One win away from Greenville, Miners hold on against Toms River

Minersville players and coaches celebrate as they defeat Toms River (NJ) by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday night. Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball.

BRISTOL, CT – Kenzie Gressens has had arguably the best bat in Bristol and it was put up against a challenge when facing Jaelyn Brown, the best pitcher the Miners have gone up against while in Connecticut. Her (Gressens) two-RBI triple helped Minersville (PA) get past Toms River (NJ) on Tuesday night at Breen Field.

In a game that was supposed to be played at 2:00pm, the first pitch was not thrown until around 8:40 and the game concluded at around 10:30, maybe a couple minutes later

The Miners, who were the visiting team, went 1-2-3 in the first inning with a groundout, a popout, and another groundout. New Jersey followed with a flyout to Grey Hopkins in left field, a flyout to Gressens in right field, and a lineout to Payton Withelder in the circle.

After Gressens grounded out to begin the second inning, Emalyn Daubert drew a walk and Shea Holley followed with a single to Mischa Koeppen in center field. Although Addison Burlile struck out, Daubert scored earlier in the at-bat due to a bad throwdown to third base by the Toms River catcher to make the game 1-0 in favor of Pennsylvania. A flyout to Koeppen again concluded the top half of the inning.

After Briella Bognar was hit by a pitch, Carly Leonard followed with an RBI triple in the gap between center field and right field to make the game tied at one. Aviana Gay then singled to Finley Frantz at third base. Withelder’s first strikeout happened next, but Leina Gay singled just like her sister, but it was an RBI single on a bunt to Withelder to give New Jersey the 2-1 lead. A groundout to Daubert who tagged Leiana Gay in the batters box, and Koeppen grounding out to Withelder ended the threat Toms River brought.

Mallory Hopkins walked to start the third inning, but three strikeouts followed. New Jersey also went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts and a flyout to Grey Hopkins. 

Aly Heffron led off with a single to Koeppen, but Withelder hit into a groundout next. Maddie Graver followed up with a four pitch walk, which is not very common from Brown. Gressens jacked a triple over Koeppen’s head and brought in Heffron and Graver to give Pennsylvania the 3-2 lead. After a strikeout, Holley and Burlile each had a full count walk. A groundout to Analise Curley at third base ended the threat Minersville caused.

A popout to Mallory Hopkins in centerfield got the first out for the Miners. However, an error (first of the weekend for Pennsylvania) and another hit by pitch put runners on first and second with one out. When Graver took over on the mound, a strikeout and a flyout to Gressens ended the fourth inning. The pitching change from earlier put Withelder at third, Holley at second, and Frantz came off the field.

Minersville went 1-2-3 again with a strikeout, a groundout, and another strikeout. After two groundouts to start the New Jersey offense (one to Holley, another to Graver), Juliana Florek-Doslik hit a triple to Gressens that went over her head. However, a groundout to Holley ended the inning.

Going to the sixth and final inning, a strikeout and flyout were responsible for the first two outs. Withelder hit a line drive single down the left field line for a triple. Unfortunately for the Minersville team, a strikeout forced them back on the field.

To start an inning I was on the edge of my chair for, a flyout to Gressens was the first out in the bottom half of the inning. Then, a groundout to Holley happened for the second out. After a single was hit by Curley to Grey Hopkins, Graver completed the task and got the strikeout.

Coming up next for Minersville (3-0), they will play Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm on ESPN for the Mid-Atlantic championship. New Jersey (2-1) has to battle it out with Massapequa Park (NY, 2-1) on Wednesday night at 7:00pm on ESPN2. New York was down 4-0 and ended up beating Delmar (MD, 1-2) 7-4 thanks to a six run fifth inning. The winner of New Jersey and New York will face the Miners.

Also for any fans interested, Minersville Little League will run a fan bus to Bristol on Thursday for the championship game. Departure time is at 8:30am and it is around a four and a half hour ride. 

If you want to go on the bus, the maximum capacity is 52 fans. Reach out to Minersville Little League President Jimmy O’Brien with the phone number in the photo below or you can Venmo Minersville Little League. If you do Venmo, be sure to include your name and that you are going on the bus.

Minersville (PA, 3-0) – 0 1 0 2 0 0

HITTING

Aly Heffron (SS) (1-3, 1 run)

Payton Withelder (P, 3B) (1-3)

Maddie Graver (2B, P) (0-2, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 K)

Kenzie Gressens (RF) (1-2, 2 RBI)

Emalyn Daubert (C) (0-1, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 K)

Shea Holley (2B) (1-1, 1 walk)

Addison Burlile (1B) (0-1, 1 walk, 1 K)

Finley Frantz (3B) (0-2)

Mallory Hopkins (CF) (0-1, 1 walk, 1 K)

Grace Wetzel (0-2, 1 K)

Kenadlyn Mike (0-2, 2 K’s)

Grey Hopkins (LF) (0-2, 2 K’s)

Triples – Gressens, Withelder

Stolen Bases – Heffron, Graver, M. Hopkins, Holley

PITCHING

WP – Withelder (3.1 IP, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 K’s)

Graver (2,2 IP, 2 hits, 2 K’s)

FIELDING

Errors – Frantz

Toms River (NJ, 2-1) – 0 2 0 0 0 0

HITTING

Analeise Curley (3B) (1-3)

Franki Velardi (SS) (0-3, 1 K)

Jaelyn Brown (P) (0-2)

Briella Bognar (RF) (1 run)

Carly Leonard (LF) (1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 K)

Aviana Gay (2B) (1-2)

Sophia Tolentino (0-2, 1 K)

Leiana Gay (C) (1-2, 1 RBI)

Juliana Florek-Doslik (1B) (1-2)

Mischa Koeppen (CF) (0-2)

Gia Gatto (0-2, 1 K)

Shaelyn Seaman (0-2, 1 K)

Triples – Leonard, Florek-Doslik

HBP – Bognar 2

Stolen Bases – Curley, A. Gay, L. Gay

PITCHING

LP – Brown (6.0 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 walks, 9 K’s)

FIELDING

Errors – L. Gay

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CREDITS

• All stats were provided by the Pennsylvania GameChanger
• The names for non-PA players were provided by the box score on GameChanger
• Fan bus information provided by Minersville Little League on Facebook