By Ray Wilde

Sports correspondent

BELLEVILLE — It was not the usual way Beaver Springs wins games as it outlasted Belleville 17-10 in slugfest on Wednesday night.

But, it was the most important win of the year. The victory clinched the 2026 Mifflin County Babe Ruth championship.

Usually, Beaver Springs (16-2) wins on pitching and defense. The only team to score in double figures on the Springs this season was Belleville. Belleville gave Beaver Springs one of its only two losses on May 14 with an 11-4 win.

This marked the second league title for the Springs since it joined the Mifflin County league in 2009. The other league title came in 2020.

“We had three pitchers (Colton Aumiller, River Knepp and Haven Bridge) that were superior this year,” said Bo Trawitz, the Beaver Springs manager. “Our lineup was very strong and the first five hitters were very consistent. But, I think the rest of the team really helped by getting on base with walks and hits. And that made us very competitive.”

On Tuesday, the Springs fell behind Belleville 2-0 after one inning, But, in the second inning, Beaver Springs sent 11 men to the plate and scored seven runs.

After four straight walks, the Springs had three straight hits. Colton Aumiller had a two-run RBI base hit and Maverick Smith smashed a two-run triple. Jayden Rivera added an RBI single. Brayden Herbster opened the inning with a base hit. He scored on a bases-loaded walk to Landon Keister. Max Trawitz also had an RBI with a bases-full walk.

Beaver Springs finished with 11 hits. Aumiller had three hits, while Smith, Rivera and Trawitz each had two. Trawitz had a triple in the seventh inning to close out the victory.

Belleville outhit the Springs, 13-11. The top four hitters for the Big Valley club had 10 hits, scored eight runs, had two triples and a double and knocked in six runs. Landon Rhodes had four hits and a double; Mason Joyce had three hits and knocked in four runs; Gage Geissinger had two hits and a triple and Carter Sunderland smashed a triple.

Trawitz pitched into the seventh. He gave up 13 hits, walked only one and struck out six.

Smith finished the game for the Springs by getting the last two outs.

Belleville aided Beaver Springs with seven errors and 10 walks.

“I’m really proud of this team,” Trawitz stated. “We came in as a prep team and seven of those players are still with us. It did help that we added a few good players.”

Players on the Beaver Springs team were Colton Aumiller, Haven Bridge, Dale Davidson, Vance Gregg, Travis Henry, Brayden Herbster, Landon Keister, River Knepp, Connor Riches, Jayen Rivera, Maverick Smith, Max Trawitz, Ean Walter and Ridge Zechman.

The assistant coaches were Matt Smith and Rob Walter.

BELLTOWN 10, REEDSVILLE 2

BELLTOWN–Belltown put to rest any hopes of Reedsville winning the championship with a 10-2 victory.

Belltown led 10-2 after four innings and that is the way the game ended. Luke Shawver picked up the win as he pitched into the fifth. He struck out six, walked four and gave up

four hits. Kale Beaver and RJ Link closed out the victory for Belltown.

The winners had nine hits with Maddox Smith leading the way with four. Shawver had two hits including a double and Beaver also had a two-base hit.

The trio of Belltown pitchers limited Reedsville to five hits. Noah Bunch had two, while Bronn Zook, Cam Kauffman and Jamieson Parkes each had one. Bunch and Parkes both had doubles.

MILROY 13, MCVEYTOWN 3

MILROY–Milroy won its third game in a row with a 13-3 win over McVeytown.

The game went just six innings due to the10 run rule.

Kooper Walters started for Milroy and picked up the win. He went four innings, struck out four, walked three and gave up three hits. Chase Krepps threw two shutout innings to complete the win.

Milroy had six hits in the victory. The big hit for Milroy came from Chase Krepps, who smashed an inside-the-park home run with bases loaded in the fifth inning. Milroy scored five runs in that inning and put the game away.

Cohen Ritchey and Brooks Druckenmiller each had two hits. Justice Ritchey had a double and Druckenmiller knocked in three runs.

McVeytown’s three hits came from Landon Pecht, Jett Powell and Crosby Sunderland.

This marked Milroy’s longest winning streak of the year.

LEWISTOWN 33, STRODES MILLS 7

LEWISTOWN-Lewistown snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 33-7 win over Strodes Mills. The game was over after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

Landon Cunningham paced the winners by hitting for the cycle. Cunningham had an inside-the-park home run to go along with a triple, double and single. Cunningham’s home run came in the first inning with the bases loaded.

Also getting four hits for Lewiston was Jared Sickles. Getting three hits for the winners were Wyatt Foltz, Gabe Wilson and Blake Cunningham. Sickles had a double and Brennyn Rhodes had two doubles.

The winning pitcher for Lewistown was Jakobe Colbert, a rookie. He went three innings and then Foltz closed out the game.

Strodes Mills had three hits from Cathen Kibe, Jackson Briar and Karson Goss.