COMPLETE GAME … Delta’s Carlos DeSantos tossed all eight innings with 11 strikeouts in the loss.
PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PLAY AT SECOND … Montpelier’s Griffin Cooley slides into the tag at second base. VIEW PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (May 11, 2026) — A wise young baseball guru once said, “throw strikes, make defensive plays and you’ll win games no matter what happens at the plate.”
Delta’s Carlos DeSantos and Montpelier’s Wesley Hartsock, then Kenneth Smeltzer, were locked in an extra-inning pitchers’ duel with neither the Panthers nor the Locos being able to manufacture much offensively.
However, with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, it was the play on a ground ball that wasn’t made that finally decided the outcome as a throwing error allowed Malachi Smeltzer to score all the way from first to notch the go-ahead run in Montpelier’s 3-2 win.
“Errors were costly and they gave us an opportunity,” Locos’ coach Toby Hutchison explained. Actually, we struck the ball a little better and I know we had a lot of strikeouts [DeSantos struck out 11].
“We want to see guys like that because if we want to get where we want to go this year in the tournament, we need to see people like DeSantos. He is the real deal.”
For the first three innings, DeSantos and Hartsock were nearly unhittable, as each blew away opposing hitters without much resistance.
The first real offensive threat came in the bottom of the third when an error on Carter Morr’s grounder, a wild pitch and a passed ball put him on third with one down.
Hartsock struck out Wyatt Flickinger and Lane Lopez around a walk to avoid any damage. Montpelier made good on a scoring chance in the fourth, thanks to a couple of Delta misplays.
Zaine Stull drew a walk and went to second when DeSantos’ pickoff attempt was wild. DeSantos struck out both Smeltzers but Flickinger got turned around on Jaxon Stahler’s fly ball, which fell for a run-scoring double to put Montpelier ahead.
The Locos (12-5) added another in the fifth without a hit. CJ Fidler walked, then went all the way to third when Lopez couldn’t locate a wild pitch.
A second wild pitch brought home Fidler to make it 2-0. Delta (9-9) answered in the bottom of the frame to knot the game.
Morr singled but was struck by Flickinger’s bouncer that was headed into right field to leave the Panthers with a runner at first and one down.
Gary Valentine was hit by a pitch, before a wild pitch and a passed ball scored the Panthers’ first run.
Two walks loaded the bases for DeSantos who smoked a screamer to left field but right at Griffin Cooley who made the catch that turned what possibly could’ve been a huge extra-base hit, into just a sacrifice fly that knotted the game 2-2.
It stayed that way until the top of the eighth. Malachi Smeltzer was hit by a pitch with two out and raced home when Nathan Elton’s throw to first on Kenneth Smeltzer’s bouncer was wild.
Kenneth Smeltzer put away the Panthers in the bottom of the inning by striking out the side to end the contest.
“Wesley threw a great game but he never throws that many pitches,” Hutchison said of Hartsock’s 100-plus pitch count.
“Game on the line Kenny came in and did a great job, striking out the side in the eighth.” Hartsock gave up just three hits while walking four and striking out nine.
DeSantos allowed six hits, walked three and whiffed 11.
MHS 000 110 01 – 3 6 1
DHS 000 020 00 – 2 3 3
WP- Kenneth Smeltzer (IP-2, R-0, H-0, K-5, BB-1)
LP- Carlos DeSantos (IP-8, R-3, H-6, K-11, BB-3)
LEADING HITTERS: (Montpelier) Jaxon Stahler – double; Malachi Smeltzer – 2 singles; (Delta) 3 singles.