LEADOFF HITTER … Noah Weaver grounds out to shortstop to start the top of the second inning.
(PHOTOS BY BREANA RELIFORD / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
D7 DISTRICT FINAL … Montpelier’s Malachi Smeltzer smacks a single to left field in Saturday’s district final versus Edgerton.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
BRYAN (May 31, 2025) – After the base running miscues by each team that hindered or squelched scoring rallies. After all the controversy in the fifth, resulting in Montpelier coach Toby Hutchison being ejected.
After two mistakes on the same play by a normally reliable Edgerton defense that led to three unearned runs that made a 4-1 Bulldog lead disappear.
The whole game came down to the Locos’ only senior Tyler Plourde at the plate with runners on first and third in the bottom of the eighth with one out.
Plourde did what an experienced senior leader does when he rifled a line drive single to right to score the winning run in the Locos 5-4 victory in the Division VII title game at Bryan.
Montpelier (19-5) moves on to play Miller City, Wednesday at Bowling Green’s Carter Park in the nightcap of a regional doubleheader. Edgerton’s season ends at 16-11.
“You know I did this for 13 years at North Central,” acting coach Eric Smeltzer explained of making all the right moves late in the game after taking over after Hutchison was thumbed in the fifth.
“I’m glad where I am now with Toby and we do things differently. Toby takes his chances but when we get to that point in the game where we need base runners and get people over in scoring position, I trust our kids to get base hits.”
“We’re going to bunt and make them make plays to get them in scoring position and that’s what our kids did, and they came through with hits after. They made me look good,” Smeltzer laughed. “Hats off to the players.”
The Locos touched Bulldog starter Scottie Krontz for a first inning run to take an early lead. Pitcher Wesley Hartsock singled to left, stole second and flew home on a two-out line drive hit from Griffin Cooley to go up 1-0.
That would be it for the whole of the first three innings as Krontz, then Kellen Sanchez held the Locos in check, and Hartsock stuffed the Bulldogs on one hit, putting down nine of the first 10 hitters.
In the top of the fourth, Edgerton broke through. Cory Herman lashed a single to right-center and Sanchez drew a walk to put the first two hitters on first and second.
A passed ball moved up both runners and a Jackson Flower fly ball tied the game. Two hitters later Braden Leppelmeier tagged a fly ball deep enough for Sanchez to score the go ahead run.
One inning later the game got shall we say…interesting.
Hartsock walked the first two in the top of the fifth, then hit Herman with a 0-2 pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Sanchez hit a sinking liner into right center that CJ Fidler trapped which should have been a base hit. Should have because it wasn’t as Herman, not seeing the ‘ball down’ signal from the umpire headed back to first.
Apparently, no one of the field saw said signal, as the Locos believed Fidler had caught the ball and threw to third maintaining an out and a double play when they tagged the runner going from second to third.
When the smoke cleared from the controversy, it was ruled a force play at second, a 3-1 Bulldog lead, and Hutchison finding his way off the field, being tossed after continuing to argue with the plate umpire over the interpretation of the call.
That only led to the next snafu as Flower followed with what should have been a run scoring infield hit. But this time, Sanchez who broke from first on the pitch, inexplicably stopped between bases and ended up being forced on the play.
Even with the base-running fiascos, the Bulldogs held a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Sanchez walked the first two hitters and then when Jacob Lyons laid down a sacrifice, Noah Weaver was later getting back to cover first and Sanchez’ throw pulled him off the bag.
When the Montpelier runner that was at second tried to score, Weaver’s throw was way wide, allowing a run to score and leave runners at second and third.
Fidler’s ground ball was fielded by Maddox Baker at short and Lyons, who ended up hung up between second and third, was tagged out as a run scored to chop the Loco deficit to 4-3.
Plourde bunted Fidler to second and Hartsock came up with a huge two-out hit, a single to center to mark Fidler with the tying run.
Hartsock, re-energized with the tie game, set down the Bulldogs six straight in the seventh and eighth. Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Locos put together a game winning rally against Herman.
Malachi Smeltzer drew a walk, and Lyons bunted him to second.
Fidler singled to right to move the winning run to third and Plourde provided the last heroics with a sharp single to right for the game-winner.
“It was first and third and some of the guys wanted me to call a delayed steal, and I thought ‘I’m not giving an out away’ and Tyler came up to me and said, ‘I’m getting a hit right here’ and I said, ‘that’s right you will’,” Smeltzer explained of Plourde’s game winning at-bat.
“He’s a senior and we had all the confidence in the world in him and that’s what he did.” “This is awesome, but we can’t be done now. We can’t be happy with making it back there, we have to go farther.”
Hartsock went the full eight innings to get the win giving up two hits and four earned runs. He struck out two and walked four.
EHS 000 220 00 – 4 2 2
MHS 100 003 01 – 5 8 1
Records: EHS 16-11, MHS 19-5
WINNING PITCHER: Hartsock (8 innings, 2 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts)
LOSING PITCHER: Herman (1.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 earned, 1 walk, 1 strikeout) Other: Krontz, Sanchez
LEADING HITTERS: (Edgerton) Flower – 2 RBIs; Sanchez – single, RBI; (Montpelier) Hartsock – 2 singles, RBI