The Oil City boys took home the trophy in Saturday's Titusville Cross Country Invitational, placing four runners in the top 20. The Oilers were led by Elijah Brosius, who finished in fifth place with a time of 16:15. Overall the team totaled 85 points to second place Central Clarion's 118. Scoring for the Oilers alongside Brosius were Keegan Kirkwood, 14; Elijah Collins, 16; Rilee Matalino, 18; and Elliot Hulsizer, 32.    
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Gauge Gierlach was the top finisher for Rocky Grove, coming in 18 out of 221 runners.  Dalton Wenner was the first Berry across the finish line at 16th. Titusville's top runner was Bryan Johnson, who was 37th. 

Isabel Griffin of Rocky Grove outlasted fellow Venango County runners Corabel Shiley of Oil City and Kelsey Hanna of Cranberry to be the top local finisher. The junior placed third with a time of 19:25. Shiley was fifth with a time of 19:33, just ahead of Hanna who came in sixth with a time of 19:49. 

In the team category, Cranberry, last year's District 9 1A runnerup, came in second to the indomitable Cathedral Prep 2A squad out of District 10.  

Madeline Johnson was the top Rocket, coming in 27 out of 172 competitors. The first Knight to finish was Justeyn Winner. 

It was a pitcher's duel right up to point the wheels fell off on the Franklin defense.

Meadville/Vernon 8-10 year olds can bunt, and it was a bunt that ignited a big fourth inning for loser's bracket champs.

​And they never looked back going on to a 8-2 win behind the fine pitching of Emmett Redden, who pitched all but the last out and the only two Franklin runs.

The win forces the if necessary game tonight at 6 p.m. back on the Bradford Little League fields.

​Winner take all. The next round requires a trip to Dallas, not Texas, but a little town over in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of the state.

See more photos below and at ​sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p1021981939.

They took down Titusville 8-0, New Bethlehem 9-3, Oil City/Cranberry 3-2 and Clarion 3-1.

​That set up a rematch with Butler who won the first matchup 8-0.

Their bats weren't exactly silenced against Butler this time but they struggled to score runs. 

​Butler scored all their three runs in the first inning and Franklin scattered a few base runners across the rest of the innings losing 3-1 in the end.

Franklin had a couple opportunities, but Butler pitcher Nate Gilkey found a way to shut each one down including a bases loaded ground out  to first of Franklin's top hitter.

"(Gilkey) pitched a great game yesterday and during our first game against them, we just couldn’t execute when we had base runners," said coach Matt Carll. "We had six hits but unfortunately we couldn’t string anything together."

Franklin's only run came on a Hunter Carll single that plated Tucker Montgomery in the fourth.
"We thought that we were going to break loose in the last inning with the top of the lineup," coach Carll said, but Gilkey retired the first two batters before Korbyn Sires drilled a doubled giving the Franklin squad hope. But Gilkey again dug his heels in and the game ended on a routine infield grounder.

"Unfortunately we didn’t pull off the win but the kids did so well working their way up to this game .I’m not going to lie, it was difficult to see them work so hard and lose that game. This is such a talented group of players and I can’t wait to see their future in the game of baseball and with their future endeavors," Carll said.

Franklin youth baseball, from the parents, coaches and community is dedicated to seeing the possibilities for these young players.

"I think it’s going to be exciting to watch them continue to develop," Carll noted adding his respect and admiration for the coaches. "I would like to highlight how committed and hard the other coaches, Ben Barrett and Scott Milliron, worked to prepare this team. Additionally, the support of the parents and other coaches who would help out during the long practices. We would have 4-5 additional parents and coaches helping out at most practices. This is a reflection of our great baseball community here in Franklin. Another example of that is that our players are redirecting their efforts and give their support to our (8-10 year-old) all-star team as they move forward to sectionals."

Oil City Junior League baseball players won the District 25 championship las week in a very well fought battle against Titusville/AC Valley.

However, a few days later  District 25 administrator Bob Wilson was at a Titusville’s practice facility presenting T/ACV coach Keith Klingler with the championship banner.

Little League ruled that Oil City had ineligible players who did not compete in the proper number of games prior to the all-star tournament.

According to the Little League Baseball tournament rule book, a “league must have scheduled and played, at a minimum, a 12-game (per team) regular season…”

Oil City, which is made up of players from Oil City, Franklin and Rocky Grove, did not fulfill this requirement.
“We had eight games,” said Paul Myers, the OC coach and Oil City league president.
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During the seventh inning of the championship game Klingler said he learned about Oil City’s failure to have the proper number of prerequisite games when he asked someone to check Game Changer, an online program that teams use to keep their stats and game books.

Learning, that at least Game Changer indicated Oil City had not played enough games, he issued a protest prior to the end of the game which T/ACV lost 4-3.

The protest was heard and investigated by the league who requested all the game books and paperwork, By late Thursday the ruling was handed down and  Titusville/AC Valley were now named the District 25 champions.

“It just tainted the best junior league game I’ve ever seen,” Klingler said echoing what he stated after the loss.

Myers admitted the mistake was something he missed.
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Now Titusville moves on to play in the section tournament beginning Tuesday at Guys Mills against the Fairview/Lake City/Girard team from District 3.

"Who wants to make a play?" coach Jeff Steigerwald asked his Franklin 9-10 players as they faced a 5-3 deficit against Butler.

Answering that call in the final inning was his confident and quick witted son Phillip and the quiet and humble Gavin Matthews.

Franklin got a little help getting things going with Butler's pitcher struggling to find the strike zone Two walks and a  fielder's choice put two runner in scoring position with one of the Franklin's best hitters coming to the plate. Butler chose to intentionally walk Torin Schmidt to load the bases. 

This cost them as the pitcher's struggles continued and the walk in Franklin's fourth run. And the bases were still loaded. A strike out next gave them two outs.

Butler jumped out scoring one in the top of the first, but Franklin answered right back when Liam Richter walked and proceed to steal second, then third. Phillip Steigerwald, the coaches son got an RBI single. Teague Latshaw drilled a line drive past everyone to the left center fence for a double. Steigerwald to third. Schmidt then shaved the third base line for a double scoring two.

That would be it for scoring for Franklin until the final inning.

​Defensively the usually sure handed fielders began to struggle a little.  A dropped pop up with two outs and the chaos that followed with throwing errors tied the game.

If it wasn't for a heads up play by left fielder  Cam Adams who rushed in to cover third base to get the final out as the Butler runner tried to get an extra base in the melee, it could've been much worse.

Butler again added another couple runs on a fielding error and a couple good hits.

Franklin tried to get something going in the fifth but when a runner left early on a steal attemp,t he was sent back to second and they weren't able to bring him around.