ST. MARYS — A day after losing a late lead to Elk County Catholic in the opening round of the Elk Co. Tournament, the Coudersport Falcons made sure to build up enough insurance runs in their consolation matchup to hold off another late push.
The Falcons sprayed 10 hits across the diamond on Thursday and pulled off a 7-3 victory over Johnsonburg — the team that eliminated them in the opening round of the District playoffs last year.
Leading the Coudersport (10-3) offense was Kolby VanWhy, who hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run fifth inning. Jackson Glover and Hunter Redmond added two hits and two RBI each for the Falcons.
Blake Burgett had another quality start for Coudersport on the bump. Despite allowing 10 hits, Burgett kept the damage to a minimum and held the Rams without an extra-base hit.
Four Rams recorded multiple-hit performances, including Camron Marciniak’s three hits from the leadoff slot, as well as two each from Austin Green, Ethan Wells and Paul Gresco.
In the championship game of the tournament, Elk County Catholic struck for 15 hits and defeated St. Marys 9-5 for its fourth straight win.
Dan Wimer had three base knocks and three RBI for the Crusaders, and Taylor Boland allowed just three earned runs in five innings on the mound.
Smethport 15, Galeton/NoPo 0, 3 innings
SMETHPORT — The Smethport Hubbers disposed of Galeton/Northern Potter in short order on Thursday, as the Hubbers cruised to a 15-0 victory in just three innings in Northern Allegheny League action.
Smethport (4-5, 3-4) grabbed a 1-0 lead after the first inning, and then exploded for six runs in the second and eight in the third to secure the run-rule victory over the Tigers (1-10, 0-7).
“I’m very satisfied. We had a tough loss on Monday and the coaching staff challenged the kids to play a flawless game, and they answered,” Smethport coach Colby Austin said. “They did exactly what we asked them to do.”
That “flawless” effort began with a pitching staff that held the Tigers to just two hits and a defense that committed no errors on the day.
On offense, the Hubbers were led by Alex Ognen and Nate Hollowell, who each went 2-for-2 with three RBI. Hollowell doubled on the day.
“They got comfortable tonight and saw the ball really well,” Austin said.
Joining those two in the barrage were Noah Lent, who went 1-for-1 with a double, and Noah Costa, who went 2-for-3.
Grant Ognen pitched all three innings for Smethport. He gave up no runs on just two hits and no walks. He fanned a pair of batters during the performance.
Noah Shutt and Seth Succowich collected Galeton/NoPo’s only two hits.
Smethport is back in action today in the Bolivar-Richburg Tournament.
