Franklin wasn't able to muster up any offense themselves.

St. Mary's got five more in the third, again only getting one hit while taking advantage of Franklin miscues, walks and wild pitches. St. Mary's had accumulated 11 runs on just two hits thus far.

It just wasn't Franklin's night.

Again they couldn't muster any offense in the bottom of the third.

St. Mary's got its third hit on a boomer double by Staab who eventually added a run on a wild pitch.

Franklin came to life in the bottom of the fifth with Milliron beating out a hard hit that was knocked down by the shortstop. Smith then doubled scoring Milliron all the way from first. Barrett clobbered one that rattled the right field fence for a double that scored Smith. Barrett scored and a Greksa single to right. They were only able to score three but it again brought them within 6 runs with a an inning to go.

But St.Mary's was not done adding a demoralizing five insurance runs in the top of the sixth.

The game ended at 17-6 with St. Mary's and their fans getting a day off from the two-and-a-half- hour commute. They will play in the championship game Thursday night a 6 p.m. against the winner o Wednesday night's 6 p.m. game between Franklin and F.L.A.G. who eliminated Meadville/Vernon earlier Tuesday night 11-5.

Coach Milliron said he thinks he'll be ok with pitchers by keeping pitch counts down as much as possible. They play Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Fairgrounds field in hopes to get another crack at St. Mary's.

They will have to beat them twice for a trip to states.

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Franklin 9-10s advance with 'respectable' win

7/17/2023

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Owen Hefferman got the game ball for his work closing out Franklin's 12-3 victory over Meadville/Vernon Monday under the Fairgrounds Field lights during the opening round of the 9-10-year-olds Section 1 tournament.

Hefferman was the fourth pitcher in coach Scott Milliron's pitch-count management scheme. He held Mdv/V scoreless. Just prior to his coming in as the closer, the shortest guy on the team first made perhaps the biggest play from the outfield. Mdv/V's Vinnie Streyle blooped one into shallow center. It was too far for Franklin's infield to get to and it seemed like it might drop. But the speedy Hefferman made a diving grab.

The Mdv/V player on second tried to tag up and advance to third. He made it, but shouts from Franklin's dugout of "he never tagged up" screeched through the night sky and Franklin appealed throwing to second.

After a lengthy discussion by the umpires, it was decided the Mdv/V player left early and Franklin was awarded the double play to end the scoring threat and the fourth inning.

Now Hefferman has a slightly beat-up game ball for his trophy case. "His performance at the end of the game...," Milliron paused. "He’s like the little heart of the team. He put in such a good performance there at the end with good plays - that catch and on the mound." He also scored a pair of runs and reached base three times.

A case for game-ball could've also been made for Milliron's son, Grayson. The younger Milliron had a monster game behind the plate, catching for four different pitchers and reaching base on each of his five at-bats.

He scored three times and knocked in four runs to boot.

A game ball could've also been given to the coaches and the keeper of the stat book.

At this point in the season keeping pitch counts low means the coach has options. Franklin only went over with one pitcher out of the four they used. This means they have three of their top pitchers when they face St. Mary's tonight at 8 p.m.

Only Chase Barrett won't be available but will be ready Wednesday or Thursday.

"The boys played a complete game tonight. Good offense, good defense," Coach Milliron said after the game. He was proud of their composure and the respect they showed during the game. "The boys were just gentlemen the whole time, great game. They just let the scoreboard do the talking."

Milliron was happy to be back on the third base line after having to miss last week's championship game due to a wedding. He didn't miss the game however since it was live-streamed.

"It was funny, we were sitting in the reception and I had people I don’t know, that I will never see again, sitting there watching these boys play," Milliron said, "They were cheering every time something good happened, we were jumping up and down. It was hilarious at the reception. Kids playing baseball brings people together. It’s just so cool."

Next up for Franklin is St. Mary's who staved off a surging F.L.A.G. team who came from a 7-2 deficit in the sixth to nearly tie the game but fell just short at 7-6.

"St. Mary’s is a very strong team," Miliron said after watching them play.

He said every team at the tournament was undefeated in their district tournaments.

“We’re just happy to get out with a win tonight," Milliron said Monday. "The kids played great and were respectful gentlemen the whole time. This is just a great group of ball players, I enjoy coaching them. They are so much fun to watch. They are in it the whole game and they pick each other up. They never get down on one another. Things like 'hey you dropped that ball, but don’t worry you’ll get the next one.' It is the coolest thing to coach them because they are all so positive."

