1978 Distrist Tournament

Little League: Bellefonte All-Stars Picked. (1978, July 7). Centre Daily Times, p16.

Little League: Bellefonte All-Stars Picked

The Bellefonte Little League All-Stars have been selected for the upcoming District 5 playoffs.

The squad:

Mid-State Bank – Todd Smith, Scott Irwin and Pat Kucas.

Lions Club – Ed McGovern, Todd Taylor and Mike Wert.

Krout Pontiac – Kevin Bathgate, Scott Hollobaugh and Ken Ramos.

Plumb’s Drugs – Tom Alterio, and Eric Shay.

Knights of Columbus – Bill Davis and Jerry Thompson.

Alternates – Robert Wagner, Undine Fire Company; Lee McDonnel, Mid-State Bank; Roger McClure, Lions Club; and Toby Capparella, Plumb’s

Suburban Zips Bellefonte, 9-0. (1978, July 22). Centre Daily Times, p11. 

For five innings it was a tight game. One-zip for State College Suburban. Your basic pitchers duel. For five innings.

In the top of the sixth suburban exploded for eight runs, and that was the end of the District 5 tournament trail for the Bellefonte Little League All-Stars who lost 9-0.

Nan Sichler continued her playoff mastery by twirling a one-hitter at the home team. In the bottom of the third inning Todd Taylor lined a single to right, but both he and Billy Davis were stranded on base when Pat Kucas rapped a hard grounder right at shortstop Mike McLaughlin.

Nan had seven strikeouts and walked just two batters.

For five innings she was involved with Bellefonte pitcher tom Alterio in a real struggle. Alterio had given up just two hits heading into the sixth inning. Suburban scored once in the first when Chris Stine walked, moved to third on Bruce Kocher’s single to right, and came scurrying home when Kocher stole second and the throw went down trying to nail him.

In the sixth, though things went sour for Bellefonte. Dave Montressor opened the frame with a lined single to left. Alterio went to full count before walking Andy Jeffers, and when his first two pitches to John Wright were balls, he swapped positions with shortstop Ed McGovern.

McGovern started well, retiring Wright on strikes, but McLaughlin followed with his second double to the game, this time scoring Montresor and Jeffers.

Kevin Kenly rapped a hard single to center which moved McLaughlin to third. He scored when Rob Koll bounced a high grounder to first. Bellefonte’s first baseman fielded the ball cleanly, but nobody was covering the bag.

McGovern then beaned Stine to load the bases, and Kenly tallied when Kocher’s infield grounder was misplayed.

Nan Sichler then went to the plate, looking for her first hit of the game, McGovern uncorked a wild pitch and Koll zipped home to make it 6-0. Then McGovern grooved one and Nan poled it 25 feet over the centerfield fence for a three-run homer.

Bellefonte meanwhile, was never able to get a runner beyond second base and that came in the third following Taylor’s hit.

Defensively, Kocher, the Suburban third baseman made some fine plays; Jeffers made a neat one-handed grab of a hard shot by McGovern to left in the fourth; and Bellefonte second baseman Davis made a nice grab of a hard shot off Miss Sichler’s bat in the fifth..

On a couple of occasions Bellefonte hit the ball hard, but always right at a Suburban fielder.

Suburban will play for the District 5 championship Monday evening when it will host Four-Leaf, an 11-2 winner over Clearfield in the other semi-final clash yesterday.

Four-Leaf produced eight runs in the first inning on four hits, four walks and three Clearfield errors. Ken Erskine was the winning pitcher, and Roger Martell had two singles for the victors.

Game time is 6 p.m. at Gill Field.