By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (April 6, 2024) – The first one was easy. The second not so much. After an 11-1 opening game, five inning triumph, Evergreen had to come from a 5-0 first inning deficit, using Brady Kanneman’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh for a 10-9 victory in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Evergreen.
“It was good to see the kids show being resilient in that game,” Viking coach Mark Cymbolin said. “What we have asked all year is if bad things happen are we going to put our head down and pout or are we going to buckle up and work our way back and get a win out of it.”
“For the most part our kids at-bats were good all day, they worked the count, put good swings on the ball, I think we have gotten better every game offensively.”
In that second game, Montpelier took advantage of five walks off starter Troy Manz and Kanneman’s two-out error to score five first inning runs on just one hit, Hayden Sharps’ blooper that just got into right field to take a large early lead.
The VIkings got a run back on Cory Kanneman’s run scoring double in the bottom of the first. Blade Walker kept the Locos in check in the second but allowed an unearned run in the third thanks to his errant pickoff move and Tyler Ploude’s infield single to make in 6-1.
The VIkes rallied in the bottom of the third after Kamron Smith hit Colton Robertson and walked Layne Vance to start the inning. Cory Kanneman was safe on a fielder’s choice that scored one run.
Bryce Bolger’s fly ball brought in another to make it 6-3, then with two down, Chris Shrader delivered a two-run single of the middle to bring the Vikes within 6-5.
Kenneth Smeltzer’s fly ball made it 7-5 in the top of the fourth but again with two down in the bottom of the fifth, Evergreen came back a second time.
John Herdman and Robertson drew walks and Vance came through with another two out hit, a single to right that scored both runs including Robertson all the way from first to tie the game.
Cory Kanneman held Montpelier off the board in the next two frames but Plourde and Wesley Hartsock each singled to start the seventh.
Plourde stole third and Hartsock moved up on the throw to set up Landon Fackler’s two run single to center that gave the Locos a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Again, down to their last swing, Evergreen came back a final time. Hartsock hit Robertson with a pitch and Vance walked for the third time in the game.
Robertson scored on a wild pitch and Bolger was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Brady Kanneman drilled the first pitch to center to plate the tying and winning runs.
“You have to show that mental toughness. We walk a lot of guys and we’re down 5-0 right away and to fight back a number of times, then to be down two in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and win on a walk-off it’s a testament to the kids,” Cymbolin remarked. “That’s the big thing now is to get a couple of wins and move forward from here.”
In the opener, after a walk and three straight passed balls scored a Loco run in the first, Vance was spotless on the board the rest of the way.
The Vikings reclaimed a 3-1 margin in the first on an RBI single from Bolger, Brady Kanneman’s run producing double and Hunter Vaculik’s bounce out and never looked back against Fackler.
Three walks and two fly balls marked two more in the second and Evergreen blew the game open in the third.
Brady Kanneman and Vaculik singled to start the inning and after a one out walk, Robertson laced a two-out single to score two runs and a wide throw on Vance’s grounder scored two more for a 9-1 lead.
Three walks, a wild pitch and Bolger’s rope to left scored the final two runs in the fifth for the walk-off win.
Vance allowed just four hits, walked two and struck out six in his five-inning complete game win.
“Throw strikes, throw strikes and throw strikes. That’s all we ask of him and all our pitchers,” Cymbolin said of his junior right-hander’s performance.
“We just wanted to throw strikes and locate, and our defense was pretty solid the first game. If we throw strikes and field it, we have a chance every time out.”
GAME 1
MONTPELIER 100 00 – 1 4 1
EVERGREEN 324 02 – 11 8 1
Records: Montpelier 2-1, Evergreen 2-3
WINNING PITCHER: Vance (5 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks)
LOSING PITCHER: Fackler (3 innings, 6 hits, 9 runs, 2 strikeouts, 5 walks) OTHER: Stahler
LEADING HITTERS: (Montpelier) Smeltzer – 2 singles; (Evergreen) Robertson – single, 2 RBIs; Bolger – 2 singles, 2 RBIs; B. Kanneman – double, single, RBI; Vaculik – 2 singles, RBI
GAME 2
MONTPELIER 501 100 2 – 9 8 0
EVERGREEN 104 020 3 – 10 4 3
Records: Montpelier 2-2, Evergreen 3-3
WINNING PITCHER: C. Kanneman (3 innings; 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk) OTHER: Manz, Walker
LOSING PITCHER: Hartsock (0.2 innings, 1 hit, 3 run, 0 strikeouts, 3 walks) OTHER: Smith, Sharps
LEADING HITTERS: (Montpelier) Fackler – 2 singles, 2 RBIs; Sharps – 2 singles; Plourde – singles, RBI; (Evergreen) Vance – single, 2 RBIs; C. Kanneman – double, 2 RBIs; B. Kanneman – single, 2 RBIs; Shrader – single, 2 RBIs