The pivotal moment to the highest-profile storyline from the 2011 international tournament came long before 40,000-plus fans filled Howard J. Lamade Stadium on a nightly basis at the Little League World Series. And it came three weeks before a steady rain turned the Mid-Atlantic Region championship game into a two-day affair before a winner could be decided.

It came in an otherwise non-descript opening round game at the Pennsylvania state tournament at Montressor Field in State College.

Keystone Little League -- the first league from the district which is home to the Little League World Series to reach that event in 42 years -- stood three outs away from a 2-1 loss at the hands of Red Land Little League in their opening state tournament contest. A loss would drop Keystone into the bottom bracket, where the team would need six victories in as many days to win the tournament. Given the caliber of competition in Pennsylvania and the premium that pitch count restrictions place on having a deep pitching staff, climbing out of that hole would be a tall order even for a Keystone team that returned six players from a sectional championship team.

But Keystone's first five hitters in that sixth inning all reached safely, and the Clinton County team surged past Red Land for a 3-2 victory. Keystone stayed on track -- and in the winner's bracket -- for the balance of the tournament. After later being pushed to a deciding game by a streaking West Point Little League all-star team, Keystone toppled that same team, 6-4, in the state championship game.

And Keystone's fairy tale summer continued on. The Pennsylvania state champions -- the first from Clinton County since Lock Haven Little League won the very first Pennsylvania state tournament in 1948 -- later defeated Paramus (New Jersey) Little League, 5-3, to win the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament, and eventually finished as the third place United States team at the Little League World Series.

But the accolade- and headline-filled summer might never have come to pass if Keystone hadn't been able to squeeze past Red Land on a day when the team's potent offense was unusually missing in action against a stellar Red Land pitcher. Keystone had scored 10 or more runs in each of its eight victories to that point in the international tournament, including 48 runs in three sectional victories in which the team pounded half of its 49 hits for extra bases. Yet against Red Land pitcher Brandon Coe, the District 12 team's juggernaut offense managed just one run through five innings.

"That was just a tremendous effort by the kids today, and I am really proud of them," said Keystone manager Bill Garbrick after his team eclipsed Red Land.

"That guy's curveball was amazing," said the Keystone skipper. "He had it breaking down and breaking away from us, and he was tough. We really struggled with him and we didn't struggle with a pitcher that much all year."

But Keystone found the winning combination in the sixth. Mitch Smith opened the inning with a double to right field, and Trebor Nicodemus reached on an error. Tyler McCloskey reached on an infield single that evened the score, and after Brandon Miller was intentionally walked to load the bases, Alex Garbrick bounced a single into left field to lift Keystone to the important opening round win.

"It would be easy for a lot of guys to give up, but for these kids to keep fighting that way when they were that frustrated at the plate says a lot about them," said Bill Garbrick. "It would have been easy to give up, but these kids believe in themselves, and today, they got it done."

With the danger escaped, Keystone reverted back to its more familiar style of play: the next day, the Clinton County team launched five home runs, turned a pair of double plays, and Alex Garbrick threw a two-hitter as Keystone eased past West Point in a 10-0, mercy rule-shortened victory. Two days later, Keystone parlayed a nine-run first inning rally into a 13-3 victory over Devon-Strafford Little League to reach the championship game.

Alex Garbrick needed just 55 pitches in his complete game effort against West Point -- a number that made him eligible to return for a possible championship game outing -- and also slammed two home runs. Talon Falls and Landon Breon also cleared the fences, while Tyler McCloskey added an inside-the-park home run.

"They were just seeing the ball extremely well today," said Bill Garbrick, whose team led 3-0 before West Point batted and 8-0 after the top of the second. "To start off the way we started off, with Brandon (Miller) getting on base and Alex (Garbrick) hitting a home run, that just brings all kind of confidence to everyone on the team."

"That's the beauty of this sport," said West Point manager Eric Butler, whose team won the Pennsylvania championship in the 10-11 year old division the prior summer. "That you can run into a team as hot as they were. I don't think it would have even mattered who we had pitching... when their hitters are hitting the ball that well and seeing it that well, that's what happens."

"We had two innings there where they turned a double play on us, so that didn't help," added the West Point manager. "It was one of those games where everything went their way and didn't go ours. They are a very good team. I'm sure we'll see them again down the road."

