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The Yankees used strong pitching and timely hitting for a 4-2 triumph over the Cardinals to win the Morristown Little League city championship at McAmis-Sempkowski Field.

Collin Rouse and Caleb Shepard played the key roles for the champs both at the plate and on the mound.

Rouse lashed out three hits and Shepard added two as the winners finished with six hits in the contest.

Shepard picked up the mound victory in relief of Rouse who reached the pitch-count limit of 85 with two out in the fifth inning. Rouse allowed only a fly-ball double that probably should have been caught, walked three and struck out 13 of the 14 outs he recorded.

When Rouse had to leave the mound, Shepard came on and gave up one hit in getting the final four outs with two of those coming on strikes.

Those two played a part in all of the Yankees’ runs. Shepard tripled in Bentley Hasselbusch with the first run of the game in the third and scored himself on Rouse’s infield safety.

In the bottom of the fifth, Shepard singled and scored on Rouse’s second triple of the game for what proved to be the winning run. Rouse also scored on the play on a throwing error.

The Yankees finished the season with a 14-1 record while the Cardinals were 12-3 with all three losses coming at the hands of the Yankees.

Winning manager Keith Rouse said, “It was a really good baseball game. I thought Collin pitched well and when he ran out of pitches Caleb came in there and did what he’s done all year. Just throw strikes, that’s the name of the game.

“Our goal all year long was to make it to the city championship and I’m really proud of the kids for accomplishing that goal,” he added. “Brycen threw a great game for them tonight and kept us off-balance for the most part.

“But we got timely hits and a couple of walks that helped,” he said. “The kids came out and battled. We told them it was a six-inning game and we knew it probably wouldn’t be settled until the sixth inning.

“They came out in the fifth and tied it but our kids found a way to dig deep like they have all year. We put a couple of timely hits together and were just fortunate to come out on top. It’s hard to beat a good team three times and they’re a great ball team.

“I’m thankful for our kids and their hard work. That’s the reason we came out on top tonight.”

The Yankees had the first scoring opportunity in the bottom of the first when Rouse tripled but was thrown out at home when he tried to score on the play.

The Cardinals had two runners in the third when Brayden Riggs was hit by a pitch and Kingston Fanney walked. However, Rouse fanned the next two batters to get out of the jam.

After the Yankees scored in the third, the Cardinals got one back in the fourth when Nash Synamon had the pop-fly double and wound up on third on a throwing error. He scored on a passed ball to make it 2-1.

They tied it in the fifth when Riggs was hit by a pitch for the second time and wound up scoring on a hit by Ringley after Lane Synamon had walked.

“That’s a great ball team,” said Cardinals coach Lucas Sizemore, “Collin has thrown great all year and Shepard has also pitched really well. They’re well-coached and they play hard.”

Sizemore said his team which trailed most of the game before coming back to tie at 2-2 in the fifth has fought back all year long. “We’ve been down a few times and come back and they’ve kept the gas on when we were up.

“I’m just super proud of them,” he added. “This is probably my last year in Little League and this is a great group to go out with.”

Sizemore added. “Brycen pitched really well for us tonight. You know, he may be the best catcher in this league and it’s hard to take him from behind the plate but he throws strikes and that’s what you have to have.”

Ringley went four innings and gave up two runs while striking out eight. He had only three remaining after four innings and Nolan Sizemore came on in the fifth and wound up taking the loss.