NTL BASEBALL: ATHENS BLANKS SUS. VALLEY, 11-0; KEEPS PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE (24 PHOTOS) (2024-05-09)
Valley Sports ReportATHENS - Senior Connor Mosher tossed a four-hit shutout, and freshman Brendan Cooke was 4-for-4 as Athens won the second of four must-win games — an 11-0 victory over Susquehanna Valley — here Thursday afternoon in non-league baseball action.
The Wildcats, now 8-10, need wins Saturday at Thomas A. Edison, and Tuesday at home against Canton to reach .500, and qualify for the upcoming District 4, Class 4A baseball playoffs.
"The team seems to be coming together at the right time here," said Athens coach Charlie Havens.
Connor (Mosher) pitched an excellent game today," he noted. "The bats are heating up … (Brendan) Cooke is hot and (Connor) Davidson had a solid day at the plate.
"We are still alive in the playoff hunt, going one game at a time —on to Edison Saturday," added Havens.
Athens took the lead in the bottom of the first inning, and kept adding to it.
After Mosher pitched around a pair of singles in the top of the first, the Wildcats were up 1-0 after just two batters, and tacked on a run later in the inning.
Davidson walked to lead off the inning, and Cooke singled into right field, where the ball was misplayed, allowing Davidson to score, and Cooke to advance to second base.
Sophomore Nick Grazul then reached on an error, and Mosher walked to load the bases. With one out, junior Jay Rosenbloom was hit by a pitch to force home a run to make it 2-0, but a force out at the plate, and a strikeout ended the threat without any further damage.
Mosher struck out the side in order in the top of the second, and Athens took firm control of the game in the home half of the frame.
With one out Davidson singled, then scored on a single by Cooke was misplayed, making it 3-0.
Grazul then laced a hard line-drive single into right field, but Cooke was thrown out at the plate to keep the score 3-0.
After walks to Mosher and senior Nicholas Jacob loaded the bases, Rosenbloom drilled an RBI single into left field, where it was misplayed allowing two more runs to score to make it 6-0.
The Wildcats scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning to bring the 10-run "mercy" rule into play.
Freshmen Kamdyn Wheeler, and Duncan Thetga, and Davidson opened the inning with consecutive singles to load the bases, and Cooke cleared the bases with a three-run double to left field to up the Athens lead to 9-0.
With one out and runners on first and second, Jacob belted an RBI double to make it 10-0, and Rosenbloom capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to provide the final margin.
Mosher pitched around an error in the fourth inning, and two singles in the fifth inning to preserve the shutout, and invoke the 10-run rule.
Mosher fanned four and walked none in five shutout innings to earn the win.
Cooke rapped out two doubles and two singles, scored two runs, and had three RBI, and Davidson had two singles, and three runs scored to pace Athens’ 11-hit attack.
Rosenbloom singled and had three RBI for the Wildcats, while Grazul singled and scored two runs, Jacob doubled, scored one run, and drove in one run, Wheeler and Thetga each singled and scored one run, and Mosher scored one run.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Connor Mosher. … PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
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