The two teams would meet again. West Point won a trio of games in the bottom bracket, and Keystone capitalized on four first inning errors their win over Devon-Strafford.

All nine Keystone hitters reached safely in the team's first inning rally, with Alex Garbrick tallying a double and home run in the inning.

"Starting off a first inning like we have the last two games just puts a lot of confidence in you," said Bill Garbrick. "When you are pitching, you are so into the game and I think your adrenaline gets flowing. It just helps you on both sides of the ball."

"They are just a tremendous team," said Devon-Strafford manager Keith Fogarty. "They just hammer you with their top six hitters. They are outstanding -- they just keep coming at you and coming at you."

Alex Garbrick and Cole Reeder each had three hits and three runs batted in during the win, which made Keystone the first District 12 league to reach the Pennsylvania state championship game since Montoursville Little League finished as the state's runner up in 2002. That team also entered the championship series without a loss before falling twice to Lehigh Little League, and Bill Garbrick had a different ending in mind for his team.

"They are all feeling it right now," noted the Keystone manager. "We had a short talk out there just to keep everybody grounded. We still have a game to win."

That win would not come easily, as West Point scored 16, 24, and 14 runs in three elimination games to earn a rematch. The District 26 champions then overcame an early 3-1 deficit and edged Keystone, 5-4, to force the tournament to a final game. West Point pitcher Jared Kollar pitched into the sixth inning while allowing only two hits, and belted a crucial two-run homer that reversed a 3-2 Keystone lead in the fifth inning.

"He had a good curveball," said Bill Garbrick of Kollar, who struck out eleven in the win. "He threw it a lot, was breaking low, and we just couldn't stay off of it."

"He pitched a heck of a game," said Butler of his pitcher. "I couldn't have asked for anything more from him."

Center fielder Jake Rife homered twice for West Point, including a crucial solo home run that followed Kollar's blast and provided an insurance run. Keystone pulled to within a run in the sixth and had a pair of baserunners aboard before West Point reliever Tom Gerusky induced a strikeout and pop foul to end the game.

"We talked about what we did wrong today," said Bill Garbrick after the loss. "We weren't disciplined at the plate, and that hurt us a lot... We made a couple of errors, which is really uncharacteristic of us. We did a few things that hurt us. We talked about what we did wrong and that we also need to shake this one off. We played really good all through this tournament, all the way to win this. We're going to come back with a new team and be ready to win."

The next day, Keystone closed out the tournament, riding a trio of home runs to a 6-4 victory over West Point that clinched the tournament.

Falls slammed a no-doubt two-run homer in the first inning, and after West Point took a brief 3-2 advantage, Miller restored Keystone's league with a three-run shot in the second. Falls added a second homer in the third.

"Those were three key hits," said Bill Garbrick. "But West Point put up a lot of runs in this tournament, and they are a good hitting team. We knew this was going to be a battle."

Pitcher Landon Breon turned in 4-2/3 strong innings to stymie the West Point attack. He retired nine of ten hitters after being roughed up in West Point's first inning rally.

"Landon, we used him a lot in relief," said Bill Garbrick. "In this situation, we needed someone to start."

"Sometimes, it takes you a little bit to get the jitterbugs out," noted the Keystone manager. "He's always in good control. From the second inning on, that was typical Landon Breon. We put up a few runs, and that does get you a little more comfortable."

"We won (four) in a row with our backs against the wall," said Butler after his team's extended run in the tournament ended. "And they performed in every one, including this one. They battled to the end."

"Tip your cap to Keystone," added the West Point manager. "A great team."

Keystone was able to showcase its talent to a much larger audience three weeks later when it vaulted from Pennsylvania champions to Little League World Series qualifier, and made its own extended run in elimination games after suffering an opening round loss to North Oldham Little League (LaGrange, Kentucky). Keystone supporters packed Howard J. Lamade Stadium for each of the team's games, and Keystone eliminated three opponents before falling, 2-0, to eventual Little League World Series winner Ocean View Little League (Huntington Beach, Southern California).

The team's series performance created a spectacle not seen in South Williamsport in nearly a half-century. And that spectacle may not have happened without a late push in front of a few hundred fans at a tournament played long before the media spotlight shined on Central Pennsylvania's favorite sons.