Baseball Recap: Moshannon Valley Finds Home Field Redemption Against Juniata Valley

There's no place like home for Moshannon Valley, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with a 5-1 win over the Juniata Valley Hornets on Thursday. This was a revenge game for the Black Knights/Damsels: when they faced off against the Hornets back in April, they had to take a 5-1 defeat.

Rocco Reifer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out ten batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in May of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That double marked the first that he has hit this season.

In other batting news, Brady Kephart was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Ian Dunsmore was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one run.

Black Knights/Damsels

Batting Average

05/01/25 vs Juniata Valley	48.1%
03/21/25 vs Harmony Area	45.8%
04/09/25 vs Glendale	40.9%
04/21/25 vs Southern Huntingdon County	38.9%
03/25/25 vs Curwensville	34.4%

Moshannon Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .481. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Moshannon Valley has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 7-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.8 runs on average over those games. As for Juniata Valley, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-5.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Moshannon Valley will host Rockwood at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Juniata Valley, they will be playing in front of their home fans against West Branch at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Hornets' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Warriors have averaged an impressive 8.9 runs per game this season.