LAURELTON -- When it was bogged down by rain and by a Selinsgrove team that just wouldn't go away, Mifflinburg got the lift it needed from Jeremy Uscowskas.
In a game played through periods of rain, Mifflinburg found itself in a back-and-forth battle with Selinsgrove that also went into extra innings on Sunday.
With the score deadlocked heading into the top of the eighth, Uscowskas crushed a lead-off home run to left that would break the tie and ultimately give Mifflinburg an 11-8 victory over Selinsgrove in the opening game of the District 13 Area II Major Division tournament at Field of Dreams.
The score see-sawed back and forth from the fourth inning on until Uscowskas' homer gave Mifflinburg a 9-8 lead. Four batters and two outs later the Union County All-Stars plated two insurance runs on an RBI triple by Cole Walter and an error.
"It was back and forth there for so many innings, and the kids finally came through at the end," said Mifflinburg manager Jim Sheakley, who was feeling his racing heart after the thrilling win. "They can hit, and their sticks showed up there in the last inning. That's the team I'm used to."
Mifflinburg opened up a 6-2 lead after the third inning following a four-run first, highlighted by a pair of bases-loaded walks drawn by Tyler Stoltzfus and Walter.
Selinsgrove evened the score at 6 with a four-run fourth. A two-run triple by Aidean Greak and an RBI single by Manny Little keyed the inning.
"I tell you what, that Selinsgrove team has heart," Sheakley said. "They came back from being down four runs, tied it up."
Mifflinburg retook the lead in the fifth by scoring on an error, before Selinsgrove tied it at 7 the bottom of the sixth on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Peter Herman.
Then in the seventh Mifflinburg went back in front 8-7 on another wild pitch, but the team couldn't hold onto it as Selinsgrove scored moments later on Little's ground out to plate Zach Brosius and tie the game again
But it wasn't until Uscowskas pulled 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence that Mifflinburg began taking control of the game.
"That home run by Jeremy teed it off, and then the kids came through. It was a fantastic day," Sheakley said.
Andrew Leitzel, the third pitcher that Sheakley used on the day, entered in the fifth. And although he gave up two tying runs to Selinsgrove, he would strike out the side in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away for Mifflinburg.
"Andrew is our closer. He's come through for me all season and we wanted to let him close it out," Sheakley said. "If they beat our best, they beat our best. They deserve to beat us."
Next up for Mifflinburg is a game with Shikellamy-Acorn today at 5:30.
Selinsgrove falls into the elimination bracket and plays Juniata County Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
"We got down early, but we battled back," said Selinsgrove manager Chad Rapp. "I'm proud of the kids of the way we battled back, but we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. We gave too many outs away and you can't do that at this level."
"Now, we'll see what we're made of," Rapp added.
n Milton 12,
Juniata County 4
Despite a pair of rain delays, Milton manager John Adami had a much easier time in the second game on the day.
The Milton All-Stars scored all 12 of their runs in the first three innings to run away with the win.
And in order to do it, however, Milton had to come back from an early three-run hole after Juniata County opened with three runs in the top of the first.
"My boys, I can't say enough about their effort," Adami said. "Down 3-0 in the first inning they come back and score those runs in the bottom of the first. We really hit the ball well today."
Milton got those three runs back and then some by scoring six in the bottom of the first. Starting with a lead-off walk by the manager's son, John Adami, Milton scored its first run on an error before a three-run double by Hunter Snyder helped lead to the rest.
A pair of RBI doubles by Cole Wirt and Snyder keyed a three-run second inning for Milton, which got an RBI single by the younger Adami in the third.
The 12-run outburst showed the manager Adami exactly what kind of team he has.
"What it showed me is they battle. They were not going to give up out there," he said. "With all the hitting practice we do and all the fundamentals we stress with the kids, it showed today."
Milton will meet Snyder County on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. while Juniata County will meet Lewisburg in the late game Tuesday, scheduled for approximately 7:30.
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Mifflinburg edges Selinsgrove in eighth
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