Moshannon Valley and West Branch are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The Moshannon Valley Black Knights/Damsels will head out on the road to challenge the West Branch Warriors at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Moshannon Valley is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
Moshannon Valley will bounce into Thursday's game after beating Juniata Valley, who they hadn't topped in nine consecutive meetings. Moshannon Valley put the hurt on Juniata Valley with a sharp 16-1 win on Wednesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Moshannon Valley considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
Rocco Reifer made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over 5.2 innings pitched. Reifer has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Reifer was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Tanner Kephart was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with a home run, two stolen bases, and five RBI. Another player making a difference was JC Smith, who scored two runs while going 4-for-5.
Meanwhile, West Branch had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.6 runs), and they went ahead and made it six on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Hornets by a score of 8-3.
Like Moshannon Valley, West Branch also got a great game from a two-way player: Luke Liptak. He struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Liptak was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Tyler Wilson and Coby Kephart did most of the damage at the plate: Wilson went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Kephart scored a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Matt Eirich was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-1.
Moshannon Valley's record is now 6-7. As for West Branch, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-3.
Moshannon Valley's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's contest. Moshannon Valley has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for West Branch, though, as they've been averaging only 1.3. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Moshannon Valley continue to outrun the ball?
Moshannon Valley might still be hurting after the 14-1 defeat they got from West Branch when the teams last played back in April. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Liptak, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. Now that Moshannon Valley knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
