Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Altoona starter Brody Dull.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

Last summer, the Hollidaysburg Little League baseball team earned national recognition and exposure by qualifying for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, making a deep run in the tournament, and winning three games there.

A year later, most of those same players are competing on an Altoona-based team in the Babe Ruth tournament for 13-year-olds, and they’re making their mark at that level as well.

Altoona won the Mid-Atlantic Regional and qualified for the upcoming Babe Ruth World Series in Virginia by defeating Atlantic West of New Jersey, 8-0, in the regional championship game Monday afternoon at Seitz Field.

Right-hander Brody Dull pitched a complete-game four-hit shutout Monday for Altoona, which compiled a perfect 5-0 record in the regional and has qualified for the 16-team Babe Ruth World Series Aug. 10-20 in Glen Allen, Va., a Richmond suburb.

Altoona broke out to a 7-0 lead in the third inning of Monday’s title game, which was never in doubt.

“I’m super proud of our kids, and thankful to all their families who have sacrificed so much in order to help them be successful,” Altoona head coach Brad Hatch said. “It’s been an honor to work with these players, and to be the manager of this team.

“We’re taking one thing at a time, and keeping everything in perspective, but, dating back to last year, these kids are now 14-1 in elimination games,” Hatch added. “We’re now moving on to the next experience, but this group has experience in these types of games, and they know what to expect.”

Dull allowed just one hit through the first five innings en route to pitching the shutout.

“We go seven to eight deep on our pitching staff, but Brody Dull is our ace,” Hatch said. “He throws hard, and he has good breaking stuff. When he’s got control of his pitches out on the mound, he’s tough to beat.

“He’s getting better and better every year, and he’s going to be somebody to watch as he moves forward,” Hatch added.

Dull said that staying focused was a big part of his game plan Monday.

“I stayed focused on the game, focused on everybody around me, and I trusted my defense today,” said Dull, who benefited from a double play that his defense turned behind him in the fifth inning and a caught-stealing sequence that helped shut down a sixth-inning threat. “It feels amazing to win this championship and to be moving on.”

Altoona took a lead with two first-inning runs. Ty McGough led off with an infield single, stole second, and scored on Chase Link’s single. After Caleb Detrick reached on a forceout and advanced to second on Brody Brazile’s infield single, Detrick scored on Beau Rabel’s single to right field.

Detrick scored three times in the game and had two hits, including an RBI single and a double.

“The first inning set the tone for this game,” said Hatch, whose team cranked out 10 hits. “We preached to the kids before the game about the importance of putting the ball in play, and making their defense make plays. It was fun to watch.”

The fun continued in the third inning for Altoona, when the team gained plenty of breathing room by scoring five runs to build a 7-0 lead.

Detrick’s RBI single scored Braden Hatch, who had led off the inning with a double. Brody Brazile’s single then plated Link, who had walked, and after Rabel was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Detrick scored on Dull’s groundout and Brazile was balked home from third base to give Altoona a 6-0 lead.

Vince Albarano’s grounder to second base then scored Rabel with the final run of the inning.

“Altoona is a solid team whose players have obviously been playing together for a long time, and are used to playing in this type of environment,” Atlantic West head coach Mike Angelo said. “Altoona deserves all the credit for what they have accomplished here, but we just put our team together this year and our players need more experience.

“We’re hoping to come back here next year and hopefully win this tournament,” Angelo said.

Altoona tacked on a final run in the fifth inning on Detrick’s double and Rabel’s RBI single.

The Babe Ruth World Series will begin with opening ceremonies on Thursday, Aug. 10, and kick off with pool play for teams that will begin on Saturday, Aug. 12.

After pool play, teams will enter single-elimination brackets in the 16-team tournament, which will be comprised of championship teams from eight regions throughout the United States, along with eight teams from outside the country.

“This is a big deal for these kids at this age level,” BradHatch said. “It will be livestreamed online. These kids are looking forward to this after having played on national television last year.”

ATLANTIC WEST (0): Guerrina cf 301, Angelo c 201, Pahang p-1b 200, Schulingkamp c 301, Minnissa pr 000, Delpiano lf 100, Vanaman 3b-p 200, Spena 3b 000, Fazzino 2b 301, Pilla 1b-rf 200, Mollenkopf 1b 000, Gates ph 100, Caffarelli rf 200, Giaconi pr 000. Totals – 21-0-4.

ALTOONA (8): McGough ss 411, Hatch 1b 311, Link c 211, Detrick EH 332, Brazile cf 312, Rabel 2b 212, Dull p 201, Albarano lf 300, Anderson rf 300, Phillips 3b 200, Boob ph 100. Totals – 28-8-10.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Atlantic West 000 000 0 — 0 4 1

Altoona 205 010 x — 8 10 1

2B–Hatch, Detrick. RBI–Rabel 2, Link, Detrich, Brazile, Dull, Albarano. SB–McGough, Detrick. SAC–Angelo. LOB–Atlantic West 6, Altoona 5. HBP–Vanaman, Rabel, Dull.

PITCHING:

Atlantic West: Pahang (L) 2+IP, 7H, 7R, 7ER, 1BB, 1SO; Vanaman 4IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 2SO.

Altoona: Dull (W) 7IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 4BB, 1SO.

Umpires: Will Fitzgerald (plate); Caleb Stevens (first base); Chris Perino (third base).