Toby Goida stood with his staff and players, watching a celebration that he no doubt longed to be a part of.

As Franklin Township watched Valley West capture the District 18 8-10-year-old Little League title for the second straight year, Goida’s club could just tip their caps.

But this team was far more than just an onlooker during the district tournament.

Franklin steamrolled to the South Division title, averaging over 13 runs in four games.

That Valley West completed a sweep in the North-South final with an 11-2 victory Monday night didn’t diminish what Franklin has already accomplished.

“I’ve never been prouder to be a part of a baseball team,” said Goida. “We preach three things that make a great team: Confidence, poise and unity, It’s great to go out there and be confident, and you can say that’s the key to the game. However, baseball is a game of failure. So in my mind poise is No. 2 on that list. You have got to know that when you make a mistake, or something doesn’t go your way, that’s baseball and you have to learn from it, and get by it, and don’t let it beat you up.

“And we preach unity. It means a lot to kids when coaches tell them to pick it up. But when the other kids come behind them and pat them on the back, it means even more.”

Franklin maintained its never-say-die attitude against Valley West, but couldn’t generate enough offense against starter Caleb Aponick, who struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings pitched.

“He definitely kept us off balance. Our guys have not seen curve balls like that kid can throw,” said Goida. “My hat is off to Caleb (Aponick) for doing an excellent job managing the game, doing a great job against our hitters. He froze a couple of our guys with some excellent curveballs. We need to hit the strikes, and we didn’t do that.”

Aponick got plenty of run support early, as Valley West pushed across three runs in each of the first two innings to take a 6-0 lead.

“It feels really good. My team was backing me up,” said Aponick. “We made it here last year, and I felt pretty good on the mound.”

Valley West forced the action on the bases, swiping three bags in the first inning, and pulling off a double steal in the second.

Two of the runs in the first scored on either a wild pitch or a passed ball, the other came on an error.

It was a wild pitch that allowed the first run to score in the second before Aponick walked and alertly took second, forcing an errant throw that eventually led to two more runs and a 6-0 lead.

“We said that if we get on base, we have to capitalize when we’re on base,” said Valley West mentor Josh Esposito.

Logan Hearity collected his third hit and scored Aponick to make it 7-0 in a two-run fourth. Hearity scored when Jack Esposito grounded out to make it an 8-0 game.

Chris Knelly added a double and a triple for the winners.

Franklin broke through in the bottom of the frame when Noah Wentz lined a leadoff single to left to break up Aponick’s no-hitter.

After a fielder’s choice, Cash White’s bunt plated Lukas Croizier, who stole second and went to third on an error to make it an 8-1 game.

An RBI single from Derek Yurkanin pulled the run back, and Valley West added two more in the top of the sixth to make it 11-1.

Franklin loaded the bases on an error and two walks in the bottom of the inning before Cody Snyder scored on a wild pitch before a strikeout with a runner at third ended the game.

“The team itself is not ready to die at any moment,” said Goida. “We go down a few runs, this team knows they can score runs in bunches and they can do it quickly, and all it takes is one guy to start it off. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that lift today.”

LOOKING AHEAD

… Goida is looking forward to taking the field again with his squad, an opportunity that will come sooner rather than later. “There’s a lot of heart on this team. They are going to battle, and we’re looking forward to our next tournament, which is the Panther Valley Tournament. Most of those teams we’ve seen already – there are a couple wild cards in there that we haven’t – and we’re going to give them hell,” he said.

LAST TIME

… Valley West, which took Game 1 against Franklin 12-2 Saturday, swept Towamensing in last year’s North-South final.

Valley West 330 212 – 11 9 3

Franklin Twp. 000 101 – 2 2 7

Aponick, Eckert (6) and J. Benyo; D’Amico, Snyder (3) and Wentz. W – Aponick. L – D’Amico.