The Andover Little League District 13 12-year-old All-Stars played into the night on Wednesday, coming up on the short end of an instant classic.
Reading outdueled Andover, 1-0, pushing a run across in the bottom of the eighth of the district semifinal showdown.
Pitching was the story for both sides in this one.
Three different Reading pitchers combined to strike out 17 in the eight-inning five-hit shutout.
Andover’s duo of Domenic Pino and Kevin Coyne nearly matched them pitch for pitch. The lefty Pino started and struck out 11 in 4.2 innings of work, tossing 85 pitches with 56 for strikes. He allowed three hits and walked nobody. Coyne allowed a hit and four walks, striking out seven.
Pino singled and doubled for two of Andover’s five hits. Will Catanzaro, Mason Cooper and Nathan Popp had the others — all singles.
Khoi Tran fanned 11 for Reading in 4.1 innings. He was followed by Ryan Cullen, who struck out five in 2.2 innings of work. Ben Waldron pitched the last inning to pick up the victory in relief.