BASEBALL: Monday's roundup, James Buchanan secures 7-3 win over Fannett-Metal

MERCERSBURG >> Offensively, James Buchanan didn't play its best baseball game of the year.

But the Rockets jumped on some shaky pitching and a struggling defense to defeat Fannett-Metal, 7-3, in non-league action Monday.

The game was scoreless heading into the bottom of the third before the Rockets (5-10) finally made some noise. The Tigers (1-15) walked two in a row and committed three errors, allowing JB to score four runs by the frame's end.

"They just misplayed a couple of balls that really helped us out that inning," Rocket coach Scot Folmar said. "We really didn't hit the ball that hard that inning, but we capitalized on some mistakes."

Junior varsity pitcher Zack Monninger earned the starting nod for the Rockets, who have to play five games in five days this week.

"He did a really good job," Folmar said.

Monninger threw four innings and allowed just four hits and one run. Although he walked three, he struck out eight.

Jared Pine was the top hitter for the Rockets. He finished 2-for-4. Toby Sowers didn't have a hit but smacked a pair of sacrifice flies.

The Tigers got a fine game from Hunter Kann. Not only did he allow just two hits in three innings of work, he was also 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored a pair of stolen bases. Taylor Miller was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

James Buchanan 7 Fannett-Metal 3

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W — Zack Monninger (1-0); L — Hunter Kann (1-6).

2B — (FM) Kann; SB — (FM) Kann 2, (JB) Jared Pine, Hunter Spoonhour.

SHIPPENSBURG 15, EAST PENNSBORO 8 >> Shippensburg rallied from an early deficit to beat East Pennsboro in a non-league slugfest.

The Greyhounds (13-3) fell behind 6-3 after three innings, but they scored seven runs in the top of the fourth and slowed down the Panthers' bats the rest of the way.

"We did a good job of battling back and keeping up the offense," Ship coach Nate Rosenberry said. "They hit the ball well, but we were able to cash in on our opportunities."

Damon Watkins finished 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs, and Matt Frick was 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBIs. Brandt Swartz, Nate Reiner, Cordell Shannon, Daulton Brenize and Cole Friese all finished with two hits, and Teagan Staver got the win on the mound to improve to 6-0.

Shippensburg 15, East Pennsboro 8

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W — Teagan Staver (6-0); L — Chris Horst.

2B — (S) Cordell Shannon 2, Damon Watkins, Matt Frick (EP) Drew Miller, Connor Yoder; 3B — (S) Watkins, Cole Friese, Daulton Brenize; HR — (EP) Alex Shellenberger; SB — (EP) Zach Wurtz, Drew Farling.

SOUTHERN FULTON 8, FORBES ROAD 0 >> Southern Fulton pounced on a few errors early then hit the ball well to defeat Forbes Road in a Sideling Hill/Inter-County Conference game.

"They're probably the best team we play, and we actually played fairly well," Cardinal coach Randy Gelvin said. "The first three runs we gave them were all unearned, and we just didn't get the key hits when we needed them."

The Indians (16-2, 13-1 SHL, 11-1 ICC) racked up 10 hits, including doubles from Tristan Douglas, Tanner Elbin and Trent Rider. Douglas and Rider were both 3-for-3, while Rider and Elbin each had a pair of RBIs.

"It wasn't our best performance, but I wouldn't say that we exerted a lot of energy," SF coach Dustin Fischer said. "The kids were kind of going through the motions, preparing for tomorrow night (against McConnellsburg). They weren't overexerting themselves, let's put it that way."

Forbes Road (3-12, 3-11 SHL, 2-11) had its chances. The Cardinals had the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning, then once again loaded the bases in the fourth with two outs.

Cooper Grove picked up his third win of the season for SF. He threw five innings, allowing just three hits. He struck out seven and walked five. Carl Potter then threw a pair of hitless innings.

Southern Fulton 8 Forbes Road 0

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W — Cooper Grove (3-0); L — Matt Brown (1-3).

2B — (SF) Tristan Douglas, Tanner Elbin, Trent Rider, (FR) Brycen Hohman; SB — (SF) Douglas, Dylan Gordon, Zach Clark.

MCCONNELLSBURG 8, HANCOCK 2 >> McConnellsburg played a strong all-around game to defeat Hancock, Md. in non-league action and extend its win streak to eight games.

Garrison Crouse (3-0) kept his slate clean by throwing five innings and allowing just two this. He struck out two and walked two.

"Garrison threw a really good game," Spartan coach Brian Ramsey said. "Their leadoff hitter got a double, then after that, he settled down pretty good. He was around the plate. We had a lot of guys on base tonight, so we could've scored some more, but overall, we hit the ball well."

Ryan Koontz came up with the biggest hit for McConnellsburg (13-2). He smacked a bases-clearing double in the second inning that put the Spartans ahead 5-2 early. He finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Chase Novak also notched a pair of singles.

McConnellsburg 8, Hancock 2

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W — Garrison Crouse (3-0); L — Hose.

2B — (M) Ryan Koontz, (H) Kerns; SB — (M) Koontz, Landon Richards, Taylor Souders.

SHALOM CHRISTIAN 11, CV CHRISTIAN 6 >> Shalom Christian took an early lead, but had to get the offense going again after Cumberland Valley Christian rallied to tie the game 6-6.

"We had a great start, then we let it slip, but then we bounced back again right away," Flames coach Shawn Musick said.

Daniel Watkins earned the win by pitching the first five innings, then Colby Maun came in to throw two scoreless innings to earn a save.

With the score tied 6-6, Shalom's Jake Holderman hit a two-out single with the bases loaded to score two runs.

The Flames are 6-5 (4-4 MDCC), while the Blazers are 2-7 (2-6 MDCC).

Shalom 11, CV Christian 6

2B — (SC) Jake Nicklas.