Donavan Murphy had the key hit in extra innings that sent Montgomery to win the District 19 boy’s major title. And he jacked a two-run homer late Saturday evening to help beat Stony Point 5-3 in the sectional tournament.

Rudy Gervolino scores in the second after hitting an RBI-single.

It was the third win in the series at the South Orangetown Little League complex and another will send Montgomery to the state tournament.

Murphy’s one-out shot started a five-run second inning that Montgomery needed to beat Stony Point, which scared their opponents with John Greeley’s no-out two-run fifth inning shot.

“I thought it was going to hit the fence, or he was going to catch it,” said Murphy, whose shot flew over the left-center fence. “And then when I saw it and looked up, I knew it was gone.”
Greeley’s shot forced Paul Cummings to replace Rudy Gervolino, who struck out four while giving up five hits, with Kenny Gray, who recorded the next six outs, including striking out Mike Martinez to end the game.

After Murphy hit his shot, Fletcher Szabo scored on a wild pitch, Gervolino singled home a run before Cullen Dana hit an RBI-double to give Montgomery a 5-0 lead.

Greeley scored in the top of the third before giving Montgomery fans a pause with his fifth-inning jack. The game, originally scheduled for 6 p.m., did not start until 9 p.m. because Wappingers played and beat Pelham as part of a make-up caused by thunderstorms last week

“We’ve been on a roll,” said Cummings, the team’s manager. “We’re on fire. The kids are playing hard, great defense. That is just a total team effort.”

By Bond Brungard
sports@tcnewspapers.com