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<p>FLEETVILLE &#8212; Ask Mason Sgarlat about the way he&#8217;s hitting the ball. Honestly, you won&#8217;t find any Little Leaguer hotter with the bat than the Kingston/Forty Fort slugger.</p><p>&#8220;I have 20/20 vision, so that helps.&#8221; he said with a smile.</p><p>Apparently so.</p><p>Sgarlat added to his already double-digit home run total with a gigantic two-run shot to right, and KFF put a nine-spot on the scoreboard in the third as KFF powered past North Allegheny, 11-2, Tuesday at the Pa. State Major Little League Tournament.</p><p>The win puts KFF in the winner&#8217;s bracket final at 8 p.m. Wednesday against District 27 champ Upper Providence, which 10-run ruled Stroudsburg earlier in the day.</p><p>&#8220;I kind of look at it that we did our job the first two days of this tournament, and we have a long way to go,&#8221; KFF manager Joe Evan said. &#8220;The kids are playing great baseball. I love their chemistry, approach and teamwork. They respond to each other, and pick each other up. They are loyal to each other. I think you see that, and it&#8217;s someone different every night.&#8221;</p><p>KFF has a powerful lineup, and the results through all-star play has shown that. But Tuesday&#8217;s victory, especially the performance at the plate, definitely turned some heads.</p><p>Consider this. North Allegheny shut out every team on its way to a district title, and only allowed a total of eight runs during its entire 2017 all-star run so far. KFF scored nine runs alone in the third inning against three NA pitchers.</p><p>KFF racked up nine hits in the game as six of them went for extra bases. Jake Griffin, Sgarlat and Max Lopuhovsky each cleared the fence, and Griffin, Matt Zekus and Davis Motyka added doubles.</p><p>&#8220;When we get up to bat, everyone is so excited to hit,&#8221; Sgarlat said. &#8220;You can tell everyone is watching the pitcher, so they are ready.&#8221;</p><p>With power-pitching Griffin and NA&#8217;s Cole Bianchin on the mound, runs were going to be at a premium. And that very point was proven in the opening innings as the two squads traded a pair.</p><p>North Allegheny scored first on a wild pitch, only to see Griffin answer with a homer deep into the trees in right. Lopuhovsky connected on his first homer of the all-star season to put KFF up 2-1 after two innings before NA plated one in the visitor&#8217;s half of the third after a bad hop past the first baseman scored Herron Lee from second.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been kind of struggling with my hitting in the all-star season. But I have been working hard to improve my swing. Tonight, I had my weight back and put a good swing on it,&#8221; Lopuhovsky said. &#8220;That was awesome. We just kept getting hits. We were pretty hyped up.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s when it quickly turned sour for North Allegheny.</p><p>In an inning that lasted almost 30 minutes, KFF sent 14 batters to the plate &#8211; scoring nine runs on six hits. The first seven batters all reached base safely, and before North Allegheny recorded the first out, five runs had already crossed home.</p><p>Sgarlat&#8217;s massive two-run homer gave Kingston/Forty Fort a 4-2 lead, while Luke Buss, John McLaughlin, Matt Zekus and Akira Kopec each added RBIs.</p><p>When the third ended, Kingston/Forty Fort was up nine runs with its standout pitcher on the mound.</p><p>&#8220;Our kids have a good approach,&#8221; Evan said. &#8220;They are aggressive. It&#8217;s got to be a complete game to win. It&#8217;s got to be the hitting, pitching and defense, which I think is the most underrated part of our team. Each kid wants to do it, not for themselves, but for the next person.&#8221;</p><p>Griffin completely overpowered North Allegheny.</p><p>The team had one hit, Bianchin&#8217;s bad-hop single over the first-base bag, and struck out nine times in 4.1 innings. Only five players reached base against Griffin, four of those via walks. Sgarlat came on in relief, staying under 20 pitches by retiring all five batters he faced.