Published: June 13, 2008 10:43 pm            

Somerset in state baseball final

ALTOONA — Somerset might not have brought home the state baseball title, but the Golden Eagles are still winners to their youngest fans.

It was estimated that more than 200 players from the Somerset Little League system turned out to see the varsity team’s 6-2 loss to Berwick in the PIAA Class AAA championship game on Friday at Blair County Ballpark.



“These high school kids have been more respectful than I’ve seen anybody in my lifetime and I’ve been baseball all my life,” Scott Zarefoss, president of Somerset Little League, said before Friday’s game. “These high school kids have been great for the Little League program.”

Zarefoss said that varsity team, which is coached by Steve Costea, showed its true colors on Tuesday at a pep rally a night after the Golden Eagles beat Trinity to advance to the title game.

“The best thing that could ever happen is the high school players came over to our Little League players and asked them what teams they play for in Little League,” Zarefoss said. “They were interested in these little kids.”

The Little Leaguers and the rest of the strong Somerset contingent that made the trip to Altoona showed how interested it was in the team. After the Golden Eagles fell behind 3-0 in the fifth inning, the fans in orange and black stood and offered a big cheer on their team.

It seemed to work, as Somerset scored two runs in the sixth inning, but Berwick struck for three more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 6-2 lead, and the Eagles were unable to mount any offense in the seventh.

        

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