Johnston One Game Away From Regional Title

Gian Martellini hit a walk-off two-run homer to give Johnston a 14-13 victory over Pennridge, PA, at the Eastern Regional Junior Little League Tournament and force a second finals game.

Reached by phone just after his game-winning hit, Martellini (4-for-5, 5 RBI) said he was "doing good, but my throat's a little sore from shouting so much."

Johnston (5-1) needed all of the moral support it could get in this game, as the two-time Rhode Island state champs jumped out to a 3-2 lead after the first inning and tacked on six more in the third and fourth innings before Pennridge struck back for eight runs in the top of the fifth to make the score 11-10.

Pennridge (3-1), which had in the tournament, surrended two more runs in the bottom of the sixth that brought Johnston even, 12-12, but added another run to their tally to take a 13-12 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

John Darlak took the mound for Pennsylvannia with one out in the bottom of the seventh because its previous pitcher had reached his maximum pitch count, Martellini said.

"He threw the first pitch for a ball, and then on the second pitch, I hit it out," Martellini recalled just after the end of the game.

The deciding game for the regional championship was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., after the teams had a chance to eat, Martellini said.

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Information for this report was gathered from Gamechanger, a site hosted by the Freehold Township Little League.