</p><p>&#8220;Their guy threw hard,&#8221; NA manager Alex DelVecchio said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a difficult assignment for kids to face. You can hear the seams ripping through the air. He&#8217;s a great player, and he&#8217;s going to be tough to beat. I haven&#8217;t seen a kid like him (Griffin) in a long time. He&#8217;s just that good. It was a tough mental assignment for our kids. But now, we have to move on and keep fighting.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Kingston/Forty Fort 11, North Allegheny 2</strong></p><p><strong>North Allegheny `AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Lee cf `1`2`0`0</p><p>Spak rf `3`0`0`0</p><p>Bianchin p `3`0`1`1</p><p>Melzar ss `2`0`0`0</p><p>Ward 1b `3`0`0`0</p><p>Delvecchio c `2`0`0`0</p><p>Zwick 2b `1`0`0`0</p><p>Hart ph `1`0`0`0</p><p>Howard 3b `1`0`0`0</p><p>Staltzer ph `0`0`0`0</p><p>Gavlick lf `1`0`0`0</p><p>Smalley ph `1`0`0`0</p><p><strong>Totals `19`2`1`1</strong></p><p><strong>KFF `AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Evan rf `2`0`0`0</p><p>Zekus ph `2`1`1`2</p><p>Griffin p `3`3`2`1</p><p>Sgarlat ss `2`1`2`3</p><p>McLaughlin c `4`1`1`1</p><p>A. Kopec 2b `3`1`1`1</p><p>L. Kopec 3b `1`0`0`0</p><p>Matello ph `1`1`0`0</p><p>Buss 1b `3&#8217;1`0`1</p><p>Lopuhovsky lf `1`2`1`1</p><p>Motkya cf `1`0`1`0</p><p>Matlowski ph `1`0`0`0</p><p>Bowen ph `1`0`0`0</p><p><strong>Totals `25`11`9`10</strong></p><p><strong>HR:</strong> Griffin, Lopuhovsky, Sgarlat. 2B: Griffin, Motkya, Zekus.</p><p><strong>NA `101 `000 &#8211; 2</strong></p><p><strong>KFF `119 `00x &#8211; 11</strong></p><p><strong>NA `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO</strong></p><p>Bianchin `2`5`4`4`1`2</p><p>Lee `0.0`2`5`5`2`0</p><p>Hart `2`1`2`2`2`1</p><p>Zwick `1`1`0`0`0`2</p><p><strong>KFF `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO</strong></p><p>Griffin `4.1`1`2`2`4`9</p><p>Sgarlat `1.2`0`0`0`0`2</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kingston/Forty Fort pitcher Jake Griffin gets mobbed at the plate after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against North Allegheny in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kingston/Forty Fort pitcher Jake Griffin gets mobbed at the plate after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against North Allegheny in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kingston/Forty Fort&#8217;s Max Lopuhovsky drives the ball beyond the center field fence for a solo home run ahead of North Allegheny catcher James Delvecchio<ins> in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday.</ins> </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kingston/Forty Fort&#8217;s Max Lopuhovsky drives the ball beyond the center field fence for a solo home run ahead of North Allegheny catcher James Delvecchio<ins> in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday.</ins> </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kingston/Forty Fort second baseman Akira Kopec fields the ball against North Allegheny in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Kingston/Forty Fort second baseman Akira Kopec fields the ball against North Allegheny in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kingston/Forty Fort&#8217;s Mason Sgarlat takes off from first base ahead of North Allegheny&#8217;s Anthony Howard in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Kingston/Forty Fort&#8217;s Mason Sgarlat takes off from first base ahead of North Allegheny&#8217;s Anthony Howard in a state Little League Majors winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game in Fleetville on Tuesday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Kingston/Forty Fort Majors Little League team huddles before their state winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game against North Allegheny in Fleetville on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_KFF-LittleLeague_5.jpg</photo4><caption4>The Kingston/Forty Fort Majors Little League team huddles before their state winner&#8217;s bracket semifinal game against North Allegheny in Fleetville on Tuesday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Fox</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

KFF’s bats, Griffin’s arm overpower North Allegheny