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Gates Care finishes off Laurel Medical for Kelley Federation title

Federation Finals: Game 2

By John Hartsock 4 min read

Laurel Medical was attempting to win its fourth consecutive George B. Kelley Federation championship this year, but ran into a buzzsaw in the championship finals.

The Gloria Gates Care sponsored team, comprised of former and current Altoona Area High School players, brought their bats to Vets Field on two consecutive nights, following up a 13-run opening-game performance Wednesday by completing a sweep of the best-of-three league championship series with a 14-2 mercy-rule victory Thursday night.

Thursday's outcome was finalized via the 10-run mercy rule after five innings, following a five-run top of the fifth inning that staked the Gloria Gates Care team to a 14-0 lead.

The Gloria Gates Care squad also put together an eight-run, eight-hit second inning to put itself on cruise control.

Left-handed pitcher Connor Waite, who will be a senior this fall at Altoona High School, tossed five solid innings in Thursday's victory, allowing just four hits, striking out six batters, and walking three.

Waite was particularly happy for the recently graduated Altoona seniors on the Gloria Gates Care team.

"It means a lot,'' Waite said of the championship accomplishment. "Our whole team hit well tonight, and our lineup gave me a lot of run support.

"This is a good group of guys on this team, and it was so good to see this past year's seniors go out of this league by winning a championship,'' Waite said.

The game was never in doubt after Gloria Gates Care put up the big eight-run second inning. Kruz Keith and Eric McAllister both stroked RBI doubles, while Carter McConnell, Conner Pike and Leland Baer each had RBI singles in the big inning for Gloria Gates Care, which sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning and also benefited from three Laurel Medical errors.

The eight-spot was more than enough for Waite, as the smooth lefty turned in a tidy performance.

"We hit the ball pretty well tonight, like we have all season, and it really helps when you have a kid like Waite on the mound,'' Gloria Gates Care manager Steve Webster said. "He's been solid for us all season.''

Gloria Gates sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth inning, which was highlighted by an RBI double from Nick Kraft and an RBI single by Wyatt Coon. Five walks in the inning helped to create plenty of scoring opportunities for Gates.

Reaching the championship finals for the fourth straight season was its own reward for Laurel Medical, according to team manager Evan Sanders.

"This season was a lot of fun,'' said Sanders, whose team got an RBI triple from Ryan McConnell and an RBI single from Tanner Rossman to account for its two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. "(Gloria Gates Care) played well this series, and they hit the ball well.

"But at the end of the day, we're leaving here with a smile on our faces.''

The smiles were even bigger for the Gloria Gates Care players, who benefited from their familiarity with each other on the baseball field.

"These guys all play together on the varsity or junior varsity school teams,'' said Webster, whose team scored a first-inning run on Brayden Pike's triple and Waite's sacrifice fly.

"And the more time that players spend playing together, the better their team is going to be,'' Webster said.

GLORIA GATES CARE (14): B. Pike rf 211, Hileman rf 100, Kraft eh 412, Waite p 110, McAllister ss 321, C. Pike cf 312, Glasgow 1b 100, McConnell dh 211, Hainsey 3b 211, Palladini cr-3b 020, Baer lf 211, Starr lf 010, Keith c 211, Coon 2b 222. Totals -- 25-14-12.

LAUREL MEDICAL (2): Morgan cf 300, McConnell p-ss 202, Young ss-p 310, Rossman c 202, Moser rf 200, Keefer 3b 300, Johnson lf 200, Moser 1b-p 200, Cicero 2b 000, Biddle dh 110. Totals -- 20-2-4.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Gloria Gates Care 180 05X X -- 14 12 1

Laurel Medical 000 02X X -- 2 4 4

E--Palladini, Rossman, Moser 2, Keefer. 2B--Kraft 2, Keith. 3B--B. Pike, McConnell. RBI--Coon, B. Pike, Kraft, Waite, McAllister, C. Pike, McConnell, Baer, Keith. SF--Waite. SB--C. Pike, Palladini. HBP--Waite (by Morgan). LOB--Laurel Medical 7, Gloria Gates Care 5.

PITCHING

Gloria Gates Care: Waite (W) 5IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 6SO, 3BB.

Laurel Medical: McConnell (L) 1 2/3IP, 9H, 9R, 3ER, 2SO, 1BB; Young 1 1/3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1SO, 0BB; Moser 1 2/3IP, 1H, 5R, 5ER, OSO; 5BB; Morgan 1/3IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, OSO, OBB.

Umpires: Shawn Feather (plate); Jason Oakes (1B); Braylon Williams (3B).

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