Milton Major League Pat Knight All-Stars win tournament
The Milton Little League Parade came full circle just east of the Georgetown circle July 20 as the Milton Pat Knight Major League All-Stars defeated Lower Sussex 5-3 in six innings to complete a seven-game sweep of the Sussex County tournament.
The “Milton Boys” dressed in uniforms of the regular-season teams won with timely hitting and aggressive base running, flashing some leather in the outfield and championed by the positive energy of manger Bill Colbourne, Jay Stevens and Donovan Hoyt.
Lower Sussex grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the third and coach Hoyt told the players, ”They are giving us a game; that’s good; I’m liking that. Now let's get some more runs and get back in front.”
Catcher Gian Sing, who scored a run in the second on a Layne Hoyt double, ripped a double into the outfield to score three as Milton reclaimed the lead 4-3.
Sing would go on to have 4 RBIs on the game and score a run, while pitcher Sean Clendaniel went the distance, staying calm and in control on the mound.
“No, I don’t get nervous out there," he said. "It was just another game.”
Coulbourne reflected back on the team’s undefeated tournament run. “I knew we would be right there with everybody else. We played a lot of good teams with good coaching, and the kids were very well behaved. We had a veteran team, nine 12-year-olds, and all of them have played a lot of baseball. They never had that quit all week,” he said.
A big play was made in the sixth when a “frozen no joke rope” screamed and sank into left field and was caught right in front of his face by Colby Morris in a snag-it-or-die-trying athletic move.
“They call him Speedy, “said Rusty Rauch, standing ouside the fence. Rauch was manager of Milton's 9-10 district champion team. "That boy can run, and he ain’t afraid to get there.”
The game concluded, medals were awarded, a trophy was presented; then a party of picture-taking parents crowded onto the field to capture the memories which in Milton will live forever.
