Over the course of five innings, Lehigh Little League 12U pitcher Brayden Kashner tossed 14 strikeouts in Lehigh’s 3-0 victory over Pennridge in the PA District 20 12U Little League All-Star Tournament, which opened this past Saturday.

“At nine [year-olds], our season ended at Pennridge, and at tens, our season ended at Pennridge, so I think that was part of the reason Brayden had the mentality he did: give me the ball and I’ll give it what I have,” said Lehigh manager Mike Kashner.

After Kashner struck out Pennridge’s first three batters in the top of the first inning, Lehigh’s Willie Cruz led off the bottom of the first with a double to right center.

“It felt pretty good to start the game off with a hit,” said Cruz, who then scored on an RBI single by Kashner.

Pennridge came back in the third inning to load the bases with no outs on a base hit by Elijah Los, a walk by Brady Clymer, and a bunt by Ryan Schwind.

“The top of the order couldn’t hit me so when they were starting to bunt, it kind of threw me off, but I battled back,” said Kashner, who struck out Pennridge’s next three batters. “I took a deep breath, and I just tried to focus on Andrew’s glove and the strike zone, and I got through it.”

For Coach Kashner, that was the turning point of the game.

“He’s been in tight situations before, and normally he finds a way to grind it out, and he was able to do that. Normally, and I’m proud of him for this, he’s a guy that shines brightest under the biggest lights,” he said. “What I love about him, and not just because he’s my son but from a coaching perspective, I love his competitiveness. He wants the ball, he wants to challenge guys, and if things go sideways and he doesn’t win, he’s willing to accept that and strong enough to accept it, but he shows some toughness to take the ball in those situations.”

Lehigh scored its last two runs in the bottom of the third when Andrew Erfle was safe at first base on a third strike passed ball, Kashner was hit by a pitch, and J.T. Solano had a 2 RBI single.

Kashner returned to the mound in the top of the fourth and the fifth, delivering six straight strikeouts, later saying he threw his four-seam fastball when he was down 2-0 on a batter.

“He flat-out pitched one heck of a game, and I give him 100 percent credit because he competed, he pounded the strike zone, he got ahead of our hitters, he throws hard, he throws accurately, and he works really fast,” said Pennridge manager Matt Croyle.

Pennridge had another scoring opportunity in the sixth inning after an infield single by Dominic Arcade and a line drive base hit to right by Timmy Croyle. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch when Cruz came on in relief of Kashner, but were left stranded when Cruz struck out two batters and Lehigh first baseman Ben Miller made a backhanded catch in foul territory.

“The first game of districts, the draw, when you see you play Lehigh, it’s a great environment, but it’s certainly nothing I would’ve signed up for. Unfortunately, this is déjà vu for us,” Coach Croyle said. “When we were 10, we opened up against Lehigh, and they beat us the first game. We then put a string of wins together and played them again later and were lucky enough to get a win. At the same time, I hope to see them again. We move forward. We have to go through the loser’s bracket. We just keep on playing.”

Coach Kashner also hopes that Lehigh will see Pennridge again.

“They’re a really good baseball team. They have the talent and the depth to get out of that loser’s bracket, and I’m sure we’ll see them down the line again,” Kashner said. “Obviously, I would’ve liked to have more than three runs and have a little push in there. That’s something we do every day- when we do our hitting stations, we take 150 swings a day, so we’ll continue to focus on that, and I think it’ll pay off.”

The U12 team played against North Bethlehem on Monday night but it was after Press deadlines. The Press will have more on that game next week.

Lehigh’s 9/10 team defeated Northwest, 15-0.

Their next game is at Pennridge on Tuesday, June 29 at 6 p.m.