Valley West topped Franklin Township on Sunday to capture the Hazleton 7-8-Year-Old Little League championship.

LITTLE LEAGUE

Hazleton 7-8 Tourney

VW-Franklin Twp.

Valley West took an early lead and held on for a 9-8 win over Franklin Township on Sunday.

Chris Knelly, Landyn Klinger, Justin Welch all had two hits and two runs scored for Valley West. Knelly also pitched three shutout innings while striking out nine.

Leading the way for Franklin Township were Cash White (two hits, two runs), Logan Bellis (two hits, two runs), Grant Birnbaum (two hits, two runs) and Brayden Ulshafer (two hits). Grant Birnbaum pitched two shutout innings striking out six in a losing effort.

Valley West won the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, while Franklin Township finished second posting a 4-2 mark.

Anthacite-Franklin Twp.

Chase Llewellyn hit a grand slam to spark the Franklin Township offense and propel it to a 10-0 victory on Saturday.

Llewellyn had a huge offensive day in addition to his third inning grand slam, going 2-for-2 with a single, walk and run scored. Braylon Hunsicker added three hits and two runs scored, and Cash White also had three hits and a run scored, while Dominic Lawrence, Grant Birnbaum, Brayden Ulshafer each added two hits.

Logan Bellis pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four to collect the victory, while Llewellyn finished the game with a strikeout.

VW-Franklin Twp.

Valley West scored five runs in the first and withstood a late rally by Franklin Township to pick up a 6-4 victory on Friday.

Chris Knelly pitched three shutout innings while striking out six for Valley West. Knelly also led Valley West’s offense with three hits, including a double and two runs scored, and Landyn Klinger had two hits, including a double and a run scored.

Grant Birnbaum threw 2 2/3 shutout innings while striking out eight for Franklin. Birnbaum, Cash White, Logan Bellis and Brayden Ulshafer all had two hits apiece.