Five days after losing their first game of the District 31 Junior Baseball tournament, Township gained a measure of revenge on Saturday and captured the district title in the process.
Chris Tibel pitched a complete game and stranded the would-be tying run in the seventh inning to preserve a 3-2 win for Township over Kingston/Forty Fort on Saturday morning, bringing home the district championship and sending the Township team through to the Section 5 tournament starting on Tuesday.
Tibel, who pitched an eight-inning complete game against KFF earlier in the tournament, cruised through his first six frames without allowing a run.
KFF responded with a pair of singles and a hit batter, including a single off the bat of Nicholas Lipinski to make it 3-1.
An RBI groundout from Russell Singer cut Township’s lead to 3-2 and moved the potential tying run to second. That’s where he would stay, as Tibel got the ground ball he needed to get the final out.
The game was scoreless through the first three-and-a-half innings before Township scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead.
Tibel reached on an error, then walks from Michael Larkin and Osman Avila drew walks to load the bases.
Jonah Rowlands hit a fly ball that was misplayed to score Tibel and Larkin, making it 2-0 Township. After another walk to load the bases, Logan Schatzel drew a walk to push Avila across with the third run.
Cody Karboski and Tommy Belles added hits for Township.
Brayden Tarnalicki had two hits for Kingston/Forty Fort and also pitched three scoreless innings to start the game.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.