"SOMETIMES IN THIS GAME, IT'S AS GOOD TO BE LUCKY AS IT IS TO BE GOOD."

Vida Blue, "His Own Story.".

We fans say a special thank you to Manager Jim Sophy, Coach Mike Dehaven and Coach Scott Guinther for the hours of time, encouragement and good advice given freely to the boys.

Dreams were brought to the TriValley field on this muggy summer day and dreams for the District championship sunk like the sun in the cloudless evening sky for the Orwigsburg 12- year- old All Stars. The dream of all 12 –year olds slipped through the fingers and off the gloves of the boys in the waning moments of the closely contested game. But what staggered and amazed us was that these 11 boys played as one with the heart of a champion. This single mindedness, focused on being champions, came alive as amazing, unforgettable sights were seen by us all. We will not forget the stunning plays, electrifying homeruns and team spirit of the boys.

We reluctantly say good bye to The Boys of Summer and thank them for the smiles, the thrills and the gut-wrenching, hold- on to- your- hat, roller coaster ride they allowed us to share.

You are the best and forever champions in our hearts.

Stu & Danielle Richards.

Tri-Valley rallies to nip Orwigsburg 9-8

by john o'connor (correspondent)

Published: July 7, 2013

HEGINS - Tri-Valley created a lot of drama in its come-from-behind, 9-8 victory over Orwigsburg a District 24 11-12-year-old Little League Tournament quarterfinal game Saturday.
Trailing by a run going into the bottom of the sixth inning, Tri-Valley scored two runs to come away with the walk-off win.
Tri-Valley advances to the semifinals and hosts Cressona today at 5:30 p.m. Cressona downed Pine Grove/Tremont 13-0 in four innings in a quarterfinal Saturday.
The game-winning run scored when Isaac Lucas scampered home from third on a wild pitch. Tri-Valley tied the game earlier in the inning when Dawson Schwalm scored on a fielder's choice by Daulton Leedy.
In the bottom of the fifth, Tri-Valley overcome a 6-2 deficit with a five-run rally to take a 7-6 lead going into the sixth. The runs came on a two-run single by Leedy and a three-run homer by Kolt Schaeffer.
Orwigsburg regained the lead in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer by Dylan Biever, his second of the game after he led off the top of the first with a solo shot.
"Our bats are what got us to this point and that is what is going to take us to the next level," Tri-Valley manager Brent Smith said. "That's an awesome group of kids out there. We were a double play away from losing this."
Orwigsburg had appeared to take control of the game after scoring four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 5-0 lead on two-run homers by Brent Kaunas and Jake Hendricks.
Tri-Valley cut the lead to 5-2 on an RBI double by Schwalm in the bottom of the third and an RBI single by Schaeffer in the bottom of the fourth.
However, Orwigsburg scored a run in the top of the fifth when Mike DeHaven's sacrifice fly to center field scored Kaunas, who doubled.
Orwigsburg was on its third pitcher, DeHaven, when Tri-Valley's bats came alive late in the game leaving manager Jim Sophy without options.
Kaunas started the game and was relieved by Biever in the third inning before DeHaven was brought in during the fourth.
"Give them credit. They hung in, they fought and they hit the ball," Sophy said. "There was no quit in our kids as well. I would have liked to have gotten (him) out of there earlier, but he's one of the guys I go to."
Tri-Valley's sixth-inning rally started when Hunter Dietrich singled and Schwalm and Lucas both walked to load the bases with nobody out.
DeHaven got the first out on a force at home off a grounder to short, but Tri-Valley tied the score when the throw home was late on a ground ball to short by Leedy.
Lucas then broke for home when a DeHaven pitch got by the catcher and went to the backstop on a 2-2 count. The throw was late and Tri-Valley began to celebrate. Game Summary