Milton Major League All-Stars win District 3 title

10-12 squad advances to state tournament

The Milton Major League All-Stars take a victory lap after defeating Laurel 6-3 to nab the District 3 banner. DAN COOK PHOTOS

Dan Cook

July 24, 2022

The bats of the Milton Major League All-Stars were as hot as the temperature July 23, as they slugged 10 hits to power themselves to the District 3 title with a 6-3 victory over Laurel.

Joe Ruark led the Milton squad, going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the third inning. Trey Dickinson and Trizton Willey each had two hits, while Trig Joseph had a hit and an RBI. Ike Beam and Nate Kristunas each had a single.

“I was thinking fastball,” said Ruark. “It felt good because I hit the barrel pretty good. I got really excited and looked at the dugout and started jumping.”

Willey started on the mound for Milton, throwing 4.1 innings, giving up three earned runs while striking out three batters. Joseph came in from the bullpen in the fifth, earning the save by retiring the last five batters.

“We did OK hitting and our fielding, and pitching was good,” said Willey. “I was just throwing strikes and our defense was great. I feel pretty confident for the states.”

“It feels great to win the District 3 championship,” said Dickinson. “We’ve got a great group of boys on our team. [Laurel pitcher Cameron Deiter] was throwing strikes. All of our boys can hit. We haven’t been hitting great lately, but tonight we definitely jumped on them.”

Laurel started the scoring in the first inning. Milton answered in the third with a single by Kristunas. Willey singled, then both came home on a Joseph hit and an error by Laurel. Ruark then slammed a ball over the center-field fence to score Joseph. Joseph’s single in the fourth scored Willey. Tynan Smith finished the Milton scoring in the fifth on a passed ball.

“Trizton did what he had to do tonight,” said Milton manager Tony Willey. “Then we brought in Trig to finish them off. That was the plan from the get-go. Cam Deiter is a good pitcher, and we knew what we were in for tonight. Overall, we got the bat on the ball. When they went up on us in the beginning, I think it lit a fire under us. Hopefully this will push us in the states.”

A.J. Cannon led the Laurel squad with a 1-for-3 performance and two RBIs. Andrew Hitchens went 2-for-2, while Kade Willey had a hit.

Deiter took the loss for Laurel, giving up five runs and striking out five batters over four innings. Josiah Phillips came in from the bullpen and gave up one run and struck out one.

The Milton squad will travel to Newark National Little League Wednesday, July 27, to play District 1.

The Milton Major League All-Stars now head to the state tournament in Newark. They are in back (l-r) Trey Dickinson, Trig Joseph, Jordan Williams, Micah Workman, Logan Smith and Joe Ruark. In front are Andrew Ockels, Trizton Willey, Ike Beam, Tynan Smith, Ben Hill, Nate Kristunas and Jude Bastian.