The Mount Carmel RED TORNADOES will venture away from home to square off against the Montoursville Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Mount Carmel sitting on seven straight victories and Montoursville on three.
On Monday, Mount Carmel made easy work of Lewisburg and carried off a 12-2 win. That's two games straight that the RED TORNADOES have won by exactly ten runs.
The team relied heavily on Lukas Carpenter, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and three runs. Owen Ramirez also deserves some recognition as he hit his first doubles of the season.
Mount Carmel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .586. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lewisburg only posted an OBP of .350.
Montoursville came out on top against Midd-West on Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive five-run seventh inning. The Warriors put the hurt on the Mustangs with a sharp 9-3 victory. Considering the Warriors have won six contests by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Royce Bowes made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two stolen bases and two runs.
In other batting news, Zack Neill was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
Montoursville pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Mount Carmel, their record now sits at 8-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mount Carmel has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Montoursville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mount Carmel might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from Montoursville in their previous matchup back in May of 2018. Can the RED TORNADOES avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
