LINDEN — It was all about the pitching as Crawfordsville defeated North Montgomery 14-3 in Monon Conference and county baseball action Wednesday.
The Athenians rode the right arm of Henry Bannon to the win that moves them to 12-9 overall and moves them into a tie with the Chargers for second place in the conference with a 7-4 mark. North falls to 14-5 on the season.
Bannon won his sixth game, throwing all six innings. The junior was touched by North for two runs in the first, but allowed only one after that, scattering five hits. He struck out 10 and walked only one batter.
“Henry has been Mister Consistent this whole season,” said Crawfordsville coach Brett Motz. “He was a little extra excited early, and that got him out of his groove, but he composed himself and finished strong. We were able to give him the run support, and that allowed him to get on cruise control and do his thing. He throws strikes and did a great job.”
Bannon was also among the hitters that put the bakers dozen on the board, as he picked up his second home run of the year in an eight-run Athenians third inning. He finished with a pair of hits, scored three times and drove in three.
Landon Gerold scored three times, and Konner Ellsbury drove in three runs for the Athenians, who took advantage of a dozen walks issued by four Chargers’ pitchers.
“Henry (Bannon) was just being Henry,” North coach Matt Voorhees said. “He is such a poised player and just a great young man in our community in the way he conducts himself. We got rattled and then the walks started. It was tough. I told the guys that in all the years I’ve been coaching, I still haven’t found a way to defend the walk. A dozen walks, a hit batter and three errors just can’t happen against a good-hitting team. We didn’t give ourselves many opportunities to make many plays. We played hard, we played with great character and we battled, but all those walks make things look difficult.”
The eight runs in the Athenians third inning spelled out just what the night was, as Crawfordsville took advantage of an error, two wild pitches, a pair of walks and six hits, including two over the right-field fence, to go from down 2-1 to up 9-2.
“Our approach at the plate was to get on the board every inning,” Motz said. “We were locked in at the plate, and that gave us opportunities to score. When North struggled with the walks, that gave us extra guys on base and extra chances to score.”
Keaton Brown was the starting pitcher for North and took the loss.
Their two runs in the first came when Aiden Ambriz-Cruz singled and then scored on a Lucky Young double. Young scored on a Tucker Hinds single. Ambriz-Cruz scored again in the third. He had two of the five North hits.
The rivals are back at it Thursday, with a game at John Froedge Field.
“We get a chance to re-group and get back at them Thursday,” Voorhees said. “I’ve been coaching for about 30 years and I’m still trying to figure out how to motivate kids. It’s on them for a game like this. The conference race is close and we are part of it. We just have to be ready. It will be a big game for both teams.”
With a Cascade loss Tuesday, the top of the Monon race has the Cadets and Greencastle tied for first with three losses each with Crawfordsville and North in second with four losses each.
“Our pitching behind Henry has gotten so much better as the season has gone on,” Motz said. “Our next three pitchers have shown that they can be competitive in a game, give up a little but not a lot. They are attacking hitters and when we can give them some run support, they are doing well. I’m looking forward to watching those guys compete Thursday. We just have to be ready to compete.”
First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 6 p.m.
