Lewistown West topples?Strodes Mills
By RAY WILDE, Sentinel correspondentLEWISTOWN — Talk about a tough schedule.
Just ask the Strodes Mills Babe Ruth team. In the course of six days, the Strodes Mills team will play five games against the top four teams in the Mifflin County League.
Starting Wednesday, Strodes Mills lost to fourth-place Milroy, 10-0. On Thursday, the “Mills Boys” fell to third-place Lewistown West, 11-0. On Saturday, Strodes Mills will travel to league-leading Belltown for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m., and on Monday, Strodes Mills will make the trip to second-place Reedsville for a 7 p.m. game.
“After this stretch, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Strodes Mills manager Chris Flanagan said. “We are trying to learn and grow as a team. We have very young team. This has been a very tough part of the schedule.”
On the other side of diamond, Lewistown West manager Bernie Howard had nothing but glowing praise for his team.
“It was a pretty efficient game,” Howard said. “We only had one walk tonight. We hit the ball well and I thought we ran the bases very well.”
The win for the West moved it a step closer to the top. The top three teams are only separated by a half-game and .182 percentage points.
Belltown is still undefeated with an 8-0 record. Reedsville is 9-1 and is in a virtual tie with Belltown and trails by just .100 percentage points. The West is 9-2 (.818) and trails Belltown by a half-game.
The West had 10 hits with Kirby Moist leading the way with two triples. Moist showed his speed early as he led off the game with a triple. His triple in the third inning cleared the bases, giving the West a 10-0 margin.
Ted Wilson also had two hits, including a triple in the third inning, but when the 14-year-old tried to stretch it into an inside-the-park home run, he was gunned down at the plate by Strodes Mills shortstop Tyson Searer, who got the ball in the outfield grass and made a perfect
throw home.
Moist might have led off with a triple to open the first, but it was Cole Welham who had the big blast in the first inning, a two-run double.
Mitch Welham picked up the win for the West. He went three innings, allowed two hits, struck out two and walked no one. Cy Treaster, the rookie, closed the game for the West. Treaster allowed two hits and one walk and struck out two.
Strodes Mills had all singles, and Avery Craig had a perfect night at the plate, going 2-for-2. Tyler Smith and Caleb Rhodes also had base hits for Strodes Mills (1-7).
