The Montour Spartans will square off against the Gateway Gators at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The last three games Montour has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
Montour fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Connellsville on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Falcons by a score of 3-2.
Montour saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dalton Young, who scored a run while going 1-for-1. That hit marked the first that Young got this season.
While Gateway didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-14-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They skirted past McKeesport 3-2. The three-run effort marked the Gators' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Roman Jennings made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Jennings was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Cameron Gottschalk looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Donovan Deluco, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Jon Saunders was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Montour's loss was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-5. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the defeats came by an average of only 1.8 runs. As for Gateway, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Montour has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gateway struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