Second Round game of the Section 1 tournament
Franklin vs. St.Mary's
Tuesday at 8 p.m
Fairgrounds Field on Dickson Road.

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Cranberry starts next step towards Williamsport

7/16/2023

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Cranberry's 11-12-year-old All-Stars will take on Dubois in the opening round of the Section 1 Little league tournament in Saegertown Tuesday.

The location of the fields is at 635 Erie Street. The four team tournament also has teams from Cambridge Springs/ Saegertown and Harborcreek.

Cranberry came from the loser's bracket to defeat Franklin last week to earn a shot at sections.

A winner, expected to be crowned by Friday or Saturday, will then head to Newtown Square, a suburb of Philadelphia, for the state championship tournament starting July 26.

Good luck and I hope to see you this week in Saegertown.

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Battle under the lights Monday night

7/16/2023

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Franklin 9-10 year-old All-Stars will take on Meadville/Vernon at the Fairground Fields on Dickson Road under the lights starting at 8 p.m. Monday night.

Franklin is in the section tournament with MDV/V, St. Marys and F.L.A.G which is an Erie county combined squad. The sectional tournament will have game each night this week with a winner crowned either Thursday or Friday.

The winner moves on to the state tournament in Stroudsburg July 25-31.

See more photo from their district run here: https://www.zenfolio.com/sayerrich/e/p309234170

Good luck Franklin and see you Monday night.

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Four Bills of baseball

7/15/2023

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From left; Bill Sherry, Bill DIthrich, Bill Otto, and Bill Agnew. PIAA Class 3A Baseball State Championship game between. Riverside High School and Camp Hill High School . June 15, 2023 at Penn State University, Photo courtesy of Bill Sherry.

How many Bills does it take to officiate a state championship baseball game?

Four.

At least that's how many it took to officiate the Riverside versus Camp Hill Class 3A finals when Bill Dithrich, Bill Otto, Bill Agnew and Bill Sherry handled the duties at Penn State University last month.

All four Bills are from Crawford County and they drew one of the most imprint games of the year. Dittrich of Meadville was behind the plate, Otto of Conneaut Lake at first; Agnew of Linesville at second and Sherry, also of Conneaut Lake, was at third. All have been officiating for decades. "We don't know if this has ever happened before," Dithrich said.

"Our game was relatively straightforward. None of us had any calls that could even be considered close," Sherry said. "The pitchers had good control and Dithrich kept ringing up strikes."

The game was scoreless through four when Riverside got on the board and then added three more the next inning and that was the difference.

"It was the kind of game that made the rest of the season, with rain, cold and sloppy fields, all worthwhile. Four old guys having fun on a nice day at Penn State." And they were all named Bill.

A need for more Bills, or at least more officials

Bill or William was a pretty popular name back in the late 1800s when baseball was cutting its teeth as an Americana pastime. It remained a pretty popular name up until the mid-60s when it began towards a steady decline, according to a few baby name websites. A few spikes here and there but, according to nameberry.com "Most Bills today are usually dads or grandpas. The younger Williams are usually nicknamed Will."

So given this information and the story above, maybe it's because no one is nicknaming their kids Bill anymore that we also have an umpire shortage. The four Bills above are all over (ahem) 50 and at least one is into their 70s.

Officials in many of the youth sports are older overall and more are retiring than are getting involved.

"In the PIAA District 10 and all across the state, especially in rural areas, there is a critical need for all sorts of officials," said Sherry, who heads one of the local baseball and softball officials chapters in District 10.
"My group covers six schools with approximately 16 umpires."

He said his group works pretty well together but admits there are times they have to ask a school to postpone a game. "I've heard this has happened in other sports, particularly basketball," said Sherry, who also officiates that sport.

This past year Oil City athletic director Tim LeVan tried recruiting several young people to referee basketball with some success.

"The PIAA has instituted a Junior Officials Program where 16-17-year-olds who have an interest in officiating can learn with the help of a mentor and officiate games at the ninth-grade level and below," Sherry said. "If this program had been around when I was in high school, I would have been in it. There is no age limit, as evidenced by the (four Bills mentioned in this story)."

Sherry said there are many who officiate several sports and depending on what one wants to officiate there are different paths.

