NON-LEAGUE BASEBALL … Montpelier starter Trent Thorp went six innings on the hill to earn the win for the Locos. (PHOTO BY RICH HARDING, STAFF)
By: Daniel Cooley
MONTPELIER (MAY 4, 2023) – Montpelier jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, on four hits. The Locomotives did not score the rest of the game and managed just two more hits. But the early lead was enough to stand up for a 3-2 win.
Montpelier pitcher Trent Thorp was sharp through the first six innings and then Jaxon Richmond came on to pitch the final inning.
He retired Edgerton in order in the seventh inning, getting two strikeouts and an easy ground out back to Richmond, who threw to first base for the final out and earned a save.
“Their pitcher (Thorp) mixed his pitches really well and we had a lot of weak contact and never really adjusted to him,” said Edgerton coach Michael Gilliland.
“Montpelier got some hits early and scored some runs early and then they were able to hold the lead.”
Thorp pitched well through his six innings of work, allowing just two runs on seven hits, while striking out six and walking one, to earn the win.
“My off-speed pitch was working, and I tried to get ahead of the hitters,” Thorp said. “My slider was working today, and I was hitting my spots with the fast ball.”
“The defense played well behind me, and my catcher (Easton Richmond) was great today. He stopped a lot of pitches that were in the dirt and kept their runners from advancing. This was a huge win for us. All our guys competed today.”
Richmond also threw out a runner at second who was trying to get to second base on a steal attempt in the sixth inning.
The out was key, as it became the second out after Edgerton had cut the Montpelier lead to 3-2. The next Edgerton batter struck out to end the inning.
“Trent did what we wanted him to do, he threw a good game,” said Montpelier coach Toby Hutchison.
“We wanted him to throw six innings, so that we could bring in Richmond for the seventh inning.”
“Trent got a little tired in the sixth but was able to finish the inning with us still on top. I was pretty impressed with the way we hit the ball today and this was a great win for us.”
Montpelier jumped on Edgerton losing pitcher Scottie Krontz in the first inning for two runs, to take a 2-0 lead.
Griffin Cooley struck out to start the game, but reached first base on a wild pitch. He then advanced to second base, stole third and came home on a throwing error.
Jaxon Richmond walked, went to second base on a wild pitch, advanced to third base on a throwing error and scored on a balk.
In the second inning, Hayden Sharps doubled and then scored on an RBI single by Cooley. That gave Montpelier a 3-0 lead.
The Locomotives threatened again in the third inning, with a double by Jaxon Stahler and Joel Dohner was hit by a pitch. But a fly out ended the threat.
Edgerton, meanwhile, threatened in just the first inning with singles by Kadyn Picillo and Cory Herman. But a ground out to the pitcher ended the threat.
Edgerton did not get a runner past first base until the Bulldogs broke through in the sixth inning.
In the sixth inning, Corey Everetts singled, stole second and third and scored on an RBI ground out from Noah Weaver.
Herman, who had walked and went to second on the ground out, advanced to third base when there was no one there to cover the base.
He then scored on Swank’s RBI single. However, the scoring threat ended when Swank was caught stealing and Dylan Bass struck out.
Richmond then came on and retired the Edgerton bats in order in the seventh inning, to preserve the 3-2 win.
EDGERTON 000 002 0 – 2 6 1
MONTPELIER 210 000 x – 3 6 1
Records: Edgerton 11-8, Montpelier 9-6
WINNING PITCHER: Thorp (6 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk) Other: J. Richmond
LOSING PITCHER: Krontz (2 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 earned, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks) Other: Bass
LEADING HITTERS: (Edgerton) Krontz – 2 singles; (Montpelier) Sharps – double; Stahler – double
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
