State College Junior American Legion baseball team advances to elimination bracket final

The State College Junior American Legion baseball team may be facing elimination at regionals, but it’s just one win away from being among the final two teams in the Region 7-9-10-11 tournament.

State College fell to Spring City, 5-0, on Sunday to enter the elimination bracket. But it survived Monday — in an 8-7 comeback win over Somerton — and will face a team to be determined on Tuesday afternoon in the elimination bracket final, either at 1 p.m. or 4 p.m.

The local team came away empty-handed Sunday after Spring City broke a scoreless game open in the fifth inning with back-to-back walks, an error and then a two-run single. But, on Monday, State College overcame a 4-0 first-inning deficit — thanks in large part to a key two-RBI single by Colin Davis that helped spark a four-run fourth inning and gave State College an 8-6 lead.

In Monday’s game, three State College players finished with multiple hits — Davis, Nate Polo and Quincy Steidle — while Noah Aungst picked up the pitching win.

“These kids have been amazing all year,” manager Rick Hall said. “I bet you we’ve been down, during the league playoffs and regionals, in every game. I don’t know if I’d call them the ‘Cardiac Kids,’ but I give them a lot of credit. They believe in themselves and don’t lose confidence.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 8:10 PM with the headline "State College Junior American Legion baseball team advances to elimination bracket final."