"If someone is interested in umpiring Little League games, they should contact the local Little League to see if they have any kind of umpire system and then volunteer to help. Little League Baseball offers training online for rules and umpire mechanics and would be a good place to start for a novice umpire," Sherry said.

To become a PIAA official, a person must be 18 or older, pass an online rules test and join one of the local officials' chapters. "Some of our schools are beginning junior high or middle school baseball and softball programs. These provide a good place for novice officials to learn how to umpire. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of those programs yet," Sherry added.

Sherry said it does cost a little upfront, but it can become a nice supportive income, especially if the person is available to officiate multiple days a week.

There is a $40 fee to take the test and annual PIAA dues of $50 per sport plus the chapter dues. Pennsylvania requires officials to obtain clearances and these cost $100, but are good for five years. Sherry said the cost of an official's uniform varies by sport, but baseball and softball protective gear and uniforms can cost up to $500.

Sherry said most Little League officials volunteer, but some leagues pay. PIAA District 10 baseball and softball games pay $77 for varsity and $58 for junior varsity, which is considered taxable income.

"As you can see, there is a lot to consider and do to become a high school sports official," Sherry said. "Becoming a sports official while in college is a great idea. That's when I started. Extra money is always good for a college kid."

There are a handful of young people getting involved but they need a lot more, according to Sherry. "How crucial is the need for new people to get involved? It is extremely crucial," he said.

"We joke about the average age of our chapter and some of those old guys are going to retire in the next few years. We can’t seem to get younger people, male or female interested. One big reason some people don’t want to get into officiating is the abuse they may have to put up with (from parents and fans). That goes with the game. Officiating is not for the faint-hearted,' he said. "My advice for someone who may be interested in sports officiating is to seek out someone who is in the profession and have a talk with them. Find out all they can about what they’d have to do before taking that first step. Doing that first will give the person the foundation for a long career, just like the Four Bills."

Information about becoming a PIAA official can be found on the PIAA website a www.piaa.org. Application to become an official can be found at https://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/APPLICATION%20-%20REVISED%20-%20October%206%202022(1).pdf

Sometimes it is all in the family

Bill Sherry said that there are a growing number of multiple generations of the same family in officiating. Last year Titusville Principal Phil Knapp and his son Garrett, who was still in high school joined the chapter Sherry belongs to and runs. Garrett passed his test and he is currently a student at St. Vincent College.

Longtime official Scott Barak now has his son Wyatt officiating. The Brzaks are second and third generations as Scott's dad was a longtime official in Ohio.

This past winter three generations of Scott Walters officiated a basketball game together. The youngest Scott Walters just graduated high school in 2022.

(This story was updated to correct typos and grammar after the original publication.)

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Franklin 9-10s left no doubt, took home D25 banner

7/9/2023

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Editor's note: CORRECTION: we reported this was the first championship for 10U in over 20 years, one of our readers quickly pointed out that they won in 2014 and showed proof. Our apologies.

One play is never really the difference in a game.

Sports writers throughout the history occasionally go down that path to glorify a turning point that led to a win, but it’s always the culmination of many plays that are the true portrait of a how a team wins.

In Franklin’s 10 and under win over Butler by the score 10-4 this weekend, there were several key plays, that, without their success, could’ve proved detrimental to the outcome.

Chase Barrett’s two seemingly routine gloves of grounders at short and perfect throws to first in the final inning were huge. One bobble and it could've led to a rally. But they were fielded clean and the throws were hard and on the money.

Barrett Smith’s acrobatic catch, that no one in the stands thought he could get in the fifth, recorded a big out at time Butler appeared to rallying.

In the same inning a shot deep to left field with runners in scoring position appeared to be sailing well over 50-inch-tall Owen Hefferman’s head.

But the speedy outfielder used every bit of his height and vertical leap to snag the ball at about eight and half feet in the air to retire the side and put the brakes on the mounting Butler rally.

Huge.

Any of these plays could have resulted in a different outcome had Franklin not executed them efficiently.

"You know the catastrophes that can happen on a single mistake and it just falls apart," said interim coach Matt Carll filling in for Scott Milliron, who was in a wedding Saturday. "If they made an error, it's all different. They kept their head until the end... they did a great job."

