Baseball Recap: Garden Spot Has No Trouble Against Reading

Garden Spot was not the first on the board on Thursday, but they got there more often. They put the hurt on the Reading Red KNights with a sharp 11-5 victory. The Spartans might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by six runs or more this season.

Caden Simonis

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/17/25 @ Reading	9
04/03/25 vs J.P. McCaskey	3
03/28/25 @ Lampeter-Strasburg	3
03/19/25 vs Columbia	2
04/15/25 vs Manheim Central	1

Garden Spot got a great performance from Caden Simonis as he struck out nine batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off seven hits. Those nine strikeouts gave Simonis a new career-high.

At the plate, Ryder Hertzler was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. He has become a key player for Garden Spot: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-6 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Brody Torrance, who went 1-for-2 with three runs and one stolen base.

Garden Spot kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.

The win made it two in a row for Garden Spot and bumps their season record up to 6-7. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 8 runs in those games. As for Reading, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost eight of their last nine games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-10 record this season.

Garden Spot will take on Manheim Central at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. As for Reading, they will challenge Daniel Boone at 6:00 p.m. on Monday.