Hermitage sweeps titles in District 2 Little League All-Star Tournament

HERMITAGE – What a night for Hermitage!

Roughly two hours after its 10-and-under club won the District 2 championship with a 12-2 victory over Grove City, Hermitage claimed the Major Division crown by downing consolation-bracket champion West Middlesex 8-5 Friday evening at the Hermitage Athletic Complex.

Winning never gets old,” Hermitage skipper Mike Bochert said. “The standard is the standard. We built a wall of champions last year, so these guys have something to look forward to and they take it to heart. The goal every year is to put a banner up.

“This year, we were fortunate enough to have our 9-10s (win earlier in the evening), our 11s didn’t have to play anyone but they’re champions and they’ll get a banner, too. It never gets old and it’s definitely better to be on this side of things.”

With the District 2 championship in their back pocket, Hermitage will have a week off to prepare for the section tournament, which gets started on July 14 at Bullskin.

“Obviously, I’m very happy for this group,” Bochert said. “We had high expectations coming in, having won it two years in a row. Really happy with this group, because they’ve put in a lot of hard work and it paid off tonight.”

Hermitage’s offense applied constant pressure on West Middlesex pitching, scoring at least once over the game’s first four innings. Carter Hicks and Luca Squatrito led the 9-hit parade with a pair of singles.

Hicks led the way with three RBIs, while Ian Staples, Ashton Patton, Spencer Kulka and Squatrito drove in a run.

“We have 11 studs on this team,” Bochert said. “You look at some teams and think that’s an out, but I have 11 guys that I think are going to hit the baseball anytime they get up. These guys are going up there and having good at bats and that speaks to their maturity. When you get to this age, kids can throw curveballs and you have to be able to sit back and be disciplined and hit balls up the middle and to the right side.

“For the most part, our guys have done that all year. I think we’ve scored 35 runs and only given up 6 .... very proud of these guys.”

With solid defensive play behind him, Will Geisel kept the West Middlesex bats at bay, yielding three runs on three hits and striking out five. He walked five batters.

“Will Geisel was great on the mound,” Bochert said. “As you saw, the defense was outstanding behind him. When you get to this age, you have to throw the curveball and he was mixing it up. He’s got a good fastball, but when you can throw a breaking ball for strikes, it keeps them guessing.”

Friday’s festivities got off on the right foot for Hermitage with a 2-run single from Hicks and a run-scoring grounder from Patton for a 3-0 lead after the first.

“This is the first time we got to be the home team throughout the tournament,” Bochert said. “Our goal is to jump out early. This team is different than some of the other ones we’ve had. They’ve matured a lot.”

After a Jordan Bochert RBI in the bottom of the second, West Middlesex got some life with Austin Novosel’s bases-loaded double to pull within 4-3.

“Austin’s hit opened it up for us and gave us some life,” West Middlesex coach Walt Novosel said.

But Hermitage stole the momentum right back on a Kulka RBI single in the third and RBI singles from Hicks and Staples in the fourth. Staples would eventually score on a wild pitch for an 8-3 Hermitage advantage.

“We knew coming in that they were a good team and they were going to hit the ball,” Novosel said. “It is what it is. I’m proud of my guys for hanging in there.”

Mark Hites’ two-run blast in the top of the sixth closed the scoring.

“Heck, I thought we still had a shot (after the home run),” Novosel said. “Three runs is nothing in baseball. They fought until the end and that’s exactly what I wanted out of them. I wanted them to play hard and don’t give up and that’s what they did.”

In addition to Hites’ roundtripper and Novosel’s two-bagger, Bowers and Judson Weiser singled for West Middlesex.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Coach Novosel said. “We fought through the loser’s bracket and gave them a game. We’re a small Single-A school. We barely have 20 kids in some of our classes and (Hermitage) is a big school. We don’t play them in high school. The fact that these guys competed against them is awesome and I’m so proud of them.”

Notes: Hermitage turned a double play in the first inning. ... Showcasing his arm, Lucas White picked off a pair of Hermitage runners from center field for West Middlesex. ... Dylan Dudash, Blaine Bowers, Hites and Novosel took turns on the mound for West Middlsex. ... Hicks recorded the final two outs in the sixth to register the save for Hermitage. ...  ... Hermitage left seven runners on base – including four in scoring position – to just two for West Middlesex.

10U

• Hermitage 12, Grove City 2 (5 inn.) — Hermitage captured the championship on Friday evening in the opener before the Major Division game.

Neither team reported stats to The Herald by deadline on Friday night.