State College Little Leaguers Dominate District, Seek Sectional Title

State College’s 12-and-under Little League All Star baseball players could almost be forgiven if they enter Sectional play next week with a nonchalant attitude. After all, they cruised to four victories on the way to the District 5 title, outscoring their opponents 48-1 and dominating rival Bellefonte 25-1 and 6-0.

And as I survey the stats, I see nothing but State College dominance in the four District games. The pitchers gave up just six hits and 10 walks—yes, for four games.  The fielders made just one error—yes, we’re talking about Little League. And as for the hitters, wow. State College batsmen accumulated 40 hits with home runs by Keegan Roan and Josh Yourey, four doubles by Wyatt Crane, and bushels of runs-batted-in from Crane (six) and a bunch of guys with five—Vinny Harris, Anthony Hill, Jack Lawrence and Andrew MacNeely.

But even though his team strolled uneventfully through the District, Manager Mike MacNeely isn’t worried that the cancer of complacency will strike. That’s because his kids are still hungry after finishing third in last year’s 11U Pennsylvania championships.

“When we won Districts this year,” says MacNeely, “they celebrated as a team but they knew there’s more to play for. After the experience we had last year at States, they weren’t satisfied.”

Joey Trego, a team leader and workhorse on the mound, says he and his teammates understand the challenge awaiting them at Sectionals. “We just have to stay focused,” says Trego, “and keep working hard so we don’t think we’re way better than everybody else. There’s going to be good teams out there (at Johnstown’s West Suburban Little League field) and we have to play to the best of our ability.”

A YOUNG’UN HELPS LEAD

When asked to mention some of the leaders on his team, MacNeely points out three, and I’m especially intrigued by his mention of Trego. After all, Joey is an 11-year-old—the only younger kid who’s playing with this bunch of 12s. And knowing the difference a year makes during elementary school years, I’m impressed to hear him cited as a team leader.

“He’s a silent leader,” says MacNeely.  “He’s a shorter kid, but he’s our primary pitcher. He’s not overpowering but he reminds me of Greg Maddux (a Hall of Fame major leaguer who is remembered as a Cub and as a Brave). He can spot his fastball, change speeds…he keeps the other team off balance. Everybody looks to him if we have a big game.”

How can Joey play with poise and confidence despite playing “up” a year? “Well,” says the young man, “when I was seven I made a travel baseball team for eight-year-olds, and I didn’t know I was playing up.  So I just kept playing with them—10-and-under, 11-and-under—and now they’re just my team.  We’ve bonded over the years.”

As for some other leaders, MacNeely mentions Drew Gilroy and Charlie Zorger. Gilroy, he says, “is one of our shortstops and one of our best catchers as well. And he’s the one who helps organize the players for their pregame routine (stretching, running, throwing).” Zorger, notes MacNeely, “is one of the smartest guys we have. He’s always making the right play and helping to direct us defensively. That’s why I love him at second base—he knows the situation, what bunt coverage we’re in, where to throw the ball.”

11-YEAR OLD REFLECTIONS

As impressed as I am to know about Gilroy and Zorger—not to mention other team leaders—I can’t quite get over the role played by Trego. That’s because I pitched for the State College all-stars as an 11-year-old in 1964. Noting Joey’s success, I can’t resist the chance to pat him on the back while noting the massive Little League changes that have taken place over 60 years.

Back in the 1960s, “Nittany Valley Little League” served boys (girls couldn’t play) who lived in the borough. We played at the old Gill Field, a lovely ballpark with true dugouts that was located along West College Avenue near the American Legion hall and is still marked by an unused scoreboard.

In the annual Little League tournament of that era, only 12-and-under teams competed. And the competition was strictly single elimination. If you lost once, you were done and your hopes of reaching Williamsport were extinguished.

And while we’re talking about big changes, consider the archaic rule that was designed to protect pitchers’ arms. If a particular hurler threw even one pitch in a playoff game, that boy was ineligible to pitch in the next game.

