Youngstown stars advance

vindicator staff report

APPLETON, Wis. — The Youngstown 14-year-old all-stars clinched a berth in the bracket finals of the Babe Ruth World Series on Tuesday with a 6-4 victory over Chandler, Ariz.

Shawn Coyne went 4-for-4 and drove in a run for Youngstown, which concluded bracket play with a 3-1 record.

Youngstown has a bye today as bracket play concludes. Youngstown is guaranteed to finish either first or second in its pool, the American Division.

Eau Claire, Wis., which handed Youngstown its only loss of the tournament so far, was 1-1 with a late game Tuesday night. Eau Claire was scheduled to play Chandler today.

Youngstown broke a scoreless tie with a four-run rally in the third inning of Tuesday’s game.

Christopher Maze singled with one out, advanced to second on a groundout, then scored on a single by Michael Raschilla.

After Jacob Froats walked, Coyne singled to load the bases. Robert Vargo then walked to force in one run and Daniel Ferguson hit a two-run double.

Youngstown made it 5-0 an inning later. Vic Kuchmaner started the rally with a single, then Raschilla walked and Froats was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Coyne followed with a RBI single.

After Arizona closed to 5-4 in the sixth, Youngstown added an insurance run in the seventh.

Coyne led off with a single, when to second on Vargo’s base hit and to third when Ferguson was hit by a pitch. After a double play wiped out Coyne at home, Brandon Ritchie hit a single to score Vargo.

Jake Stauffer was the winning pitcher, going 51‚Ñ3 innings. He allowed nine hits and four earned runs, striking out two.

Vargo finished with 12‚Ñ3 innings of hitless relief with two strikeouts, for the save.

Skyler Palermo had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs for Arizona. Zack Strand added a pair of singles.