LINDEN — North Montgomery’s baseball team sent a message to the Sagamore Conference with a 15-5, six-inning win over Danville.
After staking the Warriors to a 3-0 lead in the first, the Chargers, who move to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the league, opened the scoring spigot scored in five of their six at-bats.
They took advantage of eight Danville errors in addition to their hitting, had only one error of their own, and had heroes aplenty, as they drop Danville to 2-5 on the season and 0-3 in the Sagamore.
Brookes Walters continues to scorch the ball, reaching base on all four at-bats, including three hits (one a double) and scored three.
Dylan Braun drove in three runs in his first two plate appearances, including a double.
Jarrod Kirsch scattered eight hits in six innings on the mound, and picked up his second pitching win of the season, walking only one and striking out six.
“Putting the ball in play is so important,” North coach Matt Voorhees said of the hitters. “You just never know what can happen, and we had strong plate appearances up and down the lineup. Walters just brings it day in and day out, Braun got a couple big hits. Jakob Kirsch got a hit and got hit twice, and when your leadoff hitter gets on, you like your chances of scoring. We managed to get everyone on the roster in the game, and even Ethan Gayler got the pinch hit that ended the game.”
Voorhees was pleased with his team’s effort after losing a tough 2-1 contest to Lafayette Jeff last Saturday.
“We left guys on third base four times,” the coach noted. “We felt like we let each other down in a close game. Those are the hits we have to have in close conference or sectional games, and I think we learned from that with what we did tonight. We had a good mental attitude and approach at the plate.”
After Trey Morrell hit an 0-2 pitch over the left-field fence in the first inning, the Chargers got two back in the first. They broke the game open with a seven-spot in the third, taking advantage of three Warriors errors in the infield. They got another in the fourth, four in the fifth, and ended the game with one in the sixth. At least one run came from each of the nine batting spots.
Walters, nominated for the Indy Star Player of the week award for his eight hit (including a home run), eight runs scored, 11 RBI, picked up right where he left off, as the junior runs his season batting average to a round .600. He has 15 hits, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored in eight games.
He, along with Braun, both have at least one hit in each of the Chargers’ first eight games.
The one error was also a big factor in North keeping any Danville threat at bay.
Voorhees noted a defensive switch, which had Walters and Sulc switching their defensive spots at third and second base, respectively.
“This team is so close, the guys do so many things together,” the coach said. “In today’s social media age, that is truly unique. Walters and Sulc came to us after the coaches discussed the switch and they both said it was the best thing to do for the team. They, and all the guys, are willing to do whatever is best for the team, and as some of these younger players get more reps and field time, it will only improve them.”
