Comeback kids: Lincroft Little League baseball was down but never out

WALL -- The best part about players on a battled-tested team is that nothing can faze them--and the Lincroft Little League U12 baseball team showed exactly that Saturday night in the first round of the Section 3 Tournament.

After giving up five runs in the top of the third inning to District 12 champions Nottingham, Lincroft answered right back the very next inning. A six-run response in the bottom of the third inning granted them the lead and the final 6-5 score.

The comeback started on an Owen Warner hit; Ethan Ralph brought him home for Lincroft's first run.

More: NJ Little League baseball Section 3 Tournament: Schedule, scores, updates

"The kids had some timely hits," said Lincroft head coach Todd Ellis. "Owen Warner had a big hit to get us going, then Jake Karpell, a huge hit. That Owen Warner hit really sparked us, love the fact that every kid on this team is contributing."

With bases loaded, Karpell sent a ball to the right field for a three-run double, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

"You just got to think of it as a regular at-bat," Karpell said. "No stress, just hit the ball, look for your ball and stay disciplined."

Logan Pereless went on to get an RBI bringing in Logan Travis for the tying run and Karpell would end up scoring on a wild pitch for the final run.

Lincroft is used to facing deficits coming into this tournament. They had to go through their fair share of tough battles to become District 19 champs.

"It's a great win we came back 5-0. That's the confidence we have. In our district championship we were down 4-1 with two outs and we came back and we kept our emotions in," said Karpell.

What's next

Lincroft will go on to play the winner of Sunday's matchup between (D18) Toms River and (D10) Milltown on Monday at South Wall Little League in Manasquan at 5:45 p.m. The winner of the double-elimination tournament heads to Freehold Township Little League to compete for a state title.

They said it

"We battle, there's been some super close games and they haven't given up. They keep battling and battling, taking advantage of the situations in front of them and it's all to the kids and they've done a great job. Putting the bat to the ball, playing who they had to play, making the unselfish play, taking a walk, it's been really fun to see and all the coaches are super proud of them," Ellis said.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Comeback kids: Lincroft Little League baseball was down but never out