Montezuma Breaks Tie in Ninth, Defeats Stuarts Draft

By Nolan Potts
Montezuma and Stuarts Draft were tied 5-5 entering the ninth inning, but Carter Childs had an RBI single and Dalton Hall drew a bases-loaded walk as the Braves clinched the number six seed in the upcoming playoffs with a 7-5 victory at the Diamond Club.

The game was tied 3-3 after three innings, and Montezuma would add on a run in the fifth inning on a double play that brought home a run, and then would tack on another run in the sixth after Gavin Rush reached on an error with two outs, but it scored Noah Kessler from third base.

The Diamondbacks would respond with two runs of their own in the seventh inning to tie the game after Wyatt Raymond reached on an error but drove in a run, and then Will Decker singled and brought home Grayson Bush.

Tucker Hensley was dominant out of the bullpen for Montezuma. He pitched the final two inning to earn the win, allowed no baserunners and struck out five of the six batters that he faced. Ethan Fitzgerald went the first four innings for Montezuma, and Blake Argenbright went the next three before turning it over to Hensley.

Will Coleman went the first 3.2 innings for Stuarts Draft, and then left-hander Trevor Vernon came in and went the next 4.2 innings before Jacob Dunford came in and was tasked with getting the last two outs in the ninth. 

For the Braves, Carter Childs had three hits, while JT Stevenson, Gavin Rush, and Kyle Armstrong each had two hits. Noah Kessler also had a hit and drove in two runs.

Stuarts Draft got two hits and two RBI from Wyatt Raymond, and also got two RBI from Ryan Jones.

Montezuma (11-13) will take on Clover Hill in the first round of the playoffs, while Stuarts Draft (11-12) has a makeup game against Elkton on Friday night to finish the regular season, but regardless of how that game goes, the Diamondbacks will take on Massanutten in the first round of the playoffs beginning on Monday night.

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