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Medical breakthrough: Laurel Med overcomes Game 1 loss, repeats as Kelley Federation 19U champ

By John Hartsock 3 min read

Laurel Medical mashed out 15 hits and benefited from seven Tyrone Legion errors Monday night to defend its George B. Kelley Federation 19U championship by posting a 16-8 victory in the third and deciding game of the best-of-three title series at Vets Field.

Winning pitcher Caleb Sanders had three hits and drove in three runs, cracking a big two-run double to cap off a seven-run rally in the fifth inning that pulled Laurel Medical back from a 7-5 deficit to a 12-7 lead that the champions never relinquished.

"It was just a matter of us going out there and doing our best tonight,'' Sanders said. "We know the team that we are and we know the type of skill that we have.''

Five other players -- Evan Young, Brennen Freiwald, Noah Hillard, Ethan Karageanes, and Julian Morgan -- had two hits apiece, with Freiwald and Hayden Tipton driving in two runs apiece for Laurel Medical, which beat Tyrone in the third and deciding game of the 19U league championship series for the second straight year.

Laurel Med shook off a tough 4-3 walkoff loss in the opening game of the series Saturday night to even the series with a 12-4 win on Sunday night, before bringing out its hitting shoes in Monday's winner-take-all game.

"I'm extremely proud of our kids, and how well they have played together for several years now,'' Laurel Med manager Brett Sanders said. "For us to go out there and win like this again is special.''

Laurel Med scored seven runs on five hits in the big fifth inning, with Tipton and Freiwald both collecting RBI singles before the two-run double by Caleb Sanders.

Tyrone Legion committed three errors in the inning that helped to grease the wheels for Laurel Med.

"We pride ourselves on defense, but these last two nights, we played two of the worst defensive games we've played all year,'' Tyrone Legion manager Kevin Soellner said. "We haven't had seven errors in a game all season.''

A two-run single by Connor Sanders in the sixth inning and an RBI single by Karageanes in the seventh inning helped Laurel Med tack on two runs in both of the last two innings to win going away.

Tyrone Legion took a 7-5 lead in the fourth inning on Wyatt Kustenbauder's RBI triple and a run-scoring infield hit by Brayden Parsons. Brandon McClure had three hits and drove in two runs for Tyrone.

"We'll just regroup and look forward to next year,'' Soellner said.

Brett Sanders was savoring the present moment Monday night.

"We fell behind in this game, but our kids know that they can do it just as well as anybody else,'' Brett Sanders said. "They trust in themselves, and they did what they can do tonight.''

LAUREL MEDICAL (16): Con. Sanders c 311, Young 2b 522, Freiwald ss-p 522, Caleb Sanders p-ss 433, Hillard 1b 522, Tipton cf 511, Detrick 3b 300, Karageanes rf 512, Morgan lf 342. Totals - 38-16-15.

TYRONE LEGION (8): Kustenbauder ss 211, B. McClure 2b-ss 423, Parsons c 302, Oakes cf 400, Zupon 3b 411, C. McClure 1b 210, Jones rf 400, Frye 311, Stroup p 322, Starr ph 100. Totals - 30-8-10.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Laurel Med 220 172 2--16 15 5

Tyrone 130 310 0--8 10 7

E--B. McClure 2, Zupon, Stroup, Young, Freiwald 2, Tipton, Karageanes. 2B--Freiwald, Caleb Sanders. 3B–Kustenbauder. SAC--Kustenbauder, Detrick. SB--B. McClure, Oakes, Tipton, Stroup, Morgan 2. HBP- LOB--Laurel Medical 9, Tyrone Legion 8. WP--Caleb Sanders. LP--Stroup.

Umpires: Nick Petucci (plate); Erik Wardrop (first base); Jonathan Smith (third base).

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