Our 1964 team was led by a pair of stud 12-year-old pitchers, Doug West and Tom McNichol, and we had to use both in order to beat Bellefonte in our opening game. That put me on the Gill Field mound at the tender age of 11 to face Mountain Top Little League and slugger Ray Cingle.

I had a good fastball and good control, but I certainly wasn’t in the same league with Joey Trego who throws a variety of pitches and speeds. And things didn’t start well when the P.A. announcer called my name during pre-game introductions and I tripped while running up the dugout steps.

I gave up just six or seven hits in six innings, but Cingle crushed two dingers. Yes, his name was pronounced like “single,” but he was only hitting homers against me. I cried when we lost, but I felt a little better years later when Ray Cingle was drafted out of high school by the St. Louis Cardinals.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

As someone who played and watched baseball throughout a lifetime, I have to say that I’m highly impressed by the game performances and practice routines of this 12U State College team. Not that I’m surprised—taking third in PA is nothing to sneeze at.

Of course, athletic success typically begins with coaching. And with this State College team, there’s not any possibility of somebody’s baseball-ignorant uncle being coerced to help coach. In fact, MacNeely is both grateful and proud as he points out his assistants to me:  “Mike Perlozzo there, he played football at Virginia Tech and Frostburg State for a while; Brian Zorger played baseball at Bloomsburg and Mansfield; Todd Kulka played all the sports and was a member of the Penn State football team; Jeff Hill played four years of high school baseball; and Rick Lawrence coaches a travel team with most of these kids and has brought us drills to help them become fundamentally sound. The kids are lucky to have these coaches.”

MacNeely himself is highly-qualified to serve as the head man, but he’s not one to toot his own horn. It took me a little electronic digging to discover that he played first base, outfield and pitcher at Bucknell University and served as one of the Bison captains on the 1998 team.

As for the players, it appears the current collection of State College all stars is unique. According to MacNeely, “Everyone is ultra-competitive on this team, which is good and bad. So we have a great group of kids, which again is a blessing and a curse because only one kid can play shortstop at a time and only one can pitch. So I tell the kids that they have to star in their role, whether they’re going to be the extra hitter for the day, the right fielder or the pitcher.”

‘WIN THE INNING’

One thing is certain about Little League playoffs. The competition gets tougher at each rung of the ladder. And that’s why I appreciate the philosophy preached by the State College coaches. When the team runs into a tough opponent that puts a crooked number on the scoreboard, this philosophy can help them overcome the adversity.

According to MacNeely, “Coach Todd (Kulka) always says that our focus is on winning the next inning so we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. And I try to impress upon them a next-play mentality. So whether you made an error or you walked somebody, that play's over. That's an independent event and worrying about what happened is not going to help us. And let’s say you hit a home run. Great. Celebrate that moment, but there’s more game to go; let's move on.”

No doubt, this perspective helped State College beat Bellefonte in the second District 5 meeting of those teams.  Having routed their Benner Pike rivals by a huge score in the opening round, it would have been normal—and dangerous—to take them lightly during the title game. But the former Bucknell player reminded his players that the first game was “definitely an anomaly” and that Bellefonte “is a quality team with a number of really good pitchers.”

Indeed, Bellefonte played well in the final, but a cautious and focused State College team won a much tighter game behind shutout pitching by Trego and Harris and effective hitting by those two players along with Gilroy, Hill, MacNeely and Cole Kulka.

LOOKING AHEAD

What is the current mindset among players and coaches?  Well, of course, everyone is optimistic, but the specifics vary slightly

Mike MacNeely says, “I don’t like to look ahead, but with the talent on this team they know they could take the next step and win States. I think we have the ability to do that.”

Joey Trego offers an extra dose of optimism. Asked to name his goal, he says, “Well, obviously to make it to the Little League World Series. It’s the goal for U12; it’s your dream. We are all just trying to get better, and if we work really hard, I think we have a chance to go to the World Series.”

But Johnstown comes before Williamsport. So the next step in the journey will take place Sunday at 4 p.m. when State College plays Northern Lebanon at Callet Field, 698 Elm Drive, Johnstown. All Sectional games will be played on that field with the championship contest set for Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m.  Specific details will be available on the State College Little League Facebook page .

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