Undefeated Montgomery defeats Sugar Valley, 15-1
By Bees O’Brien
LOCK HAVEN- Sugar Valley Rural Charter School entered their Mid Penn Conference West Division meeting with undefeated Montgomery still searching for their first victory of 2024. It would be a tall order for the winless Phoenix, but for three innings the underdogs would hang tough.
Montgomery’s Parker Persing would pitch a 4-hit gem against the miss matched Phoenix, striking out 8 batters and allowing just 4 hits in 5 innings of work.
The Phoenix held the high powered Red Raider bats in check through the first inning by allowing no runs. Sugar Valley would fail to plate a run in their half of the first inning.
Montgomery would finally score a pair of runs in the second and two more in the top of the third inning to hold a 4-0 lead. Sugar Valley would make things interesting when Lance Winchester would plate Cayden Weaver in the bottom of the third inning to shrink the Red Raiders’ lead to 3 runs at 4-1.
Disaster would strike the Phoenix in the fourth inning. Montgomery’s high scoring offense would begin to heat up by crossing 8 runs in the frame to build a 12-1 lead. Montgomery capped off their scoring the following inning by plating three more runs to set the 15-1 final.
Parker Persing improved to 4-0 on the mound and was just as dangerous at the plate by going 2 for 3 with 4 runs batted in. Parker Bennett would go 2 for 3 as well for the 14-0 Red Raiders. Montgomery combined for 13 hits to Sugar Valley’s 4 base knocks.
Grayson Hastings led the Phoenix at the plate with a triple. Winchester, Weaver and Levi Galentine also collected hits for Sugar Valley.
The Phoenix now remain the only winless team in the Mid Penn Conference after Bucktail’s upset win at St. John Neumann on Friday. The Phoenix are set to square off with Bucktail at Taggert Park on Wednesday, but first it’s a meeting with East Juniata on Saturday and a road trip to Benton on Monday.
