Hunter Lyons had looked forward to this special moment for a long time. The Penns Valley Little League pitcher stood ready on Sunday evening to unleash his first delivery of the 2017 All Star playoffs. But the result was not what he wanted.
State College’s Luke Janac hit the ball with authority, driving it over the outfield fence. Janac, State’s starting pitcher, had already established himself as a dominant force in the contest by striking out three Penns Valley hitters in the top of the first inning. Now he had accomplished the rare feat of homering on the very first pitch thrown by the opposition.
Said State College Manager Greg Albert, “To lead the game off with Luke shutting the door with his pitching and then going yard in his first at-bat, that’s huge, that’s absolutely huge.”
What was Lyons’ perspective? Of course, the 12-year-old from Penns Valley wasn’t too happy about the game’s beginning, but he was determined not to quit…
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Before we get back to Sunday’s ballgame, let’s talk about Little League. After all, it’s taken some shots over the last decade or two. Some say the internal politics within many leagues are nastier than dealings in our federal government. Others say Little League focuses too much on competition and not enough on “fun.” Still others worry that kids feel undue pressure from ego-driven coaches or parents.
I beg to differ. Of course, like any human institution, Little League is far from perfect, and folks here in Happy Valley have vividly seen the imperfection. In 2001, State College’s American All Stars were robbed of their dream to play in Williamsport when New Yorkers used an over-aged pitcher named Danny Almonte to dominate the regional championships. Yes, Little League has a few warts, but I differ with those who bash it. I believe its unsung positives are far, far greater than its oft-criticized weaknesses.
VIVID MEMORIES FROM THE 1960s
I’ve been observing Little League since 1963 when I first played ball on the old Gill Field, the location along College Avenue where State College Borough’s Nittany Valley Little League used to play. Honestly, my sweetest youth memories are associated with Little League — learning a new skill, achieving a comeback victory, horsing around with teammates in the dugout. Do I remember the main speaker from my high school graduation? Sorry, I do not. But I certainly do remember my first home run in Little League, even though it happened 54 years ago. In fact, I remember the pitcher (Danny Infield), I remember the bat (28 inches, with white paint on the knob), and I remember the ball’s landing spot (into a particular tree beyond left field). By the way, I also remember my coach’s reaction. Joe Carter almost fainted since I was a weak hitter with a .100 batting average.
But even more important than memories, the average Little Leaguer is going to gain some great life lessons. Whether a player once rode to games in a 1959 Chevy station wagon or currently gets a ride there in a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder, he or she will always know something about teamwork. And about the need to respect authority — coaches and umpires. And about enjoying success without getting a “big head.” And about handling disappointment without giving up.
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Handling disappointment without giving up? Well, that brings us back to Hunter Lyons and the Penns Valley All Stars. And to really appreciate the drama within Sunday night’s game, it’s helpful to know that Lyons pitched in last year’s game between the same two leagues, though he was only 11 at the time. “It was the same field,” said Penns Valley Manager Mike Watson, “and he gave up a grand slam against State College. He was crushed, he folded, he cried.” And State College went on to a 14-3 victory, a margin greater than anyone had expected.
NO FOLDING OF THE TENT
This year was different for Hunter; he was not willing to fold up his tent. Despite yielding a first-pitch homer, he went right back to work and retired the next three State College batters. “He didn’t come in the dugout upset,” noted Watson. “I asked him where he put the ball, and he said, ‘Right where Ty (Watson’s son, the catcher) told me to put it.’ And I said, ‘We’re good. We got this.’ “
As things turned out, Penns Valley almost pulled off a comeback. The visitors fell short, 4-3, but their pitcher gained plenty of redemption. He surrendered only five hits while striking out four and yielding no walks. And how about this? He made up for allowing Janac’s homer by crushing his own home run in the fourth inning.
State College, meanwhile, showed similar resilience when faced with adversity. Right after Brayden Naylor got Penns Valley’s first hit, a single in the third inning, Janac felt discomfort in his throwing arm and needed to leave. “We weren’t counting on that,” said Albert. “But this bunch is a scrappy bunch; they’re not going to quit. And Charlie Bakken came in and pitched fantastic.”
