PHOTO GALLERY: Rising Sun captures district 10-11 baseball title

  Rising Sun Little League's All-Stars captured the 10-11 baseball Maryland District 5 title with a 3-1 triumph over Elkton in a well-played game Tuesday night in Rising Sun.
   Pitching and defense paced Rising Sun in the championship game.
   Starter Ethan Pierce worked five strong innings before reaching his pitch count limit and Jon Valentine came on to get the final three outs. Pierce yielded just two hits and two walks and hit a batter.

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    The Rising Sun defense came up big, particularly the left side of the infield – shortstop Mason Craig and the starting third baseman Valentine.
    Rising Sun scored all three of its runs in the top of the third. Willie Jackson got things started with a single through the hole. After a strikeout, Jason Mock tomahawked a high pitch into center to put runners on the corners.
    With Craig at the plate, Mock broke for second and Elkton threw toward the second base bag. Elkton fired toward the plate as Jackson headed home and he slid under the tag to score the first run of the game. Craig wound up walking before the following hitter popped out. Sam Hogue plated a pair of runs with a pop single to shallow right.
    Elkton responded with a run in the home half of the third as Heath Widdoes got an RBI by beating out an infield hit.
    Pierce held Elkton at bay until reaching his pitch count limit after Elkton's Joey Husfelt led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield hit just out of Pierce's reach.
    Valentine coaxed a fielder's choice grounder before Rising Sun had a couple anxious moments. The second out came on a towering fly ball off the bat of Ethan Feeney which was caught by the left fielder Jeff Leonard a step in front of the warning track. The next hitter, Devlin Foster, ripped a shot down the third baseline which was foul by inches. Foster eventually walked to put the potential tying run on base before Valentine got another fielder's choice grounder to seal the deal.
    Feeney was saddled with the loss despite pitching effectively.