BELLTOWN – The Reedsville-Belltown game in the Mifflin County Babe Ruth League was supposed to be like a championship game on Thursday night.
And it was.
Reedsville outlasted Belltown, the 2022 champion, 5-3, to win the 2023 league title.
The game came down to the last inning and the last man up for Belltown.
Reedsville went into the bottom of the seventh with a two-run lead. Logan Ruth opened the inning for Belltown with a double.
At that point, Reedsville was on their third pitcher of the night in Wyatt Parkes. Parkes only threw to two batters, the last out of the sixth and to Ruth. Madden Weaver, the teams’ ace pitcher, was called upon to finish the game.
Logan Baumgardner greeted Weaver with a base hit. But, Weaver then picked up a strikeout and ground ball to the mound for the second out. Payton Kearns was intentionally walked to load the bases. But, Weaver got the next man to strike out and the game and the championship was in Reedsville’s hands.
Reedsville took an early lead as it scored four runs in the first three innings. In the first inning, Weaver singled and Gavin Powell drilled a double for the first run of the game. Powell later scored on a sacrifice fly from Nate Parkes.
Easton Zook opened the third for Reedsville with a double. One out later, Weaver smashed another two-base hit, driving in Zook. Powell followed with his second double of the night and Reedsville was ahead, 4-0.
Zook reached on an error to open the fifth frame. He stole second and when Weaver hit a ground ball to second, Zook sprinted home for a 5-0 lead.
Belltown scored two runs in the fifth with two outs. Lucas Shawver reached on an error. Easton Lepley, Ruth and Baumgardner followed with three straight hits. Lepley had a single and Ruth had an RBI single. Baumgardner followed with an RBI double.
Belltown picked up a run in the sixth as Shawver had a run-producing double.
Reedsville only had five hits, while Belltown had eight. Weaver and Powell each had two hits for Reedsville, while Ruth had three for Belltown and Lepley and Baumgardner each had two.
Nate Parkes got the start and the win for Reedsville. He pitched into the sixth. He had five strikeouts, two walks and gave up five hits. Zook and Wyatt Parkes went to the mound next, before Weaver closed out the victory.
“We had an older team and that helped us this year,” said Shawn Wagner, the Reedsville manager. “What really helped us this year was that we were in that pennant race last year with Belltown and we knew how to win close games this year.”
Wagner added that pitching changed for the better.
“Another factor was that our pitching staff was older and deeper than a year ago,” the coach noted.
This marked the sixth time that Reedsville has won the Mifflin County title. The other years were 1969,1971,1978, 1993 and 2007. Reedsville is now tied with Yeagertown for fifth place with six. Belleville is the all-time leader with15 and a half.
Wagner is the first manager to win a title for Reedsville, who’s last name is not Reigle. Bob Reigle won the first four titles and his son Scott won the 2007 title.
Wagner is the eighth first-year manager to win a league title in the past 56 years. The other managers were Louie Yoder, Belleville, 1972; Bob Ingram, Burnham, 1973; Mike Wagner, Belltown,1974; SJ Bumgardner, Milroy, 1979; Ed Blessing, McVeytown, 2005; Mike Wolfley, Beaver Springs, 2020.
Members of the Reedsville team were Caleb Bubb, Camden Kauffman, Jordan Kern, Zander Lawson, Austin McKnight, Jamison Parkes, Nathan Parkes, Wyatt Parkes, Gavin Powell, Carter Smith, Madden Weaver, Easton Zook and Jude Zook.
NOTES – This marked the second year in a row that the league title was won on the Belltown field. Last year, Belltown beat Belleville to clinch the 2022 league championship. Reedsville’s
Carter Smith threw a runner out at first base from centerfield in the second inning.
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