Central Mountain blanks Midd-West in Heartland showdown
May 15—BEAVER SPRINGS — As tune-up games go, Midd-West's league crossover Monday was a monster.
The Mustangs welcomed Heartland Athletic Conference-Division I champion Central Mountain to town, and the once-beaten Wildcats lived up their billing. The visitors belted three home runs — two in a decisive, six-run sixth inning — and got a two-hit shutout from junior ace Brady Myers in an 11-0 win at West Snyder Elementary School.
"They're the best team in the state," said Midd-West coach Scott Wright. "They really can hit, and that pitcher was ungodly."
The Mustangs (14-3) hadn't been blanked since Lewisburg's 20-0 win on May 3, 2019, which was also their last mercy-rule loss at home. The rare loss occurred a day before they travel to face red-hot HAC-II rival Montoursville. Midd-West must win today to avoid sharing the HAC-II crown with the Warriors (14-5), who have won nine of their last 10.
"We always look to have challenging games to make us even better, and (the Wildcats) just got the best of us today. They were the better team. They played a complete game," said Mustangs senior Aidan Everly. "We're focused on tomorrow. (Montoursville) is a big game for us. Every game's a big game. It is a big game."
Myers, an unimposing righty, retired the first seven Midd-West batters Monday (fanning four of them), and took a no-hitter into the fifth. The Mustangs' Easton Erb and Isaac Knepp lined successive pitches to the opposite field, sliced toward the right-field line, with two outs in the fifth. They were stranded in scoring position, just as they were in the third after consecutive one-out walks and a sacrifice bunt.
Myers, who improved to 7-0 with an 0.85 ERA, struck out eight to improve his rate to 11.2 strikeouts per 7 innings.
"Brady has electric stuff, and today he came and showed it against a quality team," said Central Mountain coach Mike Kramer. "It was nice to be able to see that he can get after it, and he had all pitches working today. He did exceptionally well."
Myers struck out the heart of Midd-West's order — Caden Wolfley, Griffen Paige and Garrett Leitzel — on 12 pitches the first time he faced them. He wasn't afraid to throw his fastball up and in to the Mustangs' predominately right-handed lineup, and he effectively worked a tight slider down and away, punching out four with it.
"He just kept us off-balance all night," said Everly, the only batter to face Myers three times Monday. "He worked three pitches really well, threw them for strikes, and that's just what happens.
"He's definitely one of the top pitchers we've seen."
Central Mountain (18-1) scored all the runs Myers would need in the first after loading the bases with one out. Kevin Grenninger and Cru Stover hit singles on either side of a hit batsman, and Elek Fravel split the gap in right-center field with a two-run double. Levi Schlesinger followed with a sacrifice fly to right for a 3-0 lead.
The Wildcats added runs in the second (Grenninger RBI single) and third (Stover solo homer) to pull ahead 5-0. Leitzel left the bases loaded in third and a scoreless fourth before reliever Cole Keister kept two in scoring position in the fifth.
Through five innings, Central Mountain stranded 10 runners, eight in scoring position. In the sixth, the first five Wildcats hit safely and all of them scored. Schlesinger followed back-to-back singles with a towering homer just right of straightaway center to make it 8-0. After another couple hits and a run-scoring groundout, Grenninger crushed a 2-0 fastball to left field for an 11-0 lead.
"It was pleasant to see that we were able to put some barrels on baseballs," said Kramer, a 348-game winner in 24 seasons at Central Mountain after eight at Bald Eagle-Nittany. He was honored Friday when the Wildcats' home diamond was named Mike Kramer Field at Mill Hall Community Park. "(Leitzel) looked pretty solid, but when we got him into the stretch he seemed to be a little bit off. I was pleased with our approach at the plate."
Midd-West began play Monday a fraction of a percentage point ahead of Athens (16-1) for the top seed in the upcoming District 4 Class 4A playoffs. Athens was scheduled to play a doubleheader today at North Penn-Mansfield while the Mustangs play at Montoursville.
"This is what we want. We want to play these kinds of games," said Wright. "These guys will bounce back. They'll be ready to play."
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CENTRAL MOUNTAIN 11, MIDD-WEST 0 (6 INN.)
Central Mountain;311;006;— 11-14-0
Midd-West;000;000;— 0-2-1
Brady Myers and Nate Helms. Garrett Leitzel, Cole Keister (4) and Matt Weimer, Isaac Knepp (3).
WP: Myers. LP: Leitzel.
Central Mountain: Kevin Grenninger 3-for-4, home run (6th, 1 on), 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Gabe Johnson 1-for-3, run; Cru Stover 3-for-4, home run (3rd, solo), 3 runs, RBI; Elek Fravel 3-for-3, double, run, 2 RBIs; Levi Schlesinger 1-for-3, home run (6th, 2 on), run, 4 RBIs; Connor Foltz 1-for-4, run; Braylen Corter 2-for-4, run; Gardy Fravel RBI.
Midd-West: Easton Erb 1-for-1; Knepp 1-for-1, double.
