Spring Mills' Landon Trumpower tags University's Riley Anderson (14) for an out on Saturday.
(William Wotring/The Dominion Post)
University can’t get its bats going in loss to Spring Mills
GRANVILLE — Coaches will sometimes advise their players to just sleep off a bad loss. When time is short, however, perhaps a couple-mile bus ride will do the trick just as well.
After losing 6-0 to Wheeling Park on Dale Miller Field Saturday afternoon, the Spring Mills baseball team got on their bus and made the short drive over to Kendrick Family Ballpark to take on University.
“These guys are resilient,” Spring Mills coach Bradley Barrett said. “We talk about it all the time to just clear your head and play the next day, but we were playing in 30 minutes and had to figure it out.”
Whatever happened on that drive worked as the Cardinals (7-15) downed the Hawks (10-11) 10-1 on the final day of the Mon County Classic.
“We were just kind of throw-and-go and see what happens,” Barrett said.
The stabilizing force for Spring Mills was one of the team’s lone seniors, starting pitcher Brandon Montgomery. Montgomery threw a complete-game two-hitter that included working out of a couple of jams early on to allow the SM offense to build up its lead.
“We’ve got a young team,” Barrett said. “We’ve got two seniors and he is our rock. He’s our biggest leader just doing his thing and getting the job done.”
University got two runners on and in scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings, but didn’t have anything to show for it until Colson Jenkins’ sacrifice fly brought home the Hawks’ lone run in the bottom of the fourth.
“Our approach wasn’t great,” UHS coach Brad Comport said. “Credit to their pitcher, he threw a ton of strikes, but we did nothing to put any pressure on the defense. When we did have runners in scoring position, we didn’t capitalize.”
That made it a 4-1 game as the Spring Mills offense was just starting to roll.
Like he did on the mound, Montgomery led the way at the plate. His leadoff single in the top of the second produced the first run when he later scored on a throwing error.
SM added another run in the third and two in the fourth on a two-run single by Rylan Swartz. The Cardinals had eight consecutive productive at-bats to lead off the fifth to produce four runs and blow the game open.
In total, the Cardinals drew 10 walks and only struck out three times in the contest. Swartz had two hits and three RBI, JP Sweeney had three hits and an RBI and Aiden Eichelberger had two hits and two RBI. Second baseman Trestyn Wysocki drew five walks and scored three times.
“Our first two games (this weekend) I don’t think we scored a run,” Barrett said. “It was nice to put up 10 in this game. Low strikeouts and a lot of walks is a big thing.”
University’s first hit didn’t come until Mason McDonald lined a ball into left field in the bottom of the fifth inning. By that time, the Hawks had already stranded four runners in scoring position.
“It’s a game of momentum and we didn’t execute with runners in scoring position early on and they did,” Comport said. “They capitalized on their opportunities and ultimately we just weren’t able to make it a game.”
University began the day with an 18-6 loss to St. Maria Goretti (Md.) at Mylan Park. Goretti scored 13 runs over the fifth and sixth innings to slip a 6-4 UHS lead.
Brodee Latocha hit a home run and had a pair of RBI. Mason Chaney, Riley Anderson and Brock McDonough each had a hit and an RBI.
