The Paulding Panthers will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Montpelier Locomotives at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Paulding has given up an average of 7.8 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Thursday just wasn't the day for Paulding's offense. They came up short against Wayne Trace on Thursday, falling 15-0. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Raiders recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Meanwhile, Montpelier strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. Their pitcher stepped up to hand North Central a 6-0 shutout. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Locomotives have posted against the Eagles since May 7, 2021.
Not much got past Wesley Hartsock, who gave up just a hit and racked up 11 Ks to keep North Central off the board. Hartsock has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Montpelier let Kenneth Smeltzer and Jaxon Stahler run wild. Smeltzer scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Stahler went a perfect 2-for-2 with two doubles and one stolen base. That's the most stolen bases Smeltzer has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Griffin Cooley, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Montpelier's win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Paulding, their loss dropped their record down to 1-3.
Paulding skirted past Montpelier 5-4 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Locomotives turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
