By: Nate Calvin
MONTPELIER (MAY 11, 2023) – Kelsie Bumb went 3-4 and drove in four runs to give her the school record for RBIs in a season (31) as Montpelier beat Antwerp 10-2.
The sectional title is the first for the Locos since 2015 and comes on the heels of their first league championship in program history.
Sixth-seeded Antwerp drew first blood after a leadoff single by Jillian Treece and she would later score on a single to center by Madison Berenyi for a 1-0 Archer lead.
Montpelier got the run back in their half of the second as Madelyn Hopper and Bianca Phongphiou had one out singles and Hopper scored after Bella Ramos reached on an error to tie the game 1-1.
The Montpelier bats would begin to roll in the third as Lyla Mahan started things with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Kaycee Humbarger and Bumb brought her home on a double to left.
The Locos added two more runs in the inning on RBI singles by Jada Uribes and Phongphiou to extend the lead to 4-1.
Montpelier continued to seize control in the fourth inning behind three hits and three errors by Antwerp.
Ramos started the frame with a single, Mahan would draw a one-out walk, and Humbarger reached on an error by the shortstop to load the bases.
Ramos scored on a passed ball before Bumb added an infield single to score Mahan and an error by the Antwerp first baseman during the sequence allowed Humbarger to score and make it 7-1.
Jada Uribes reached on another Antwerp error in the inning and Hopper lined a single to center, bringing home Bumb, to cap off a four-run frame by the Locos.
The fifth inning saw Montpelier add two more runs to their total as Bumb singled for her third hit of the night scoring Katie Terry, who singled, and Mahan, who reached on a fielder’s choice.
Ramos, Hopper, and Phongphiou each tallied two hits on the night for Montpelier with Hopper going all seven innings in the circle with 10 strikeouts to earn the win.
Montpelier will now face No. 1 seed Egerton (16-6) in the Division IV district semifinals on Monday night at Recreation Park in Bryan with first pitch slated for 5pm.
The Locos and Bulldogs met back on April 8 for a doubleheader with Edgerton winning both games, 10-4 and 4-1.
ANTWERP 010 010 0 – 2 5 4
MONTPELIER 013 420 x – 10 11 3
Records: Antwerp 9-12, Montpelier 15-6
WINNING PITCHER: Hopper (7 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, 10 strikeouts, 2 walks)
LOSING PITCHER: Clem (4 innings, 8 hits, 8 runs, 2 earned, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) Other: Krouse
LEADING HITTERS: (Antwerp) Pierce – double, RBI; Treece – 2 singles; (Montpelier) Bumb – double, 2 singles, 4 RBIs, 2 runs; Ramos – double, single; Hopper – 2 singles, RBI; Phongphiou – 2 singles, RBI
Nate can be reached at sports@thevillagereporter.com