Northern Tier West Sports ReportWELLSBORO — The Hornets .. co-large school leaders .. handed small school leader Cowanesque Valley their first loss of the season here Saturday, beating the Indians 7-5 to stay unbeaten in league play.
CV went up early on Wellsboro, plating three runs in their first at-bat. Hunter Simonds and Dave Hess both reached base on Wellsboro errors to start the game. AyrenMorgan walked to load the bases and Simonds would score on a passed ball before Lucas Hamilton brought Hess and Morgan home with a double for a 3-0 CV lead.
Wellsboro answered in the bottom half as Griffin Morral singled to start the inning and after advancing on a Gabe Cuneo sacrifice and a Marek Mascho single, Morral would score, along with Marek, as Max Mascho singled to cut CV’s lead to 3-2.
After a scoreless second inning and the Indians came up empty in the third, Wellsboro took the lead with a 4-run frame.
Coen Tennis was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half of the third and Cameron Owlett doubled before back-to-back singles from Syler Pietrzyk and Gabe Baltzley scored Kody Enck (running for Tennis) and Owlett to make it 4-3 Wellsboro. Reed Richardson reached on a fielder’s choice that got Pietrzyk at third, but Morral came up big, doubling home Baltzley and Richardson to put the Hornets up 6-3.
A scoreless fourth inning led to the Indians getting a leadoff single from Morgan to start the fifth. Wellsboro got a pop-out for the first out of the inning before Hamilton walked and Danny Smith singled to right, but Max Mascho took the relay throw from Pietrzyk and nailed Morgan at the plate for the second out. Gavin Churchill followed with a single that scored Hamilton and after Drayden McGee walked to load the bases, William Kies drew a full count walk that plated Smith to pull the Indians to within one at 6-5.
The Hornets answered with an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Baltzley doubled and would later score when Richardson reached base on a dropped third strike.
Baltzley, who had relieved Marek Mascho on the mound in the fifth inning, closed out the win, going two and a third innings and allowing no hits or runs with a pair of walks. Mascho started and went four and two-thirds, giving up five runs (2 earned) on five CV hits and six walks with three strikeouts.
Morral finished with three base hits in the win, including a double, and added two RBI and a run scored. Baltzley had two hits, with a double, an RBI and two runs scored and Marek Mascho had two hits, with a double and a run scored.
Owlett had a double and scored, Max Mascho had a hit and two RBI, Pietrzyk had a hit and an RBI, Cuneo had a base hit, Richardson had an RBI and a run scored and Enck rounded out Wellsboro’s offense with a run.
For Cowanesque Valley, Hamilton had a double, two RBI and a run scored, Morgan and Smith each had a hit and scored, Churchill had a hit and an RBI, Cam Stahli had a hit, Simonds and Hess each scored a run and Kies had an RBI.
Smith started on the mound for the Indians and went two-thirds of an inning, allowing two earned runs on three hits. Hess pitched two and a third innings, giving up four earned runs on five base hits and a walk with one strikeout, Morgan went two innings and allowed one earned run with five K’s and Levi Stahli threw the final inning, with one walk and three strikeouts.
With their first loss of the season, CV stands at 7-1 and returns to action Tuesday when they host small school foe Northeast Bradford.
Wellsboro, now 4-1 with their lone loss coming to non-league Jersey Shore, will play Athens (6-1, 4-0 NTL) on Sunday at PNC Field in Moosic, home of the New York Yankees’ Triple A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders.
