It’s never easy for teams from Northwest Pennsylvania to make a name for themselves on the state level, let alone the national stage. District and state banners are typically the province of bigger schools and programs.
But don’t tell that to the Elk/McKean Junior League All-Star baseball team: all they’ve done this summer is win, win, and win some more. Now, all that winning has them on the brink of the biggest stage in Little League baseball.
The Elk/McKean All-Stars recently wrapped up a summer-long run with a state championship this past Sunday, defeating Abington Little League 12-4 in the title game in Stoneboro.
The win earned Elk/McKean a trip to the Junior League East Regionals in Freehold, New Jersey, where they will square off against state champions from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and the hosts from District 19 in New Jersey.
It’s the culmination of years of hard work for manager Casey Zimmerman’s team.
“I’m just very proud of the kids,” Zimmerman said. “This group of kids has worked extremely hard, not just this year, but in seasons leading up to this. They’ve played a lot of travel ball, we’ve had extra practices in the winter, early season tournaments. They’ve given up pretty much their whole summer to get better and earn this spot.”
The team spent the entirety of July playing tournament baseball, beginning in the District 10 tournament back on July 5. After a second-round loss to St. Marys, Elk/McKean rebounded to win three straight games, including back-to-back wins against St. Marys with the second being a 10-1 win in the District title game.
They haven’t lost since.
Elk/McKean advanced to the Section 1 Tournament in Guys Mills, where they outscored their opponents 32-3 in three games, including topping Titusville 6-1 in the Section Championship.
From there, Elk/McKean then moved on to the State Tournament in Stoneboro where they were dominant once again: Zimmerman’s squad won its four games by a combined score of 39-21.
“We have a lot of athletic kids,” Zimmerman said about the team’s success. “We have speed on the basepaths. We’re extremely strong on defense; I think we had a stretch of six or seven games without an error. The kids are learning the game of baseball. We have a great coaching staff, and everyone works together.”
But to go this far against such strong competition, you need more than just excellence on the diamond. A certain level of mental toughness is required to take each obstacle one at a time, learn from mistakes, and approach every game the same.
For Zimmerman, that’s been the hallmark of his team all summer long.
“With every win we learned a lesson,” he said. “We didn’t play perfect all the time, but we learned what kind of team we are. We tried to put them in the positions to work best for the team.”
The Elk/McKean All-Stars are a combination of players from Johnsonburg, Ridgway, and Kane. The camaraderie between these young men from neighboring towns has brought all three communities together. The players’ families, friends, and fans in general have followed their progress every step of the way.
“I can’t say enough about the three communities and the support they’ve given; it’s been absolutely amazing,” Zimmerman said. “Whether it’s been financially, or just coming out to the games, words really can’t express the gratitude.”
Elk/McKean will open play as the PA State Champions at Regionals on Friday at 1 p.m., against the host team from Freehold. The double elimination tournament concludes with the East Region Championship Game on Wednesday, Aug. 8, with the winner advancing to the Junior League Baseball World Series in Taylor, Michigan.
Right now, though, Zimmerman and his team’s focus is where it’s been all through this magical run: on the next game.
“It’s pretty much just go out there and play baseball,” he said. “At each level we keep reinforcing the need to get better after each game. We dial in on our weaknesses, we work in practice to make ourselves better. As we get further down the road, we want to keep that mindset, and work to put ourselves in positions where our strength to play ball and get some wins.”
Mike Porter, Russ Transue, Jason Barner, and Scott Ely make up Zimmerman’s coaching staff.
Elk/McKean’s roster reads as follows: Curtis Barner, Caden Dennis, Kaden Smiley, Luke Ely, Harley Morris, Luke Zimmerman, Aiden Zimmerman, Ethan Wells, Collin Porter, Jefferson Freeburg, Joe Tettis, Dominic Allegretto, and Cameron Marciniak.
