Milton 8-10 All-Stars splits games to open state tournament

The traffic may have been a struggle, but the result made the trip worth it for some Cape families.

Trekking up to Newark to do battle against the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend in the first game of the 2024 Delaware 8-10 Baseball All-Star Tournament, the fellas from Milton needed to battle back from down two runs late in the game to secure the victory.

Hudson Hartstein started on the bump for Milton and was sharp, striking out seven over 5.2 innings while surrendering three hits and walks that led to a run scored in the first and fourth innings.

Down 2-0 with two innings to go, Nole Beam instilled belief in his teammates when he singled to start the fifth. He advanced to second on an Easton Goodwin bunt single. Owen Croce walked to load up the bases before Jacob Reynolds lifted one into no man's land in left. Beam was able to score, but Goodwin was thrown out trying advance to third after the unpredictable flight of the ball. Croce came around to score on a Dominic Nelson infield single to tie the game at 2-2.

Wyatt Dean put the pressure on MOT with a one-out single followed by a steal to get into scoring position. Krew Johnson grounded out to third for the second out, but Dean proved his craftiness by advancing to third following the throw to first.

With two outs and the game tied, Beam rolled one to second, but an error allowed him to advance to second and, more importantly, Dean to come around and score, giving Milton a 3-2 lead.

Hartstein struck out the first two batters in the sixth inning, but hit his pitch limit following a walk, necessitating an appearance from Jaxon Kulp. With the tying run at first, Kulp coaxed a pop-up, catching the ball himself to make Milton’s path to a title just a bit easier in the three-team, double-elimination tournament.

Milton was defeated by Brandywine 16-6 July 24, setting up an elimination game with MOT after the Cape Gazette deadline Thursday, July 25.