(April 14th, 2015) – PIONEER: The Locomotives of Montpelier picked up steam late in their game against host school North Central. After trailing for most of the contest, the Locos came back to win in a convincing manner.
Montpelier took down the Eagle boys 9-4.
North Central started the game strong. After holding Montpelier scoreless in the top of the first, it was the Eagles who drew first blood, scoring a run for the early 1-0 advantage. They repeated this process in the second, as they refused to let the Locomotives score, while adding a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The third inning saw neither squad add to their total.
Montpelier got on the board in the fourth inning, scoring a run in top of the frame. While the Eagles were unable to respond, they still possessed a 2-1 lead.
That would change in the fifth inning.
With an offensive renaissance taking place for the Locos, they racked up 6 runs in the top of the fifth. North Central added another 2 runs to their own score, but still found themselves in a 7-4 deficit. Montpelier tacked on 2 more runs in the sixth, scoring the final runs of the game for either team.
Gunnar Matson earned the victory for the Montpelier boys. Pitching 4.2 innings, he gave up 2 earned runs off of 3 hits. He also struck out 7 batters, walking 4 more. Andrew Luke provided 2.1 innings of relief, allowing no runs in his time on the mound.
Jordan Bailey pitched 6 innings for North Central in the loss. The senior allowed 9 runs off of 8 hits, striking out 1 batter in the process. David Pinc came in to relieve Bailey for the seventh inning, retiring all three of the batters pitted against him.
Matson also gave Montpelier a boost from the batter’s box. The junior standout hit for a single, driving in 2 RBIs. Bryce Cooley also earned 2 RBIs off of a single for the Locos. Colin Rockey smacked the ball for an RBI double.
Senior Eagle Josh Sawyer hit for a single and a double. He was also responsible for an RBI. Pinc hit an RBI single from the plate. Teammate Colton Pilmore connected with the ball twice for a pair of singles.