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Nittany Notes: Hackenberg won’t be fielding NFL questions

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Event offers fun, games and financial literacy lessons

NEWVILLE &#8212; Playing with its back against the wall since Day 1 of the Little League tournament, Back Mountain National strung together four straight wins and earned a spot in the Pennsylvania State Championship Little League final Saturday afternoon.Squaring off against a powerful Red Land squad out of Lewisberry, Back Mountain National fell into an early hole and couldn&#8217;t recover as Red Land went on to win 17-0 in four innings at Newville&#8217;s Little League Complex.&#8220;We had a great run and I couldn&#8217;t be more proud of these kids,&#8221; National manager Todd Paczewski said. &#8220;We knew it was going to be tough to beat that team two games in a row. Their lineup is so strong top to bottom and they have shutdown pitching.&#8221;Red Land won all four of its games in the tournament by the 10-run mercy rule, outscoring opponents 67-2 along the way.Over 13 games that encompassed the district, section, and state tournaments, Red Land outscored its opponents 182-6.Red Land will advance to Bristol, Connecticut, for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament starting Aug. 10. The Mid-Atlantic champion advances to the Little League World Series in Williamsport.Back Mountain National advanced from the loser&#8217;s bracket of its district tournament to bring home the title.Red Land started its offensive assault early. National pitcher Ty Federici&#8217;s second pitch of the game was ripped to the fence for two bases by Braden Kolmansberger. After hitting Cole Wagner with a pitch and getting an out, Federici appeared to be getting out of the inning. But a groundball to third was thrown away at the plate to score two runs. Chayton Krauss&#8217; home run gave Red Land a 4-0 first-inning edge.Max Paczewski singled to right for National, ensuring Wagner wasn&#8217;t going to throw a second perfect game in two starts. National couldn&#8217;t get anything else going, but Ben Fife recorded a pop up on Wagner.Red Land put up three more runs on an error and several wild pitch/passed balls.Will Youngman drew a walk in the second, but Wagner struck out the final three batters to end the threat. Wagner finished with 10 strikeouts in four innings.&#8220;Cole is one of the most intense kids I have ever seen. He refused to come out of this game when I asked about pulling him,&#8221; Red Land manager Tom Peifer said. &#8220;This group of kids have been playing together since they were eight-year old with the same coaches in travel ball.&#8221; They just don&#8217;t worry- it is like I get to hang out with my buddies and play a game of baseball- it is just a different mindset from this group.&#8221;Red Land put up six in the third and four more in the fourth. against some pitchers who seldom threw for Back Mountain and Red Land got another home run from Krauss and a grand slam from Josh Hedline, in addition to home run from Bailey Wirt and the obligatory 300 foot bomb from Wagner to center field. It was his 19th home run in 13 post season games.Luke Spencer added an infield single in the third for the final hit for the Dallas team.&#8220;The best thing that was said was from one of the Red Land coaches who congratulated this team for being able to get to this point with a true all-star team that doesn&#8217;t do any travel ball,&#8221; Paczewski said. &#8220;I truly was touched by that. This was true team and they picked each other up and I am very proud to be their coach. It has been a truly memorable summer despite this final game, but I can&#8217;t worry as the kids are out there laughing and having fun.&#8221;State Little League ChampionshipRed Land 17 Back Mountain National 0, 4 inn. Red Land `AB`R`H`BIKolmansberger 2b `3`4`1`1Wagner p`2`3`1`3Hedline ss`2`3`1`1Rodenhaber 3b `3`1`0`0Krauss 1b`3`2`2`6Phillips lf `2`0`1`0Sooy ph `1`0`0`0Cubbler rf `2`1`1`0Osipower rf `0`0`0`0Walter ph`1`0`0`0Peifer c`2`0`1`0Wisman ph`1`0`0`0Cramer cf `1`2`1`0Wirt ph`1`1`1`1Totals `24`17`10`12Back Mt. National `AB`R`H`BIPaczewski 3b`2`0`1`0Spencer lf`2`0`1`0Sincavage 2b`2`0`0`0Federici p`2`0`0`0Holthaus ss`2`0`0`0Youngman cf `1`0`0`0Fife ph`1`0`0`0Morgan rf`1`0`0`0Rother 1b 1`0`0`0Conrad ph 0`0`0`0Shaner c`0`0`0`0Ropietski c`1`0`0`0Totals `14`0`2`0Red Land `436 `4` -`17 Bk. Mt. National `000 `0 `-`02B &#8212; Kolmansberger. HR &#8212; Wagner, Hedline, Krauss (2), Wirt.Red Land`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOCole Wagner (W)`4`2`0`0`1`10Bk. Mt. National `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOFederici (L)`1.2`4`7`4`2`4`Holthaus `1.0`2`5`4`3`0Sincavage `1.0`2`2`2`0`1Morgan `0.1`2`3`3`1`0<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jeffrey KauffmanFor 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 final of state Little League tournament