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Holy Toledo! Kyle Davies pitches deep as RailRiders sweep

Letter to the Editor: Photo of grieving father served only to sensationalize, writer says

They had control through most of the morning.But just as quickly as the Back Mountain National Little Leaguer&#8217;s assumed the upper hand, it was gone.Eli Morrison blasted a two-run home run Sunday, starting a roll that led South Columbia to five runs over the fourth and fifth innings and a 6-4 victory over Back Mountain National in the opener of the double-elimination 11-12 Pennsylvania state tournament at the Newville Little League Field.&#8220;They were able to put together hits,&#8221; Back Mountain National manager Todd Paczewski said. &#8220;We had hits, but we never seemed to have people on base.&#8221;His District 31 and Section 5 championship team had a couple big ones early, getting solo home runs from Max Paczewski and Zach Holthaus during a surge that gave Back Mountain National a 4-1 lead entering the bottom of the fourth inning.Max Paczewski, the coach&#8217;s son, slammed a single in the first inning and eventually came home with the game&#8217;s first run when Xander Shaner drew a bases-loaded walk.Paczewski the player then homered in the second inning, scoring his team&#8217;s first two runs as Back Mountain National took a 2-1 lead after the first two innings.Holthaus, who had some tough luck while belting a couple blasts right at fielders during the game, lifted one over the wall while leading off the third inning with a solo homer that boosted Back Mountain National&#8217;s lead to 3-1.Then Todd Federici singled in the fourth inning for the team&#8217;s fourth and final hit, before pinch runner Connor Morgan later came home on a wild pitch as Back Mountain National took a three-run advantage.It didn&#8217;t last long.Back Mountain National&#8217;s starting pitcher Federici worked three strong innings and departed with a 4-1 lead after throwing 35 pitches in the game.But Back Mountain National couldn&#8217;t seal the victory in the end, as South Columbia - from the Bloomsburg area - rallied for the opening-day win.&#8220;We kind of controlled the beginning of the game through the first three, four innings,&#8221; Todd Paczewski said. &#8220;But they hit a home run, they got some momentum and we never got it back. We went down 1-2-3 in the fifth and sixth ininngs.&#8221;Back Mountain National will try to regroup with a 10 a.m. game Tuesday against Mount Pleasant, from the Pittsburgh area, at the Newville Little League Field. The game was originally scheduled for today, but moved when the final of a four-game Sunday wasn&#8217;t completed and moved to this morning.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @ TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

Back Mountain National falls in state opener