To see more photos of Franklin 10U games visit https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p309234170

Chase Barrett started on the mound for Franklin and befuddled Butler for the most part. Of the 79 pitches he threw to 18 batters, only two of them touched home plate. Bryce Beightol came in to relive him with two outs already in the fourth. Other than a two-run single given up in the fifth he kept Butler at bay

Offensively, having drawn the visitor of the coin-flip, they hopped right to putting up runs. Grayson Milliron drilled the second pitch of the game right-center. Then Michael Rodrigues and Garret Smith drew walks loading the bases for Barret who doubled in two. Torin Schmidt got a blooped base hit to score another. In all Franklin jumped out to a five run first with every batter getting up.

Butler did appear to be ready to strike back in the bottom of the first, but Barrett hunkered down on the mound and, with runners on base, struck out two and got a squib back to the pitcher only giving up one run.

Franklin exploded for four more runs in the third with a little help from Butler.

A pair of walks and an infield single by Hefferman loaded the bases. Milliron sent one up the middle to score two more. Franklin would then score two on wild pitches to take a 9-1 lead.

They took the lead to 10-1 when Cam Greska scored on a Schmidt infield grounder that end up a fielder's choice force at second.

In the bottom of the fourth it looked like Butler finally got its train moving.Two straight doubles led to a score. Then an error put runners on first and third with no outs.

Then Barrett nearing his pitch count doubled down and struck out the next two batters. Beightol came in and threw only one pitch to record the final out of the inning with a routine grounder to second.

Butler again seemed poised for a big inning in the fifth but only ended up scoring one run thanks to two incredible catches by Franklin's third baseman and left fielder.

Even though Butler scatted eight hits in the game, every attempt at a rally was stopped dead in its tracks by solid Franklin pitching and defense before doing much damage.

"All these kids were warriors today. They just battled, they kept their heads. They were positive the whole time. That’s what we preach to them," said Carll who coaches many of the kids on the Firestorm travel ball team as well. "And, oh man - that first inning they came out hot.”

Carll praised the entire team for their effort but noted the effort of his starting pitcher who also played a solid shortstop in the later innings and scored twice and drove in another in the 40-4 victory.

"Chase (Barrett) is just an amazing athlete, all these kids are great athletes, I’m not trying to single anyone out but Chase... to come out at such a young age and stick in their on the championship stage, in front of everybody... holy moly - that’s fantastic."

"This was such an honor to be asked to step in to coach these kids today," Carll said after the game where Franklin 10U won the District 25 title.

Head coach Scott Milliron was bummed earlier in the week when he learned the game was scheduled on the same day he agreed to be in a wedding out of town. "I can't emphasize enough how honored I am to be here and a part of this."

Carll said he goes back to being a fan again and will watch Franklin, the District 25 champs, from the other side of the fence as they head to play sections in Meadville beginning July 17 in Meadville. Franklin will play the District 1 winner in the 8 p.m. game under the lights at the Crawford County Fairgrounds field. Meadville/Vernon is taking on Saegertown tonight. Saegertown will need to beat Mdv/V twice wo advance.

To see more photos of Franklin 10U games visit https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p309234170

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Cranberry comes from the consi's to take home the D25 banner

7/8/2023

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Franklin rolled into the championship game in the 12 and under District 25 bracket with a trouncing of both the tough Cranberry and Butler teams. They also edged Clarion 3-1 on the way.
Smart money was on them.

Cranberry, however, had other thoughts.

Against Franklin a few days ago, Cranberry scored nine times. That’s a pretty strong offensive effort in baseball - so they knew if they could get another crack at them and somehow quell Franklin’s bats, stop their base runners from advancing and not throw as many wild pitches they'd have a shot.

They had to get by Butler in the loser’s bracket final to get that chance. And boy did they. Erupting for 17 runs to crush Butler in four innings.

Then it was revenge mode as they headed back to face Franklin at Miller-Sibley Thursday in a must-win or be eliminated game..

“Hustle, hit-never quit,” was something they would yell out to each other in between innings.

On Thursday Cranberry jumped out to a first inning lead, but then, just couldn’t seem to get anything going in the next three innings.

Franklin’s defense was stellar.

Fortunately for Cranberry so was their defense and Franklin’s attempt to get any momentum started was stopped in its tracks.

The fifth inning was different.

Cranberry’s bats got hot and Franklin’s pitcher began struggling. A base hit and a couple walks lead way for a Matt Antrilli double ending the scoring drought. They added one more to put added pressure on Franklin in the final two innings.

