East Side Completes Incredible Championship Comeback, Defeats Blue Mountain 12-8 to Capture Pennsylvania State Little League Title
By: Carrie Miner Yaple | SportzWire | August 4, 2026 | Photo courtesy Justin Bradley
They had already beaten Blue Mountain once.
Now they had to do it again.
After fighting through the elimination bracket and forcing a winner-take-all championship game with a victory the day before, East Side Little League completed one of the most remarkable runs of the Pennsylvania State Tournament, defeating Blue Mountain 12-8 to claim the 2026 Pennsylvania State Championship.
The win sends East Side to the Mid-Atlantic Regional, where they'll open play Sunday against Naaman's Delaware. Blue Mountain's season comes to a heartbreaking end after a championship game that featured momentum swings few will ever forget.
The two teams had been nearly inseparable throughout the tournament. Each team's only loss came against the other, setting the stage for an unforgettable finale.
Ryan Hennessey took the mound for East Side while Chase Goodman got the start for Blue Mountain.
Pitchers Trade Early Zeros
East Side threatened in the first inning with a walk and an error but stranded two runners.
Blue Mountain answered with a chance of its own in the bottom half after Enzo Ritter doubled when a fly ball glanced off Ryan Donnelly's glove near the left-field foul line. Ben Ciccone followed with a single, but Hennessey escaped trouble by inducing a ground ball to first baseman Dillon DiGuilio to end the inning.
Both pitchers settled in during the second.
Paul Cowperthwait led off with a single for East Side before Blue Mountain turned a double play to erase the threat. Hennessey answered with a dominant 1-2-3 inning, striking out Joe Minnick and retiring the side in order.
East Side Breaks Through
For the third consecutive inning, East Side's leadoff hitter reached safely.
Colton DiGrazio singled to begin the third before Mike Nolan worked a walk. Adam Gazonas lined an RBI single into right-center, scoring DiGrazio for the game's first run.
The inning snowballed from there.
Pat Corliss delivered an RBI double after a throw to second came loose, allowing Nolan to score. Darren Molineux added an RBI single, and later Ryan Hennessey ripped a two-run single through the middle as East Side exploded for six runs in the inning.
Suddenly, the team that had outscored opponents 27-5 over its previous games held a commanding 6-0 lead.
Hennessey continued cruising in the bottom half, striking out two more hitters during another scoreless inning.
Nolan Goes Deep
East Side added another run in the fourth when Mike Nolan launched a towering solo home run to left-center, his second homer of the All-Star season.
The blast stretched the lead to 7-0 and seemed to put East Side firmly in control.
Then everything changed.
Blue Mountain's Stunning Eight-Run Rally
Blue Mountain finally found life in the bottom of the fourth.
Christian Machamer, Chase Goodman and Enzo Ritter opened the inning with consecutive singles to load the bases with nobody out.
Ben Ciccone, already the team's RBI leader entering the game, delivered the biggest swing of the afternoon.
He crushed a grand slam to left-center, instantly cutting East Side's lead to 7-4 and breathing life back into Blue Mountain.
The rally was only beginning.
Anthony Grimminger singled before Jayse Callaghan reached on an error. Joe Minnick walked to reload the bases, and Max Porrino drove in another run with a single.
After Owen Borger struck out, Ike Schneider added an RBI groundout before Judein Marx tied the game with a single up the middle.
Jacob Gombar capped the incredible rally with another RBI hit to left-center, giving Blue Mountain its first lead of the afternoon, 8-7.
East Side cycled through multiple pitchers during the inning, eventually turning to Mike Nolan to record the final out after Blue Mountain sent 14 batters to the plate and scored eight runs.
Champions Respond
Facing adversity for the first time all tournament, East Side refused to fold.
Ryan Donnelly opened the fifth inning by blasting a game-tying solo home run over the fence, knotting the score at 8-8.
Neither team scored again in the fifth after Jack Cassidy entered to pitch for East Side and stranded two Blue Mountain baserunners with a pair of clutch strikeouts.
Cassidy Delivers the Championship Swing
East Side's championship moment came in the top of the sixth.
DiGuilio and Hennessey opened with back-to-back singles before Cowperthwait worked a full-count walk to load the bases with nobody out.
Jack Cassidy stepped to the plate.
With one swing, he erased any lingering doubt.
Cassidy launched a grand slam to center field, turning an 8-8 tie into a 12-8 East Side advantage and sending the East Side faithful into celebration.
Cassidy Finishes the Job
The story wasn't over for Cassidy.
After delivering the biggest hit of the tournament, he returned to the mound looking to record the final three outs.
The right-hander struck out Max Porrino, walked Owen Borger, then froze Ike Schneider with a called third strike before Judein Marx grounded out to Darren Molineux, touching off the celebration.
A True Team Effort
East Side used every available pitcher during the championship game before Cassidy, who had thrown just one-third of an inning during the entire state tournament entering the day, recorded the biggest three outs of the season.
Coach Bob Hennessey praised his team's resilience afterward.
"Keep focused, grind it out and good things are gonna happen," Hennessey said. "There's not one person on this team we don't have confidence in."
The coach believes the emotional roller coaster will prepare his club for what's next.
"We're battle-tested. This is the type of game we needed going into the next part of the tournament. They're going to continue to grind. I know they are."
For Cassidy, the heroics hadn't fully sunk in.
"It just doesn't feel real," he said. "I can't even process it."
Before taking the mound in the final inning, his coach delivered a simple message.
"Coach said, 'Just don't think about it.'"
Ryan Donnelly echoed the team's confidence despite surrendering the lead.
"We were never out of this game," Donnelly said. "Jack's outstanding. He never felt the pressure and did what he does. We never gave up. We knew we were never out of this tournament. We're excited for Connecticut."
As East Side players scooped handfuls of dirt from the infield to preserve a championship memory that will last a lifetime, the emotions told the story.
Pure joy on one side.
Heartbreak on the other.
Blue Mountain fought back from seven runs down and nearly completed one of the greatest comebacks in state championship history, only to watch East Side answer with one final rally of its own.
Now, East Side's remarkable postseason journey continues.
Pennsylvania's state champions are headed to the Mid-Atlantic Regional with dreams that are still very much alive.
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