"It was just natural instinct," Keglovits said of his decision to turn and throw to second. "I knew we could get the double play."
Lehigh Valley managed just five hits but turned three double plays in the final five innings in capturing the franchise's third Carpenter Cup title, and first since 2001.
Burlington County got its leadoff batter on base in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings without scoring.
Down by 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, the South Jersey team had a leadoff walk and two singles, but came up empty because a hit-and-run turned into a double play on a foul pop.
"It was a frustrating loss," said Burlington County manager Marc Petragnini, the coach at Cherokee.
"The kids carried us this far, and it was a great ride. The only way it would have been better was with a win today."
Borger, a senior from Pleasant Valley, was in the middle of two of the double plays. He also was 2 for 3 and broke a 3-3 tie with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
"Our defense was huge," Borger said. "We made a lot of errors in the tournament before this, but we came up with some clutch plays when we needed them."
Nazareth senior Drew Hercik delivered a two-out, two-run double for Lehigh Valley to tie the score, 3-3, in the fourth inning.
Burlington County had taken a 3-1 lead in the first as Maple Shade senior Kevin McMenamin cracked a two-run home run that landed 15 rows into the seats behind the wall in right-center field.
"Words can't explain it," McMenamin said. "To hit a home run in a major-league park, where my favorite team plays, I couldn't take the smile off my face running the bases."
Keglovits, a hard-throwing junior from Nazareth, was the dominating pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the tournament. In four games, Keglovits pitched 112/3 innings, allowing four hits and one run and striking out 18.
"When I was younger, I used to overpower a lot of hitters," Keglovits said. "But now my curveball and off-speed stuff are helping me out a lot."
Lehigh Valley 100 210 001 - 5 5 2
Burlington County 300 000 000 - 3 6 3
WP: Karl Keglovits. LP: Jake DeWitt. 2B: LV-Drew Hercik, Matt Bonshak. BC-Jeff McGarry. HR: BC-Kevin McMenamin.
Carpenter Cup Softball
Tuesday results
Mercer County 6, Delaware County 1
Burlington County def. SOL NatBAL, forfeit
Berks County 17, Philadelphia Public 0
Lehigh Valley 16, Inter-Ac 2
Mercer County 8, Burlington County 2
Delaware County def. SOL NatBAL, forfeit
Berks County 2, Lehigh Valley 1
Inter-Ac 3, Philadelphia Public 1
Mercer County vs. Lehigh Valley
Delaware County vs. Inter-Ac
Contact staff writer Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223, panastasia@phillynews.com, or @PhilAnastasia on Twitter.
