Despite losing in the league playoffs, Upper Perk's bid to win a Youth League state title remains a viable goal. This weekend, the Youth Kiwanis team will host the East Regional Tournament.
            The Braves (22-7) are looking to make their third consecutive appearance in states.
 

Benjamin Godshall warms up on the mound during the Berks County Youth Legion playoffs.  Upper Perk will  host this weekend's Youth Legion Eastern Regional Tour- nament.

            The eight-team, double-elimination regional tournament, which will utilize fields at Upper Perkiomen High School and Perkiomen School, opens Friday and is scheduled to conclude Tuesday. The host team will take on Swoyersville, the No. 2 seed from the Susquehanna Valley League, at 7 p.m. Friday at Bonekemper Field. The top two finishers will qualify for the state tournament in Berwick.

            According to manager Rick Rossiter, the goal is to hoist the regional championship trophy before returning to States. The Braves reached the final day of the tournament each of the last two seasons. They finished second last year in Homer City.

            Rossiter would not identify who will open the tournament on the mound against Swoyersville.

            Perkiomen Valley will represent the Berks County league at regionals. Upper Perk fell short of its goal to repeat as the league's postseason champion. A 6-0 loss to Lower Macungie last weekend eliminated it from the playoffs.
            Three Rangers pitchers allowed just six hits in a 4-0 victory. They also took advantage of an error to score two unearned runs in the game that started Friday, July 14 and concluded the following morning.
            "We didn't hit the ball very well," Rossiter said.
            Lower Macungie scored once in the third inning, twice in the fourth and once in the fifth.
            Ryan Sink allowed one run in the third inning, two in the fourth and one in the fifth inning. The left-hander permitted seven hits and one walk while striking out four. Cole Pierce pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
            Zane Saeger, Jordin Dice, Jackson Long, Pierce, Grayson Sabo and Topher Burns each had hits for the Braves, who stranded six runners.
            Defensive issues plagued Upper Perk during the league playoffs, according to Rossiter. The team committed four errors in a 10-8 loss to Daniel Boone on Tuesday. July 11. "We need to play clean defense," Rossiter said.

            The Braves staved off elimination from the league playoffs with a 7-4 victory over West Lawn the following day. They utilized a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 4-4 tie at Bonekemper Field.

            Jackson Long delivered the key blow, a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. A second run scored on the play. Sabo finished with a team-high three hits.

            Dice contributed two hits, scored twice and stole three bases for Upper Perk. Pierce drove in three runs. Brody Weiss and Benjamin Sands each delivered two hits and scored one run.

            On the mound, Sands recorded the final seven outs to register the victory. He tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three.

            The Owls scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to overcome a 3-1 deficit off Long, Upper Perk's starting pitcher. In 4 2/3 innings, he surrendered four runs (one earned) on four hits.

            Pierce's walkoff hit kept the Braves alive in the playoffs on Thursday, July 13. His single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted them to a 3-2 victory over Perkiomen Valley at Bonekemper Field.
            Saeger earned the mound victory. He tossed 1 1/3 shutout innings in relief, including the seventh inning. He permitted only one hit and one walk on 24 pitches.
            Weiss finished with two hits, scored one run and drove in another for Upper Perk, which scored twice in the bottom of the first inning at Bonekemper Field. He also stole two bases and scored two runs.
            Long's RBI double highlighted the two-run rally for the team, which posted seven hits. Pierce drove in the other run.
            Perkiomen Valley scored a run in the top of the first inning off Braves starter Jonathan Lewis, who lasted four innings and scattered six hits. The team forced a 2-2 tie with a run in the fifth inning off reliever Liam Boyle, who recorded five outs.