Advertisement

After losing the opener, 10-4, the Rams played inspired baseball before finally losing an 8-inning affair to the talented Panthers, 4-3.

"This was a season-changing game where we proved we can contend with the best in the area," praised Mishler after his team's cliffhanger loss. "Mt. Morris has been a 30-win team the last two seasons and they gave us high praise for a great game. We are looking to translate this evening into the last stretch of the year. I am very proud of these kids for sticking it out until the very end."

The very end of Game Two didn't come until Mt. Morris scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly. Dan Kagey made a diving catch on the play, but couldn't get up in time to throw the Panther runner out at the plate.

Seth Hursh kept Montrose close, giving up a single run in the second and two more in the fourth as the Rams came to bat in the top of the seventh, down 3-0. Until that point, Mt. Morris' Brady Laframboise controlled the Ram bats on his way to a 19-strikeout performance. But Zach Kuzniar opened the top of the seventh with a single, Adam Campbell walked, and Nick Reinhardt launched a three-run homer over the leftfield fence to knot the score at 3-3. Montrose threatened to go ahead, loading the bases with two outs, but Laframboise fanned the next batter to put out the fire.

Hursh mowed down the Panthers in order in the bottom of the frame to send the contest into extra innings, but the Rams went quietly in the top of the eighth before Mt. Morris manufactured its winning run on the sac fly.

The opening game saw the Rams fall behind, 5-0 early, before rallying for four runs in the third to close within 5-4. Joe Lamay and Kuzniar had key hits for the Rams during the uprising. Nathan Play came on in relief and gave up just one run to keep the game close before a walk, two errors and a hit gave the Panthers three runs in the top of the seventh and catapulted Mt. Morris to its final margin of victory.

"We applied some pressure during that first game, and it gave us some good thoughts and momentum heading into the next game," noted Mishler.

Montrose's overall record now stands at 10-9.