Both sides had their heroes. For State College, RBIs came from Janac, Peyton Hendrick, Cooper Albert and Eric Weaver. Bakken threw 3 2/3 innings of relief and allowed just one walk and five hits. And then, because of Bakken’s rising pitch count, Albert came on to get the final out with the tying run on first base. For Penns Valley, Kollin Brungart joined Lyons in the RBI column while second baseman Ty Houtz made a dazzling defensive play on a powerful one-hopper that was hit by State’s Kenny Squires.
No manager likes an opening loss in a double elimination tournament, but Watson was proud of PV’s comeback effort. And he was especially pleased by Lyons’ demonstration of maturity. “Oh, Hunter grew up,” he said. “It’s just unreal. I’m so proud of him. Honest to God, he went from a little boy, and in one year he took a big step.”
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Sportswriters often throw around terms like “adversity” or “hardship” to describe an athletic setback — something as “disastrous” as giving up a grand slam. But sometimes authentic tragedy intrudes into the world of sports. Can Little League offer any help in the midst of real-life tribulation?
It was during the 1963 season that tragedy barged into the local Little League scene. Our Elks team was led by a wonderful player named Norman “Nibs” Gordon, so the entire team was shook up when his father was badly injured in a mid-May auto accident. Mr. Gordon battled for his life for about a week before passing away. What do you say when you’re 10- or 11-years-old and your friend’s father dies after an accident?
GRIEF-STRICKEN RESPONSE
Just a game or two later, Nibs struck out on a borderline pitch, and he did not respond well to the umpire’s call. “I turned and said something to him,” he recalls. “I don’t remember what I said, but I probably swore because it was just a week after my dad died. I vividly remember the umpire looking at me with a shocked look on his face and saying, ‘He’s out of the ballgame!’”
To this day, I can still remember the sight of Nibs grabbing his hat and his glove and trudging up the hill between Gill Field and College Avenue, bound for his home on Sparks Street. I felt so sad, maybe the saddest I had ever felt in my young life.
But our friend came back to the team in just a few days, and Coach Joe Carter pulled him aside for a brief conversation. “When I came back,” says Nibs, “Joe just gently pulled me aside and said, ‘You know, you’re a really good player, and they’re going to be picking the All Star team soon. But I’m not sure they’re going to want you on the team if you continue acting the way you’ve been acting.’ He said it in a mild way, not judgmental. That kind of woke me up a little bit.”
A PRECIOUS STATUS SYMBOL
As things turned out, Nibs was chosen for Nittany Valley’s All Star team, and that meant he received “one of those cool hats”— black and gold with the letters “NV” and a single gold star. “It was like the status symbol of the world to get on the team and get one of those hats,” says Nibs. (And that’s why I still have my 1965 Nittany Valley hat in almost-mint condition.)
It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that Nibs fully appreciated the impact of his Little League experience. By then, he had built a dynasty while coaching the women’s track and field team at George Mason University and was selected for the 1995 Alumni Achievement award by Lock Haven University. While attending the award ceremony, Gordon began talking with Bruce Parkhill, another product of Nittany Valley Little League who had served as Penn State’s basketball coach and had been given an alumni award by Lock Haven. They could have discussed a multitude of topics that day, but their conversation centered on Little League and the impact of their coaches.
“That’s where I got started in my coaching philosophy,” Nibs says. “The things they built into me at that point were Joe Carter treating me fair and Mr. Parkhill (Bruce’s father) teaching me techniques in baseball. We were comparing lifetime scenarios,” says Nibs, “and we talked about how important Little League baseball in State College was to us. It was an important part of growing up, and it helped us become the people that we became.”
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I don’t expect much change in this long, ongoing debate. Little League will continue to receive criticism — and maybe that’s okay since the flak will prod the organization to continue improving. Meanwhile, Little League will also keep giving boys and girls the opportunity to develop their bodies and minds and to learn life values.
If you have a little free time, I urge you to attend one of Thursday night’s 6 p.m. All Star playoff games. State College will travel to Big Valley — an opening round winner over Bellefonte — and Penns Valley will host Bellefonte.
As for me, I can’t attend either of those games because of another commitment. The best I can do is to sincerely tip my hat — my old Nittany Valley All Star hat —to the umpires and other volunteers, to managers like Greg Albert and Mike Watson, and to players like Luke Janac and Hunter Lyons.
