DUBOIS — Mount Union came out swinging against Kane in Wednesday’s PIAA Class AA baseball subregional.
After a chain of hits that plated four runs in the top of the first, Kane starter Harley Morris settled in against the Trojans. Unfortunately for the Wolves, Mount Union’s pitching duo blanked Kane’s lineup and ended the Wolves’ season with a 9-0 victory at Showers Field.
After a pair of singles to start the game, Tyler Renninger doubled to drive in Mount Union’s first two runs.
Vince Lear followed Renninger’s two-bagger with a two-run home run, giving the Trojans a crooked number on the scoreboard before Kane even came to bat.
Morris responded well to Mount Union’s two blows in the first, allowing just three hits over his next four innings pitched. Other than a walk to Ian Brodbeck that plated a run in the fourth, the Trojans wouldn’t score again until the top of the seventh, when they bookended the scorebook with four more runs.
Morris finished with five strikeouts, four walks and seven hits allowed over 5.2 innings. Jake Costanzo relieved Morris in the sixth before allowing Mount Union’s four runs in the seventh.
None of those runs were earned, however, as an error on a leadoff ground ball by Lear sparked the inning before the Trojan offense came alive with two outs.
At that point, any offense that Mount Union produced only padded its statistics. Ryan Scott and Bryce Danish combined to shut out the Wolves’ offense, scattering six hits over seven innings while combining for nine strikeouts.
Scott got the start for the Trojans and lasted 3.1 innings, allowing two hits while striking out six and walking five. After allowing a single to Reese Novosel and walks to Shane Ackley and Costanzo in the fourth, Danish came in with one out already recorded.
Danish forced Kane catcher Bobby Rumcik to ground into a double play, ending perhaps Kane’s biggest offensive threat of the afternoon. Kane’s other prime scoring chance came in the sixth, when Danish struck out Morris with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Danish finished with three strikeouts while allowing four hits and one walk over 3.2 innings, and helped lead Mount Union’s offense by going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
Cameron Donaldson and Renninger each had two hits for the Trojans.
Carson Whiteman was one of the lone offensive bright spots for Kane, as the senior went 3-for-4 on the afternoon. Novosel, Ackley and Landon Darr each added a hit for the Wolves.
Missed opportunities plagued both offenses, as Kane left 10 runners on base while Mount Union stranded a whopping 16 runners.
Kane ends its season at 13-8 on the tail end of a run to the District 9 Class 2A final as the tournament’s No. 6 seed. Mount Union (16-6), District 6’s Class 2A runner-up, will advance to the first round of the PIAA state playoff bracket on Monday.
AT DUBOIS
R H E
Mount Union 400 100 4 9 9 0
Kane 000 000 0 0 6 2
Mount U: Ryan Scott (6 SO, 5 BB), Bryce Danish (4) (3 SO, 1 BB) and Braylan Knable
Kane: Harley Morris (5 SO, 4 BB), Jake Costanzo (6) (2 SO, 2 BB) and Bobby Rumcik
