#Toms River East loses to nemesis again in regional final

Toms River East has yet to solve one big problem as it tries to capture a Little League World Series title: the team of All-Stars from Pennsylvania.

The New Jersey team lost 10-3 to Upper Providence of Oaks, Pa., in the Mid-Atlantic Region championship on Saturday night in Bristol, Conn. It was Toms River’s second loss to Upper Providence after a 6-1 defeat in the winner’s bracket final Thursday.

Both teams will be heading to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series, which begins Thursday, because there are no international squads in this year’s tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toms River clinched a berth in the World Series with a wild 6-3 victory over Canal Little League of Bear, Del., on Friday. It will open World Series play against Midwest Region winner Hastings (Neb.) Baseball Little League at 5 p.m. on Thursday in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN.

The kids from New Jersey held a brief lead Saturday over their Pennsylvania counterparts after Carson Frazier delivered a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the third for a 3-2 advantage.

Those were the last runs Toms River scored, as they managed just five hits. Upper Providence scored two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and broke open the game with a four-run sixth to provide the final margin. Tommy Sergio’s two-run home run in the first gave Upper Providence an early 2-0 lead.

Upper Providence starter Sam Buckley struck out 11 and exited with one out in the fifth after reaching the maximum number of pitches.

Frazier, the nephew of former Met and Yankees Todd Frazier, allowed 14 hits in 4 ¹/₃ innings and took the loss one day after he was the hero. It was Frazier’s three-run double on Friday that put Toms River ahead for good during a wild six-run sixth inning that ensured his team would be heading to Williamsport.