The two best teams in The Keystone Baseball League’s Junior Babe Ruth division faced each other for the championship on July 19 at the Kutztown Park.
First-place Kutztown was coming off a 10-2 season; one of their losses was to Hamburg Red. Hamburg Red, a team made up of both Jr. Babe Ruth and Jr. Legion players, was 9-2 on the season, both of their losses coming at the hands of Kutztown.
As the two met in the championship game, Hamburg Jr. Legion’s Jacob Fegley was masterful at changing speeds and held Kutztown down for all seven innings. Kutztown came into the game with a league-leading 138 runs scored, eclipsing by a large margin the second-highest team (92). Fegley held Kutztown way below their season average of close to 12 runs per game, only allowing four runs in seven innings.
Kutztown led 4-3 over the first three innings but Hamburg broke things open in the fifth, chasing pitcher Nick Perella, who threw a no-hitter against Hamburg Black on June 13. The Kutztown bullpen couldn’t calm the Hamburg bats en route to an 18-4 championship victory.
The future is bright for Kutztown Youth Athletic Association’s Jr Babe Ruth team, as they expect to be contenders for the championship again next season. Ten of their 12 players are returning, including seven players who were in their first year of Jr Babe Ruth this year.