Franklin just couldn’t muster any offense at all.

Cranberry added one more the sixth to stay alive to play Franklin one more time the following night.

Friday night Franklin looked more like themselves.

Even though Cranberry's Dylan Gregory drove an early pitch to deep right-center for a double, he didn’t make it any further than third despite his pleas of “Cmon don’t leave me out here,” to the next three batters.

Then Franklin, despite the first two batters going down quick, got a single up the middle from Korbyn Sires to bring up Jake Saragian. Getting his bat around quickly and connecting, the first base coach began yelling “hurry, get out, hurry.”

He wasn’t talking to his ball player, he was talking to the ball.

Whether it was the power of Saragian’s swing or the enthusiasm of the coach, that ball left the park and gave Franklin the first lead it has had over Cranberry in seven innings.

In the second, Cranberry looked as though they had another chance to score, but again left runners on base as Franklin pitch Holden Goodman kept his head about him despite giving up a couple walks and drilling Korbin Baker in the leg to load the bases. He beared down and struck out the final batter of the inning.

In the bottom of the second Franklin added another after Cranberry pitcher Clark Findlay hit Tucker Montgomery and walked LJ Desko before Tanner Hefferman hit one off the Cranberry shortstop’s glove to score Montgomery.

That’s all Franklin would be able to muster the rest of the game. Though it gave them a 3-0 lead, Cranberry was about to come to life.

That “hustle, hit - never quit” chant went through the dugout as they got ready to bat in the third.

With one out, Kannon Speerstra took one for the team and went to first rubbing his arm. Bryce “Boomer” Marchincke got a bobbled-base-hit that was enough to put runners at second and third.

This was the third inning in a row Cranberry threatened.

But unlike the first two inning’s this time they scored.

Clark Findlay was just a few feet from a homerun off the left-field fence. A good play on the ball and throw back in only allowed one runner to score. A walk loaded the bases and brought on a Franklin pitching change.

Carter Barrett came in to get Grayon Sutley to ground out to shortstop, but the play scored a run. Franklin got out of the inning still in the lead.

The fourth inning got a little crazy with solid hits, but also throwing errors that cost Franklin some runs including a shot by Marchinke that lived up to his “Boomer” nickname that turned into an inside the park error riddled homerun.

Franklin still had three at-bats to come back from the now 6-3 deficit. But Findlay was pitching well and the infield was playing even better. Third baseman John Shreve didn’t seem to let anything get by him and made heads up throws to record needed outs. Baker at first was a backstop knocking down two hard shots at first. Any of these plays in the late innings that were not played like pros could’ve changed everything.
But they made the plays.

“You guys did it,” yelled long-time coach Chip Jordan into the dugout after Cranberry shook hands with Franklin as the new District 25 champions.

We started last year with six of these kids… also we had them in fall ball. I could tell what kind of kids these were, they never really gave up. Franklin played a great game, we were just a tad bit better." Jordan said.

"They beat us," said head coach Franklin's head coach Ryan Goodman

"The ball didn’t bounce our way tonight. (Cranberry) played some good defense, the ball went their way," said Goodman. He pointed to some really good plays by players that had they not played them perfectly it could've changed some thing. "The tournament was great, the team is great, they never hung their heads. I’m super proud of the kids and they played well, practiced well and played good as a group. it was good season. its a great group of parents, you don’t always have that but we did. It was very pleasurable coaching these guys."

For Jordan, he said it was his first championship in his 40 years.

"It’s about the kids, that’s what the great part of this sport is. You let the kids play, you let the kids do their thing, you teach them, but you also have to stay out of their way and shut up," Jordan said after the game.
"These are a great bunch."

Cranberry moves on to sections July 18 to 22 in Saegertown.

To view more photos from Franklin and Cranberry games please visit https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p735548083

One final thought

Cranberry's Clark Findlay threw six and one-third innings and the maximum amount of pitches allowed, 85. "He was out there throwing his guts out," said Chip Jordan, Cranberry's head coach.

Two of his pitches stood out to us here at Eight & 322. When he hit two Franklin batters during the game, he walked toward each of them as they made their way to first base just to ask if they were ok and to apologize.

That is Little League baseball right there.

To view more photos from Franklin and Cranberry games please visit https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p735548083

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A need for more Bills, or at least more officials

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